GolfTravelReviews: The Reviews "The Pinehurst Area: Cradle of American Golf"

Pinehurst #2 and Pinehurst #4:
A Classical Gem Next to a Modern Classic

A cleek’s distance from the Village of Pinehurst is Carolina Vista, a tree-lined half-mile boulevard. At one end is The Carolina, the Pinehurst Resort’s elegant New England-style hotel built in 1901, its ornate porte cochere peopled with attendants decked out in knickers. At the other end is the main golf clubhouse, an equally imposing L-shaped edifice that serves the resort's five on-site golf courses, including the most famous track, Pinehurst #2, and #4, a Tom-Fazio design. (Pinehurst #’s 6, 7 and 8 are off site within short distances and each are served by their own clubhouses). During my visit, men and women sporting glistening cotton whites were bowling in a tournament on the immaculate croquet/bowling greens in front of the clubhouse.

Pinehurst Resort

Pinehurst #2 is one of five resort courses designed by Donald Ross at the invitation of resort founder James K. Tufts. Ross called #2 his best design though he has also said the same thing about some of his other layouts. In any case, #2 holds the distinction of having hosted more major championships than any other U.S. golf course. Ben Hogan won his first professional tournament here. The '36 PGA Championship was held here. Pinehurst adopted son E. Harvie Ward, whom some consider the greatest amateur who ever lived, beat Arnold Palmer, then a sophomore at Wake Forest, here in the North-South Amateur 5 and 4 in the semifinals. Two PGA Tour Championships, the '94 U.S. Senior Open and the '99 U.S. Open were held here. Pinehurst #2 has also been chosen to host the U.S. Open in 2005.

It is worth mentioning the campus at the main golf club and the logistics of playing golf here. Visitors drive up the inclined oval drive to the bag drop where an attendant asks you your tee time and which course you are playing. After handing him a tip, he whisks your clubs away and directs you to the pro shop. The pro shop is at the southeast end of the clubhouse, which must be the size of a European railway station.

Eventually you arrive at the pro shop and are issued receipts and told to go downstairs to an underground cavern where the caddie master directs you to your cart or caddie (caddies are recommended on #2) and directs you to the driving range. With five golf courses right outside the clubhouse door, it is easy to lose your way. Each course has a starters house, but finding the right starter can be tricky. The practice area including the huge driving range and a half dozen putting/chipping greens is humongous. On a crowded day, it is the O’Hare Airport of Golf. I never saw so many golfers in one place in my life.

Pinehurst #2

I went over to the #2 course starter, gave him my papers and went off to the driving range a fair distance away. I was paired with a good golfer from Puerto Rico and a Japanese couple who are living temporarily in New York. We men teed off from the blues from where the course stretched to about 7000 yards (7252 for the Open). From the middle tees, the course measured about 6600 yards, and from the forward markers #2 played to about 5800 yards.

How good is Pinehurst #2? Nick Price once said that if he had only one course to play over and over it would be #2. Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus and many other notables have uttered similar superlatives. They love the course because it is, they say, pure golf, untricked up, and it offers a different challenge every time out. Pinehurst #2 is ranked second behind Pebble Beach of all U.S. courses.

Walking down the first fairway was admittedly a treat, especially when one thinks of the many famous feet that walked down this same hole. The course has very wide fairways and a modest number of fairway bunkers which pose little trouble if you are reasonably accurate. Thin stands of pines line all of the fairways but most are well back of play and pose little trouble as well. It is virtually impossible to lose your ball on this course.

As everyone knows, the real difficulty of the course is on and around the greens, which are relatively small and crowned. On most holes, if you don’t land your approach within a 4- to 5-yard radius of the pin, your ball could easily wind up in a bunker or down the steep collection areas that surround most of the putting surfaces. With the fringe kept shaved, you can putt from off the putting surfaces, but gauging how hard to hit your putt is very tricky. Chipping may be preferred but it doesn’t hurt to have Phil Mickelson’s touch. Also, many bunkers are quite deep.

The elevated 13th green at Pinehurst Resort's #2

The course from a visual standpoint is relatively unexciting. It is generally flat with only three noticeably elevated greens -- #3, #9 and #13. Most of the holes are straight. There are no water hazards. Among the holes of distinction are #3, a terrific short par 4 of 338 yards. The landing area on the right-hand side of this slight dogleg right hole is guarded by a cluster of deep bunkers. The elevated green is similarly well bunkered, presenting an intimidating shot, even with a wedge.

Hole 5 is widely regarded as one of the greatest and toughest par 4s in the country. At 485 yards from the back, it registered the fewest pars and birdies during the Open. The landing area is not the problem; it is very wide and if you catch the downslope (about 240 yards out) you can get quite a roll. Even so, you are left with a daunting long-iron into the slightly elevated crowned green with a very deep bunker on the front left and severely sloped collection areas off the front and the entire back side. I hit a 300 yard drive and was still left with a 4-iron into a quartering wind. My approach was ever so slightly off line to the right and slid down into the hollow. Fortunately I was able to putt close for my par.

I think #7 and # 9 are also among the best holes on the course. The 7th is a delight of a hole, not spectacular but very interesting. It measures 390-yards from the blues and doglegs at almost a 90 degree angle right. At the joint of the leg is a BB-gun cluster of four deep high-lipped bunkers. A bunker guards the left side at about 235 yards out.

The 9th is a fine par 3 of 189 yards to an elevated well bunkered green set amidst the pines. The green slopes severely back to front and left to right. A steep bunker guards the front left. This visually arresting hole can be a real devil, especially into the wind and with the pin placement upper left.

A lone pine stands sentinel over #2's crowned 15th green

The back 9 is not quite as interesting as the front. It kicks off with a 570-yard airport runway length par 5 and finishes with an uphill 18th of 443 yards (380 from the whites) to the green where Payne Stewart holed a 20 footer to beat Mickelson by one shot for the '99 Open title. In between are several long, straight par 4’s of no particular distinction, a fine short par 4 (the 13th) to an elevated seriously sloped green, a very long par 3 (the 15th) to a crowned affair that will reject all but the most accurate drives, and the 520-yard 16th, which played as a par 4 measuring 485 yards during the Open. When you play this hole that features a tight tree-lined approach, bear in mind that Tiger reached the elevated green with driver, 8-iron.

Pinehurst #2 is worth playing at least once for its historical value. It definitely exudes an aura. The greens and the constantly shifting winds through the pines make scoring to one’s handicap a real challenge. In this age of modern architectural contrivances, it is refreshing to play arguably the finest example of a classical course that we have in the States. When you encounter the greens, remember that Ross built them using teams of mules pulling drag-pans. And bear in mind that in his day the greens were composed of sand and didn’t have nearly the speed of today’s greens.

Several people who had played the course told me they were glad to play #2 once but wouldn’t want to play it repeatedly. They didn’t find it particularly scenic or interesting. Also, they said, prepare for a long round. Many people come here to experience every last stroke.

Continue for Pinehurst Resort #4 and Accommodations

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