[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Very quickly (as it is getting late and we have another long day planned tomorrow) I wanted to get a few pics from Tues practice round on the site for all.

Overall thoughts are just like Mr. Gracely stated yesterday.  The rough is uniform if maybe a little thin, looks like balls will go all the way down.  The aprons look a little rough condition, the areas in front of the greens and the greens themselves are firm and the noticable "Thump" when shots hit the green was easily evident.  I am excited for the tourney to start.

Here are some quick pics:



4th hole par 5 down hill.




This is what awaits you if you try to cut the corner on 7th hole, it is a crap shoot as to what you would get for a lie.



Contours behind the 7th green



Contour behind the 8th green (Dimarco and Mattice in the pic) this is where Daly took his 11 in the 99 Open.




Par 3 9th hole.



Approach to the 11th hole with the waste area/wire grass.



12th hole.



Approach to the 14th hole.



Area behind 14th hole, most shots that went over actually finished in the rough, however this guy (I didnt identify who this was, but he had a Pepperdine bag.  Who would that be?) after hitting his shot and some extra from the rough moved up to this chipping area for a few as well.  The hole was on the back and shortsided if you ended up back here where he did.




Langer was signing autographs pretty freely and on a couple occasions waved a young fan under the ropes and had him walk along with him as he signed it.  I only wish I knew who this boys father was I would love to email this pic to him.  Unfortunately I am sure from their side of the ropes they wouldnt get this good of an angle.  Look at the kids expression.

A great day, a little warm, and they were out hand watering the course between groups quite often, especially the collars.

Thats all for tonight, I need some sleep.

[Geoff_Shackelford]

I've seen some awful fairway contours, but that one on #4 is beyond bad! What makes it so pathetic is that their pathetic little attempt to make the hole play longer won't matter. The guys will still get home in two.

[Brian_Gracely]

Daryl,

Nice pics.  Did you touch base with Ron Farris?

The guy from Pepperdine is Michael Putnam, http://www.usopen.com/players/bios/032.html.  He finished 2nd in the NCAA tournament (lost in a playoff) and will most likely be on the Walker Cup team.

[Brian Phillips]

I've seen some awful fairway contours, but that one on #4 is beyond bad! What makes it so pathetic is that their pathetic little attempt to make the hole play longer won't matter. The guys will still get home in two.Geoff, Is the fairway contouring supposed nip in behind the bunker on the left?  I presume to give hole more strategy than it has with that mowing pattern.  The USGA seem to yet again take away the thinking of the game....hit the centre of the fairway...hit the centre of the fairway..hit the centre of the fairway...

[Marc Haring]

Thanks for the pictures Daryl.

Geoff you are so right and we see this all the time. The problem is they (the unenlightened) see this sort of set up in the Open and assume it is correct and before you know it, you’ve got strategic bunkers surrounded by even more penal rough all over the world.

Once again the set up has been designed to favour the straight hitter but the result is no one can hit the fairways and the greens and you’ll end up with a winner that can get it up and down from the ball washer.

Is Andy North playing? Could be a good bet.  

[paul cowley]

Geoff....before your post , I was actually enjoying the capish strategy the fairway cut created on #4....challenge the left edge for a better angle in....from memory, the left bunker is too short and not in play for most of these guys.
....now, a new bunker down the leftside, eating into the fairway at about 320 yds out, might get their attention...and allow for a more interesting mowing pattern.

[Jeff_Mingay]

Geoff beat me to it. That mowing pattern at the 4th is so contrived, and it looks so goofy. Forcing tee shots way out to the right in order to make the hole play a few yards longer with all of that open space down the left, behind the bunker. How stupid. It looks ridiculous.

[Brent Hutto]

Are those bare spots on the embankment behind the eighth green? If so that's kinda skeevy looking by Pinehurst standards.

[RJ_Daley]

Looks like you're having fun Turboe.

The flyovers on the official web site are pretty good.
http://www.usopen.com/course/fly-overs.html

[Mickey Boland]

Brent:

I read somewhere, I don't think on this site, that there are a number of areas right around the green that they've had to sod due to lack of grass.  Looking closely at that picture, that looks exactly like what has been done there, as you can see the lines where the sod has been laid.  The story I read had some player quotes indicating that these areas definitely will be a factor when chippping i.e. hit short and try to run it through them, or pitch over them.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Nice pics!  Of interest is that Putnam and Ryan Moore are both out of Tacoma, WA.  What do you suppose the chances of two of the best young players in the country coming up through the ranks in the Pacific Northwest.  

Must have some pretty good junior programs!

[Mike_Cirba]

Is must be time for the USGA to do their annual "Jeff Maggert is one of the top player's in the world" routine.  

Nice mowing.  

[Mike_Sweeney]

Caddybytes has their slide show up:

http://www.caddybytes.com/virtualtours/Pinehurst/index.html

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