[Mike Hendren]

Next year will be the 25th anniversary of the "Other" Senior Tour and its 8 members.  To commemorate I'm considering going to Pinehurst.  Six of the 8 members typically can't break 90 and no one cares about golf architecture.  With Pinehurst #1 and #3,  Southern Pines, Mid-Pines and Pine Needles is there really any need to break the bank for Pinehurst #2?


Your take please.


Bogey

[Jason Thurman]

Honestly and just based on the audience you've outlined, no.


You and I would have an amazing time playing it. We'd be endlessly delighted. For that matter, your buddies would be too... but only if they can drop $450 or whatever it costs plus a caddie and then immediately forget that they spent the money and just go enjoy a really great round of golf.


I played it with my mother years ago, and she's a golfer you'd recognize. Despite her having enjoyed rounds at Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, and Lawsonia over the last 12 years or so, she probably never paid more than $40 for a round prior to dropping $495 at Pebble. From there, she became willing to shell out a little more cash for a "special" round, and like most golfers, she really enjoys playing a great course. But she doesn't know anything about architecture, and would happily play Kenny Perry's Country Creek if I told her you'd meet us there.


10 years or so after playing No. 2, she talks more about how much she loved Pine Needles and Tobacco Road than she does No. 2. Don't get me wrong. She loved it. But she doesn't love it appreciably more than the far less expensive courses already on your itinerary.


Don't miss Thistle Dhu though. That's honestly probably her favorite little corner of the golf world that she's ever seen.

[Ira Fishman]

You have a personal ethical dilemma. For your friends, it would not be worth the money. However, for you, if you have never played it, it would be given your love of architecture. So do you have them play (most of them will enjoy the round) so that you can get the experience? Fwiw, my wife is a 25 and not an architecture buff, and she loved #2.


Ira


PS You can always sneak away from the group for an extra round.

[Jeff_Brauer]

For me, it was a must play several times over my golf career. I took my then high school age golf son there, right after he had played an AJGA tournament nearby at a Paul Cowley/Davis Love course.  Frankly, he preferred Fazio's no. 8 better, like so many non nerd golfers.


P2 is famous as a not overwhelming classic, with no ocean like Pebble Beach, so it is understandable that non nerds would have trouble understanding its subtleties.  They would more likely appreciate it as the site of Payne Stewarts US Open victory.


Long way of saying, no, for them it probably isn't worth it.  Maybe they can play Tobacco Road that day, and leave you to play P2 by yourself?

[MCirba]

Michael H.,

Is it a package deal where you're not paying full retail or do you have a good option for hundreds of dollars less that day?   The answer to that question probably determines what the group should do.


If you can sneak away for a solo and haven't played there prior, I'd highly recommend it.   It's one of those places where I hit a great shot precisely as I envisioned and felt tears well up.   As Tommy Armour famously said, "It's the kind of course that gets into the blood of an old trooper."

[Sean_A]

Bogey, I am probably the wrong guy to ask because I don't really think any course is a must play. However, this PoV may be less rigid when considering a large group. That said, I consider P2 one of the very best courses I have seen. Still, I wouldn't pay full whack because I damn well know I can have just as much fun with mates on good course with a far cheaper price tag. Greatness is over rated.

Ciao

[Steve Wilson]

Yes.  Do it, but don't insist on others paying too much for a round on this course.  You will find yourself smiling at the land forms and the results of shots both good and bad. 


I managed to play #2 about a dozen times in the late 80s and early 90s so I haven't seen the latest iteration.


The only other great course I've had a similar number of rounds on  is Dornoch.  There I play at the reduced rate
due to my membership at Golspie.  Of course if you factor in the transportation costs of getting to Scotland and staying
there, #2 suddenly becomes a bargain.

[Tom_Doak]

Next year will be the 25th anniversary of the "Other" Senior Tour and its 8 members.  To commemorate I'm considering going to Pinehurst.  Six of the 8 members typically can't break 90 and no one cares about golf architecture.  With Pinehurst #1 and #3,  Southern Pines, Mid-Pines and Pine Needles is there really any need to break the bank for Pinehurst #2?

Not sure I understand the question.  Are you trying to decide whether to go to Pinehurst or not?


