[PThomas]

stumbled across this today, and thought it was pretty good...double click on golf and then courses, then pick #2


http://www.pinehurst.com/PhurstVirtual/index.htm

[Jeff_Mingay]

I like that they've used caddies to describe the holes; great idea.

What stands out immediately in more than a few of the fly-over videos is fairway mowing. Some of the patterns are really perplexing.

[Steve Kline]

Just checked out the first hole. It's so sad what they've done to the course. Check out that "fairway" bunker on the left. There's at least 7 to 8 yards of rough between it and the fairway. It looks ridiculous. They need to do one of three things with all the bunkers on the course like this:

1. Widen the fairways back to the width they had before the first Open.
2. Move the fairway bunkers in towards the fairways.
3. Eliminate the those bunkers.

I have almost never seen people in any of these fairway bunkers (the exception being hole #7) in my hundreds of rounds here.

[Jeff_Mingay]

Pinehurst #2 would be fantastic mown treeline-to-treeline. No rough.

[Phil Benedict]

They ought to be call rough bunkers.  Did Ross put these bunkers in?  Where were the fairways cut pre-1999?  Not up to the trees I would assume.

[Steve Kline]

Not up to the trees but on the first hole, for example, the fairway went all the way to the bunker on the left and it was easily 10 yards (if not 15) wider on the right. Basically the fairway widths have been cut in half since 1999. And, they basically did it in equal amounts on both sides, which I think was the worst way to do it.

[Ed Oden]

The flyovers were obviously taken for the US Open since the grandstands are in place.  I played #2 last September and do not recall the fairways being that tight.  With the drought we are in the rough was pretty thin, so I may have just missed it.  But I think fairways have widened at least to some degree from the flyovers.  Surely there are some Pinehurst locals that can add some clarification.

[Steve Kline]

Ed - I'm not a local but I've been playing the course a minimum of five times a year for 17 years and my dad has played it well over 500 times during that period. We both agree that the fairways have been kept at U.S. Open width sicne 1999. And, we both agree the fairways are easily 20 yards narrower than th pre-Open fairways. I swear I can still spot where the old fairway lines were, even though I'm sure that is an actual physical impossibility.

[Gib Carpenter]

When did the caddies at pinehurst all become a) a bunch of white guys and b) transplants from the north or worse (Liverpool?? Brisbane??) I count seven white guys from who knows where, one CauBlInAsian guy named Lupo and one black guy who sounds local.

I've been to Pinehurst 8-10 times beginning in the early 80's but only once in the past 10 years. In my experience the caddies were terrific - extremely knowledgable, local craftsmen, and predominately African-American. Has the caddy demographic at Pinehurst really changed that much? If so, IMO Pinehurst has lost a valuable piece of its history...If not, shame on them for "whitewashing" their website.

[Sean_A]

It is heartbreaking to see those those bowling lane fairways. 

That Thomas chap with the Italian name was the caddy I had at Pinehurst.  He loved my pencil bag with 9 clubs!  I recall having a discussion about Tobacco Road only he said there was nothing to discuss - the course is awful!  He told me I should stick around for another game on #2.  I replied that his fee alone was more than a game at The Road - end of discussion! 

Ciao 

[Steve Kline]

Gib - the caddies changed a number of years ago when the process got more formalized. Pinehurst caddies are not employed by a caddie company where the caddies work at a number of courses all over the country. They now get benefits and have taxes withheld from their pay.

I miss the old guys. I had one guy - Rattlesnake - who was really tall and had a limp. He was the most encouraging caddie ever. He caddied for me several days in a row and I played some greate golf with him. Another guy - I think his name was Robert - caddied for me on his 80th birthday. He could only do singles but I was amazed that he could still walk and carry a bag. I asked if he caddied for any famous players over the years since Pinehurst used to have a regular Tour event. He said "Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead," and the list went on and on. Pretty cool. Another guy - I can't remember his name at all - asked me what club I hit to the first green. From that point on he never gave me a yardage the rest of the day. When I got to my ball he had a club out waiting for me. A few times I thought he was wrong but we talked about it and I always did what he said and he was always right. This was back when there were only 3 sets of tess and the tips were 7,000 yards or so. I shot even that day. A lot of those old guys were the missing the pinky fingers on one or both hands having worked in the saw mills for a number of years.

[Gib Carpenter]

A lot of those old guys were the missing the pinky fingers on one or both hands having worked in the saw mills for a number of years.

Steve-

Hey thanks for the info...A national caddy company? taxes? I guess it's "progress" but I can't help feeling the game has lost another piece of its history....at least they still HAVE caddies

I had to smle at your reference to the saw mills. The most memorable caddy I ever had there was an older guy who only had a thumb and two fingers on his right hand...said he played off two as I recall.

-Gib

[CJ Carder]

Gib - the caddies changed a number of years ago when the process got more formalized. Pinehurst caddies are not employed by a caddie company where the caddies work at a number of courses all over the country. They now get benefits and have taxes withheld from their pay.

That may be correct, but the caddies do still have the ability to go to other courses around the country and work during the offseason.  I was down there just last month and our caddie talked about how he prefers to just stay in one place but that a lot of the guys do still head down to Florida and out west to California during the winter to keep up a fuller schedule since the Pinehurst resort does trim its caddie rotation by about 50% in the off season. 

[Mark_F]

When did the caddies at pinehurst all become a) a bunch of white guys and b) transplants from the north or worse (Liverpool?? Brisbane??)

Gib,

I apologise for inflicting someone from Brisbane on you.  If you can just take back Snoop, Kanye, Ja Rule and 50 cent, we'll call it quits.

I had been tentatively planning a trip to the US later this year, with Pinehurst Number two one of my goals. 

Is it worth playing with fairways as they are in the flyover?  It appears to be a completely different course than what it should be.

[Steve Kline]

Mark - I would still play the course. It's worth it for the greens alone.

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