I had the chance to get down to Pinehurst for yesterday's
practice-round and thought I would share a few pictures and
comments on the overall experience:
1) Having been to a few US Opens (Shinnecock, Oakland Hills)
and The Masters, I believe that the overall setup is as good as
any tournament I've seen...including The Masters. Parking was
easy (out in a large field in Carthage), busing was efficient
(waited no more than 5 minutes either way), and getting around
the course was very efficient. Granted it was a Monday, but I
was carrying a 4 month old and never felt cramped, pushed or
hurried. Lines were managed very quickly and efficiently
throughout the facilities.
2) While the mandatory "merchandise village" was in place and
hocking anything and everything with a USOpen logo, I was
somewhat taken back by all the commercialism of "tributes to
Payne Stewart". These were some of the most expensive items
and I wonder how much they intend to give to the Stewart
family or their chosen charities......ok, enough of the
negativity....
3) The 18th hole on course #4 is now a walkway from the
parking-lot to the 18th green (course entrance), the 18th green
on #1 is the short-game practice area and #1 hole on #1 course
is the practice range. Maniac Hill is now the corporate tent
village. Apparently Maniac Hill will also be rebuilt & lengthened
after the tournament is complete.
4) I thought the course looked great and it should prove to be
an excellent test this week. The initial weather forecasts were
showing rain all week, but that now looks like it's been pushed
until the weekend (if at all). The rough appears to have come in
very nicely and the "rough areas" around the green appear to
not be too bad (see pictures below).
5) The primary rough is about 3-4" deep and balls go right to the
bottom of it. It's not terribly thick, but will definitiely effect
control of approach shots. The rough outside the ropes is
probably 5-6" deep.
6) The greens are already firm ("thud" sound) but will hold good
approaches....rolling off the slopes is a different story
. The
surrounds are mowed short, but not green height. This seemed
to create a really good challenge for players, as putting is tough
to judge speed and there is enough grass to encourage different
types of chipping....but balls will stop in the grass (and roll back)
if not hit well.
Daddy and Leah attend their first (of hopefully many) US Opens
together. To those that ask if you should bring a child to a
tournament, I say "where is the harm?". Not appropriate for a
tournament day, but a fun outing during a practice round.
Looking towards the 18th green from the crosswalk.
Looking back at the 18th fairway towards the tee. Most fairways were 25-26yds wide, but they didn't "appear" terribly narrow.
#18 from the tee
Who do you think will be at the top of this come Sunday?
#1 green
#17 green