If you're decided, then certainly you should leave it to your fellow golfers whether to pony up for #2.  It's a great course, but if your guys are not good and don't care about its tournament history, then they might well vote to skip it.


You should put Tobacco Road in the mix in favor of one of the SP/MP/PN triumvirate, and also The Cradle.

[Mike Sweeney]

Bogey,


I did NOT play #2 on my recent trip through Pinehurst, and I have yet to play it. That was only because I want to play it with my son, and I want to stay at MidPines when I play #2. I loved the "vibe" and golf course at MidPines:




By the way, The Cradle was an enormous amount of fun for a second round of the day, after MidPines:



Pinehurst is a "corporate machine" to me, so #2, #4, and The Cradle (again) is enough for me, when I do the BIG trip to Pinehurst. My Thanksgiving trip was a quick pass through.

[Tom_Doak]

So, I guess from the sign that nobody at Pinehurst knows about C.B. Macdonald?

[Steve Lang]

So, I guess from the sign that nobody at Pinehurst knows about C.B. Macdonald?

And to think, The World Golf Hall of Fame was there in Pinehurst for a while




Bogey,  The Sr Tour guys will be fully exposed to Sand Hills golf with that schedule of venues, I suspect that while memories between courses and holes may become somewhat blurred in the rear view mirror, with some exceptions, everyone will have a smile on their face from the experience without P2 play. 


IF one needs to be able to name drop P2 or belt notch it, just do it and pay the freight.  My buddy group went to Southern Pines 21 times between 1982 and 2006 and we never played P2... never saw the value in it..  We always started the week at The Elks...  and used to compete for selection of the dinner venue in the early years...


Are you doing a condo or hotel or resort package?  Sounds like you may need an Emergency 18 at P2

[Jeff Schley]

Well Pinehurst will be the co-headquarters of the USGA soon. There will be quite a bit of development there, so it should increase it's stature even more and push the prices higher unfortunately.

[Brock Lynch]

I find it interesting that some claim that there are subtle qualities to the greatness of #2 and that only "woke" golfers will get it. #2 is a pleasure to play. I have not played anywhere in which a great variety of golfers enjoyed so much than at Pinehurst #2. Yes, your group should play it and afterwards you can decide if it was worth it.

[Tim Gallant]

Michael,


I'd say go for it! I imagine the group will get a kick out of playing a US Open course, and will love trading stories about how they fared compared to the pros. Play from sensible tees, and I imagine you'll will have a great time.

[Jim Lipstate]

One of the best things about Pinehurst #2 is the playability for golfers of all skill sets. Rare is the “championship” course that is readily amenable to play by the average golfer. You have to work hard to lose a golfball. There is virtually no water in play and although the corridors are tree lined the trees rarely come into play. The green complexes are “complex” and give the pros fits as they try to make birdies and pars. The average player can enjoy them nonetheless as they try to make an occasional par or better but find that bogeys are fairly easy to achieve without putting up too many ego deflating crooked scores. The course is quite an achievement for Donald Ross and Coore and Crenshaw deserve the kudos they received for the most recent restoration.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Years ago I took my Dad on a two course golf trip. We had never done that. Dad also had no desire to know about GCA. WE went to Kingsley and Crystal Downs. We played Kingsley then the Downs. After nine holes he quit. He was chilly. I said, "Dad this is one of the best courses in the world." "That's ok Tommy, you and your friend finish."



I'd just put it to a vote, but I think the other courses you list would be fine. They will love the experience of just being at Pinehurst. It has a vibe all its own.

[Peter Sayegh]

Michael,
I will let you know in eleven days. I've been putting off #2 until I play it with a childhood friend.
Of the other two in our foursome, one played it before the renovation and is eager to see the differences. The fourth player wouldn't know if it was laid out by Betsy Ross or Donald Ross-nor would he care.

Full disclosure: none of us will be paying the full premium to play it.

From what I've played so far in the area, the only two courses I would encourage my friends to "dig deep" are Tobacco Road and Mid Pines.

[Tim_Weiman]

Michael,


I haven’t played Pinehurst #2 since the early 1980s. That was around the first time I played Pebble Beach.


Does this passage of time help answer your question? Maybe not, but I would argue it does.


