First I want to give the USGA major props for having a super, I mean a super duper organized event. Everything was well thought out...from parking, trolleys to the gates and a quick ticket scan and I was in. Once inside and standing on the hallowed ground of Pinehurst, you could feel the excitement of what is surely going to be a tournament to remember. However, unlike the Masters, you better bring an empty credit card if you want to get something to drink or eat. My buddy ordered a beer (none for me of course as I was an angel) and for a quick second I thought I was in South Beach when she told him what he owed. Yet, just like South Beach you sorta expect it.
Walking amongst the golfing world and just listening you can learn a lot. If you just listen, most of the time people have no problem telling you how they feel. What I heard more often than not is how "fried, baked, burnt, scorched, toasted, or ruined" the USGA can really make a golf course. There is a huge gap between how the USGA and Joe Public thinks a course should be set up to play. I've also been bouncing around on my social media sites checking in with my online family and even with the people who have an idea about golf there is a wide difference of opinion. My environmentalist leaning friends are saying "brown is good and that's the way it's supposed to be" while my more moderate friends are understanding of what the USGA has done to the course, but don't believe it's a setup that will be tolerated outside of a special event.
In the USGA's defense I will say that anyone vying for a Saturday or Sunday slot could of played the old #2 and won if they were striking the ball and rolling greens well. The course just didn't penalize the player much for not making every shot perfect. With the course setup the way it is now, with the massive roll literally everywhere, only the very best player that has their ENTIRE game finely tuned into the course will win. I saw so many perfect shots in the middle of the fairway make a puff of dust when it landed and then roll 30 yards right into the junk. So just because you hit a shot that 90% of the time would be a great, during this tournament it might end up horribly bad.
Here's my take on the debate. I like what the USGA has done. Remember, this tournament is to find out who the very best player is in the world right now. This course, the way it is setup is punishing! At 7500 yards and a par 70, it's borderline capital pumisent for even a good golfer. For those who qualified to play this weekend, it's going to be extremely hard, but not punishing. But there's a difference between the US Open and everyday... and I think even Pinehurst knows it.
This setup isn't sustainable for regular golf. I'm not talking environmentally sustainable, I'm talking business sustainable. When us Joe Public, mid to high handi-cappers play golf we have a hard enough time hitting the ball straight, let alone trying to hit it 300+ yards to a rock hard, no grass, ultra tight, 20 yard wide fairway. Also, us divots whacking Hall of Fame wanna be's want to have fun. It's that birdie or the 3 wood that stops on green that keeps us coming back. Our expectation isn't to have a perfect round, although we'd love to, it's to have a chance at the high five or the "nice shot" which rings in our ears as fuel to press on with a game that can drive a man mad. If people had to play this sort of setup all the time they'd walk away from the game (even Bubba said so today on live tv), that's how hard Pinehurst #2 is setup. Sure they might come play the course once, maybe twice just to say they tried to concour it, but after walking away feeling like they got beat with a rubber hose they wouldn't come back. All of this isn't even considering the amount of damage maintaining a course this way will do if you run 30-40,000 rounds over the nearly dead grass. Golf, like any business, can't sustain itself without loads and loads of repeat customers. So in the interest of trying to find our nation's champion, Pinehurst, which has the ability to become a course with serious teeth to fight back, and the USGA, who has the expertise to setup a course to separate the men from the boys, have combined their assets to create a special event. This is a setup that will be far and few between because there's only one #2, but also remember this is a resort course. Which means they want people to want to play it, not get abused by it.
I have been told that directly following the women's open that the bent grass greens are going to be replaced with MiniVerde. On that following Monday after the women finish up I'd almost guarantee you that the Irrigation system won't be shutting off for a few days. When #2 opens back up and the people come back to play, they'll want a glimpse of the course's fury, but not all of it. Pinehurst knows this and that's what they'll give them. The course itself, in superior shape, is hard enough. So don't expect it to stay burnt, baked and crispy for very long after the Pros leave.
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