124th U.S. Open - Pinehurst, NC
At 8:30 on a Friday night before of the U.S. Open if you asked me what my plans for Saturday were I would have told you just watching the U.S. Open coverage, grilling out, maybe some golf in the afternoon. By 8:36 that night my plans had rapidly progressed and my brother-in-law were leaving for Pinehurst from Charleston at 5:00 AM Saturday morning to catch the action live. What made for a long day there and back was certainly worth it. Seeing a course in person provides so much context of the nuances that do not come through the broadcast.
After arriving on property and loading up with shirts and other various gear in the merchandise tent, we made our way around the course getting a lay of the land. My initial memories of coming to Pinehurst back in 2015 did not recount the elevation change that was present. Specifically coming to mind is the tee shot on hole 4 where the players must place a well struck drive into an uphill, left to right sloped fairway for an approach shot to an elevated green. Very intimidating angles and approaches around the property. After scoping out the course, we followed a couple of groups through the turn to include Scottie Scheffler who was playing with Cameron Young, as well as Zac Blair who was playing with Billy Horschel. Pinehurst No. 2 provided quite a challenging test of golf for the world’s best players. The one cut of grass did not do much to hold your ball in the fairway. A lot of tee shots ended up in the native areas, proving to be an added layer of difficulty for your approach shots.
Our tickets included access to the USGA staff dining where we had a great lunch and a chance to cool off from the heat of mid day. The staff dining was located right next to the newly constructed USGA Golf House. The Golf House is an immersive center to learn about all the strides the USGA is making in growing the game of golf through science and innovation. The World Golf Hall of Fame is also located here. The World Golf Hall Of Fame started in Pinehurst where it eventually relocated to St. Augustine, FL from the 90’s up until now, where it has made its return home to Pinehurst.
After lunch we watched a few of the leaders warm up on the range before making our way back out onto the course. We found a very well positioned grand stand on the tee box of hole 6. This was an amazing place to view the tournament because you had a great visual of hole 4 which is a drivable par 4, the approach shots into hole 5 as well as the putts on the 5th green, the tee shots from hole 4 and the second shots from the canted fairway, as well as the tee shots on the par 3 sixth. You really felt like you were in the center of the action here as you saw groups come through as they faced various tests through this 4 hole stretch.
Pinehurst No. 2 was designed by Donald Ross initially in 1907, and tweaked by himself over the years as he lived on the 3rd green. Coore & Crenshaw did a historic restoration to the course in 2011 and re-embraced the rustic nature of the course. Over 40 acres of sod were removed and native grasses like wiregrass were planted in its place. The native grasses provide both stunning visuals and challenging areas to play out of should your ball find itself off course. The Pinehurst Resort is up to 10 courses, a putting course, as well as a par three course for you to challenge your skills at during a visit. I had the opportunity to play Pinehurst No. 4 back in 2015 prior to a Gil Hanse restoration. After watching the U.S. Open on No. 2, I am eager to plan a return trip to play the course along with some of the other greats in the area like Mid-Pines and Southern Pines.
As mentioned, seeing the course in person added a great perspective of the difficulty of the course and the nuanced design details that do not come through the broadcast. Sunday’s round was that much more enjoyable to watch with this added perspective.