Pebble Beach certainly had “must play”. That is settled just standing on the 6th tee. By contrast, Pinehurst #2 just didn’t, to be honest, though I recall loving the 2nd and 5th holes.


For golf architecture junkies, Pinehurst #2 is a “must play”, but not so for the Great Unwashed. IMO.

[Carl Rogers]

A person would have to be fairly unobservant not to see the range, complexity, subtlety and uniqueness of the greens & surrounds.


Have played P2 once ("warm"off season day in early December several years back).


Will play again, off season, well worth it.


Can one be part of the "great unwashed" and "junkie" at the same time?

[Bill Gayne]

The group is "senior tour members" and being in that select group generally means if you want to do something or not do something you find a way to do what you want. If a couple of them want #2 let them go for it but don't push the group unless you're into people finding ways to not do it.


Do sit on the back porch behind the 18th green by the Payne Stewart statue and if a few members of the group do play you can watch them come home. The money they save on #2 green fees will go along way in the local pro-shops and food and drink establishments.


Last trip to Pinehurst, we rented a house on Midland Road through Mid Pines and it worked out really well.


Others really enjoy short courses such as the cradle. For whatever reason those set-ups don't resonate with me but I'm probably the one that doesn't "get it."

[Charles Lund]

By coincidence, I am heading out in about four weeks to the Pinehurst area for a third trip to the area.


On two prior trips, I played Tobacco Road, Mid Pines, and Pine Needles but none of the courses at Pinehurst.  Yesterday, I paid the travel company that set up prior trips for arranging tee times for this trip at Dormie Club, Mid Pines, Tobacco Road, and Pine Needles.  I have a couple of open days to either rest up or fit in another round on two open days.


I was under the impression that Pinehurst #2 is available only as part of an in house package.  The woman I spoke with on the phone reported that their tour company (which does very good and quick work) has no arrangement to do bookings with Pinehurst.  She seemed to indicate Pinehurst can
 handle walk on singles on day of play.  I am fine with solo travel and lodging suitable for regular foreign and domestic golf trips consistent with modest accommodations.


I reviewed ratings in Golfweek courses you can play and Confidential Guide reviews and thought about my prior experiences with the courses I played in the area.


Getting in an extra round on one of the courses I am already playing has appeal.  I played 36 holes at Tobacco Road on both of my prior trips so doing a replay there might be what I would do this trip.


Does anyone have experience with how Pinehurst might deal with a request for a walk on single?  Having a caddie is fine with me. 


I would give Pinehurst #2 serious consideration if I did not have to be part of the prepaid package.


Charles Lund

[Jay Mickle]

#2 as a walk on as a single is on option but the course has been slammed recently. Surely worth a go as anything less than perfect weather can cause a local member to bail.
Agree with Tom MP, PN, SP and Tobacco Road are the main event for the majority of golfers. #2 is for those with an appreciation of architecture and history or a player who is checking off his list. Heard quotes: “the least memorable great course ” and “greatest course you will play and never loose a ball”

[John Kavanaugh]

I’m still pissed that the starter at #2 offered my buddies a breakfast ball and said to play every bunker as a waste area. Unreal prices for not real golf.

[Jerry Kluger]

I am surprised there is no mention of #4 which certainly an exceptional course although I don't know how much they are charging for it.  I went to the US Am at Pinehurst where they played #4 as well as #2 in both the stroke play qualifying and in the finals of the match play.  I saw how some top amateurs played it including a group that included the defending Mid Am, Senior Am and Junior Am Champions.  The challenges they faced included the importance of position off the tee and the difficulty of recovery shots around the green which they found extremely difficult at times.  It is interesting how much more the land rolls on #4 compared to #2.

[PCCraig]

I am surprised there is no mention of #4 which certainly an exceptional course although I don't know how much they are charging for it.  I went to the US Am at Pinehurst where they played #4 as well as #2 in both the stroke play qualifying and in the finals of the match play.  I saw how some top amateurs played it including a group that included the defending Mid Am, Senior Am and Junior Am Champions.  The challenges they faced included the importance of position off the tee and the difficulty of recovery shots around the green which they found extremely difficult at times.  It is interesting how much more the land rolls on #4 compared to #2.

For Bogey's group I would 100% play Tobacco Road over #4, as one example, almost every time. TR is a more fun/interesting course for a lot less $$.

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