GolfClubAtlas.com > Golf Course Architecture
I wish more 6,300 yard courses were as dynamic as Pinehurst No. 2
Ran Morrissett:
Winter rates are here, so I play Pinehurst No. 2 every chance I get, including this past Saturday and the weekend before.
What has stood out these past nine days is the intriguing dichotomy between the par 5s and pars 3s. The par 5s (5, 8, 10, 16) from the white tees measure 462, 440, 455, and 478 yards. Even playing them in 45-50f weather, they can be had, though greens like the 5th and 8th produce John Daley-isque temper tantrums.
Conversely, the par 3s (6, 9, 15 and 17) are tough as nails. The same guy talented enough to reach the par 5s in two can easily double each of them (though the 17th is admittedly a notch easier than the three brutes before it).
I find it fascinating, especially because one always follows the other (the par 3 6th follows the par 5 5th, the par 3 9th is sandwiched between the par 5 8th and 10th, the par 3s on the back bookend the par 5 16th, etc.). The alternating prospects between hope and disaster holds great appeal and bizarre things are virtually guaranteed to happen in your group. Birdieing the 5th and then taking one shot more on at the 6th that is 300 yards shorter isn’t an unusual occurrence. Maybe the golfer battles back gamely at the 8th with another birdie only to see his universe implode at the 9th (which Phil H. hilariously dubbed an ‘upturned punchbowl green’ yesterday).
This attribute – which epitomizes give and take course set-up - crystalized as I witnessed firsthand the full gamut of scores. Below are the high and low scores over the 8 holes in question from my two rounds with six different sub-10 handicap golfers:
5 – birdie/double
6 – par/pick up
8 – birdie/ double
9 – par/ pick up
10 – near eagle but a birdie/triple
15 – birdie/double
16 – par/double
17 – par/double
In sum, lots of birdies and doubles and those 8 holes compromise 45% of the course. With such would swings of fortune available, the golfer is encouraged to stay engaged throughout the round. You are hitting in three woods in hopes of getting a birdie or eagle and then getting demolished with a 4-5-6-7 iron in your hand at the one shotters.
Which brings me to the point of the post: which courses in the ~6,300 yard range offer something similar?
The obvious one is Augusta National from the white tees but in the winter months, my limited experience is that the par 5s play much longer than the advertised distances. Reaching 13 and 15 in two is out of the equation and the downhill wedge into 15 is as hard as any 100 yard shot in golf so .... I am not sure that it counts. Royal Melbourne West comes close with its par 5s in providing opportunity but to me, only the 7th screams DOUBLE as loud as the par 3s at Pinehurst. As great as RM West 16 is, you still should get a 4. I thought of England - the home of 6,000 to 6,400 yard courses – but no set of one shotters stood out as similarly vicious to the ones at Pinehurst. How about Swinley Forest, you say, but it doesn’t have enough par 5s acting as a counter balance.
A few points: First, you can say par doesn’t matter and that some of these holes are really par 4s but … the fact is par does matter to the retail guest. It just does. Second, you can say this strategy applies to the bomber on every course (i.e. crush the par 5s and hang on during the par 3s). Well, okay but the bomber is playing one set back (the Blue tees at Pinehurst measure an additional 600+ yards and the US Open tees are 600 yards on top of the Blue tees). So, bombs away guys – let me know how it works from back there.
Yes, some things have changed with time (the 4th and 5th holes switched pars and 8 and 16 are treated as par 4s for events). Today’s agronomy renders the 6th and 9th at Pinehurst like Shinnecock Hill’s 11th: ‘the world’s shortest par 5’. Nonetheless, for decades, Pinehurst No. 2 has acted as a siren to the winter golfer. For people like you and me, the differences at Pinehurst are so stark between the 3s and 5s and none of it is wind-related. As a set, the par 5s average just under 460 yards. That is short but no one walks off the course thinking that they were pandered to and how easy that was. The par 3s average in length from the white tees 165 yards, which seems neither long nor short but do-able (unlike you play the 6th). Add it all up and you are playing a 6,300 yard course with gobs of possibilities.
I was on the phone last night with Jim Urbina and he puts Pinehurst No. 2 in his world top 6. Doak gave it a perfect 10 in The Guide. Kyle Franz told me he gives it a 10 too. You have the history, the soil and the greens but surely some of the affection that it stirs is derived from the variety that the 5s and 3s combine to present for the resort guest.
There might be a handful of courses that do the same (please identify them!) but I wish many more clubs/resorts could capture the dynamic nature of the holes on No. 2, all wrapped up in a 6,300 yard package.
