Somebody call me?
I can confirm that Pasa is "getting it" when it comes to the speed of its greens. For a long time, the target speed was 10.5, but in practice that was a minimum...tournaments there often saw greens of 11+, which severely reduced pin placements and made several of holes extremely challenging, if not unfair. The restoration of the course brought back an appreciation for the genius of MacKenzie's design, and a recognition that slower greens are better for the grass, and more enjoyable to play. Tom and Jim had a strong influence here. It's just a better course with greens at 9 or 9.5...the emphasis is on smooth, healthy greens now, even for events like the recent US Open qualifying. Things can still get away out there a bit, at the recent Western Intercollegiate the greens got too fast on the last day, a combination of grass not growing and a little wind. It was pretty tough...and not what we were shooting for.
On 16, there are 2 distinct middle pin locations. Middle left, which is just nasty...very tough to get a shot to hold there even with slower greens. You have to come with with a wedge and some spin to get it close, or (as many members to) aim for middle right or back center, and take your chances with a tough two put. The other middle pin location is middle center/right, which is the easier pin...you've got a backboard, and can get it close here. If you go long, it's rough, but you have several creative options.
Unpinnable areas? With 9.5 greens, I'd say:
Middle 3
Front right 5 (but middle/back right on 5 is doable)
Front 8
Front 11
Actually, I think a lot more of 16 is pinnable than people realize...middle left, middle center/right, the entire back ( a huge area), and (while it hasn't been done yet) front right would be technically possible.
Front right 18
Not bad, really...I'd bet that many of the above spots were intended to be false fronts, unpinnable even at speeds of 7 or so. What's particularly exciting is the fact that the restoration, combined with the slower speeds, has brought back a number of original pin positions.
Glad you enjoyed the course, Mike.
Rob