Article re Pinehurst No. 2 for the US Open next year

[Michael Felton]

http://pinehurstresort.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/theres-going-to-be-a-lot-of-heartache-out-there-ben-crenshaw-mike-davis-relish-no-2s-u-s-open-possibilities/

Interesting article and I love what they're doing there. The before and after pictures look amazing. I think this is going to be a very exciting US Open.

[Marc Huther]

I agree great course can't wait!

[Chris_Hufnagel]

I played #2 this morning and was really blown away - the course is obviously very special for all the reasons we know well, but I was really, really impressed with the restoration work.  

The concept of "broken ground" is clearly evident and I thought all the work to tie together the waste areas to bunkers and the waste areas from the fairways was really good.  The width of the corridors feels great and the vistas down the fairways and across the course is pretty stunning.

I did not play the course prior to the restoration, but comparing what I saw today to the photos, it is pretty dramatic.

I sincerely hope that we get good weather in the weeks leading up to the U.S. Open and the course can play firm and fast - I think it will be a very fun to watch on TV and hopefully the course will present itself well.  

It will be very interesting to see what happens to the balls that miss the fairways and where they run to - in some cases the player will find a clean lie and have no issues, in others they may draw a lie on pine straw and not know exactly what to expect, and in other less fortunate instances, they may draw the wire grass, which in some cases they will simple have to wedge out to the fairway.

It should be fun to watch and congratulations to everyone involved in the work here and if you haven't had the privilege of playing it - you should consider a trip.

[Tom_Doak]

I will play the course on Monday for the first time in years, and look forward to seeing it.

The distinction people haven't been making about the sandy areas is the difference between inside the ropes and outside them.  If you hit into the sandy area inside the ropes, you might well get a good lie, but outside the ropes I imagine everything will be a mass of footprints from the galleries (remember Dustin Johnson at Whistling Straits?).  So, the most errant shots will be punished much more harshly ... backwards from many Opens where the galleries trample down the grass and a really bad shot often finds a clean lie.

[Chris_Hufnagel]

The distinction people haven't been making about the sandy areas is the difference between inside the ropes and outside them.  If you hit into the sandy area inside the ropes, you might well get a good lie, but outside the ropes I imagine everything will be a mass of footprints from the galleries (remember Dustin Johnson at Whistling Straits?).  So, the most errant shots will be punished much more harshly ... backwards from many Opens where the galleries trample down the grass and a really bad shot often finds a clean lie.

Tom, that is an interesting point and something I hadn't thought of...

The question I have and perhaps there is already an answer, but I wonder what they will define as bunkers and what will be waste areas?  Or put it another way, in the bunkers that tie directly to the waste areas, where does the bunker begin and where does it end.  How will they define what should be raked and where can a player ground his/her club?  

I suppose there is some precedent based on what happened at Whistling Straits and what they did at Kiawah for the PGA....

[Peter Pallotta]

Michael - thanks, that is a good article.

I especially liked Ben Crenshaw's succinct description of why this Open should be a pleasure to watch. Referencing the decisions presented by the tough greens and various angles/lies they golfers will be playing from, he said: "To see these choices unfurl, that’s going to be the test.”

Peter

[Wade Whitehead]

I still think that Week Two of the back-to-back experience could be a disaster, especially if it rains during the men's Open.

WW

[Jordan Standefer]

How will they define what should be raked and where can a player ground his/her club?  

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the local rule at Pinehurst is that a bunker is defined by a sand area enclosed (on all sides) by grass.  You can't ground your club in a lot of the greenside bunkers, but anything that blends into the waste areas is okay.  At least, that is how it was relayed to me when I played there last spring.  Whether or not they'll change that for the Open, I don't know.  It'll be interesting to follow.

[Jim Nugent]

In the article, Mike Davis says, "It will be interesting to see who can say, ‘I’m not going to fire at the flagstick, I’m going to fire at the middle of the green.’ That’s not normal. That takes some willpower, some course management skills..."  

That was a big part of Jack Nicklaus' strategy.  Hit the middle of the greens and two putt the par 3s and par 4s.  Another part was making birdies on so many par 5s.  

In Ross' day, did Pinehurst look like it does now, with all the native areas, as opposed to grass and rough?  

[Steve Kline]

Jordan has it right regarding what is a bunker for regular play. It is a sensible interpretation.

Jim - in the photos I've seen of old Pinehurst, the rough looked very rough. It indeed looked like broken ground.