Best,
Thomas Dai:
Not knowing the course firsthand I can’t really comment properly on your thoughts but I’ve just re-read the Pinehurst No2 Courses by Country profile - http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/pinehurst-no-2-2/ - and wow, what a stunning course! And the thought of playing such a course at winter rates in 45*f-50*f weather has me enviously itching to reach for my passport! :)
Atb
Steve Kline:
Doesn't it all come down to the amazing green complexes on the those 8 holes?
#5 - The damndest green to hit in two (I've only played as par 4 and that well over a hundred times). I think I've hit the green in two less then 10 times. You must hit the perfect shot, landing just short right of the green and using the slope at the green or the slope in the fairway to hit a slight draw. Counterintuitively, the best place to miss is long right for many pins.
#6 - Steep false front on the left, but you can run it up on the right. Deep bunker left, shallow bunkers right. Knob in the middle right portion of the green that can mess with you if you miss the green right or leave your tee shot on the front right. When the pin is past middle, long left is often the best miss.
#8 - You have just blasted your drive. You have a 4 to 6 iron into the green. You either have a slight downhill lie, promoting a block into the bunker or a slight uphill ball above your feet lie, promoting a hook. The only thing on your mind is DON'T GO LEFT OR LONG! Back pins can be extremely dangerous even with a wedge.
#9 - About an 8-iron from the 6,300 yard tees for me. False front on the right. Upper tier on the left with fronting bunkers and a steep drop off if you go long. If you are on the wrong tier (including off the green) par is hard to come by. If the pin is left, you are likely to be in the front bunker. If the pin is right, I seem to end up near the tenth tee a lot.
#10 - Just a long iron to the green, but don't long, left or right. Long is a really hard downhill pitch, even to front pins. The left and right bunkers are not terrible, but not easy up-and-downs. Put the pin back right or left and four becomes rather difficult.
#15 - Like #5, a really difficult green to hit. In some respects a mirror image of #5. Steep false front on the right with a deep bunker on the right. You can run it on from the left. Land a little too far onto the green and your run ball runs 5 to 10 yards over, leaving you with a not so easy pitch.
#16 - The longest par, leaving usually a 3-wood or hybrid. A narrow opening with an up slope makes it difficult to run it on. Mishit the shot a little and it's the easiest pitch to get close. I think this is the easiest green of the par 5s, but it's also the longest hole.
#17 - In my opinion, the easiest of the par 3s. But, the front bunker is not good as it is very deep. Perhaps a likely spot for those that realize the hole is slightly downhill but don't hit enough club. Green generally slopes back right to front left. You do have a bit of fairway there to miss it, leaving a straight forward up and down, but I rarely see anyone miss it there.
Interestingly, almost everyone of these eight holes will leave you hitting to the green with hybrid to 8 iron. So, while the course is 6,300 yards you aren't hitting a lot of wedges to greens. In fact, here are the holes I typically hit wedges to (this was a decade ago) - 1, 3, 12, and 13.
All the other par 4s resulted in some sort of hybrid to 8 iron shot. But, all of them were different.
I've been a plus handicap basically since I was 16. I've played the course from the white, blue, and Open tees. I've played back when it only had three sets of tees. I've never broken par on the course!
Great green complexes requiring different shots into the green are the way to defend par.
Jay Mickle:
As a senior golfer playing from the green tees at 5800 yards I find that the hazards that challenge those from the white tees are consequential for me also. When I moved up and realized this the course became significantly more fun to play and now I can enjoy the tests the green complexes present. That a course the stature of #2 can be relevant for golfers of such varied ages and abilities is a testimony to the talents of Donald Ross. The more I play it the more it grows on me.
[/size]A few years ago I had the great fortune to play it with architect/shapers Kyle Franz, Jaeger Kovitch and Benjamin Warren, it was a very humbling experience. Listening to their discussions of the subtleties of the architecture made me realize that so much of what we take for granted is so thoughtfully planned and executed. So much of what they appreciated I had never even considered. #2 is a work of art even if I cannot fully discern all of its nuances. I felt like a horseback rider looking at a shoe on a horse, pleased that it is there so that I can get on with my ride. As a horseshoer I can look a hoof with a shoe and discuss ad nauseam all of the minute factors that affect the evaluation of the work (you don't want to know). The more differentiations we are aware of in the world around us the greater our appreciation can be.
Tim Martin:
Heading down in February to play Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Tobacco Road and The Cradle. How much of a break cost wise do you get on # 2 in the Winter?
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