Pinehurst a U.S. Open course like no other

There is an old adage -- Be careful of what you wish for because you just might get it -- that will ring true at this week's U.S Open.

In past U.S. Opens contestants have complained bitterly, or suffered silently, over the extremely long grass surrounding virtually every green.

The players say the Open's ankle-deep rough, often just a step from the edge of the putting surface, takes away the short game and prevents them from saving par after a shot that just misses the green.

That will not be the case this week when the Open -- for the first time -- visits Pinehurst's historic No. 2 course, the pride and joy of architect Donald Ross, who built more than 400 courses in this country after emigrating from Scotland.

The keys to Ross's design are the rounded greens, often called "turtle-backed," and the mounds, swales and strategic sand bunkers surrounding them.

Ross, who designed the course in the 1930s and lived just off its second fairway until he died in 1948, intended the greens to be the primary defence against low scoring.

While relatively big, the putting surfaces offer only tiny target areas where a player can hit his approach shot and hope to keep the ball relatively close to the hole -- if he keeps it on the green at all.

Most of the greens -- all at least slightly elevated -- have rounded edges that will propel a ball off the green and into a swale, a bunker or up against a mound.

The good news, however, is that Ross intended the grass around the greens to be cut short, so a player has a chance to get up and down in two, if he executes his chip shot properly. However, a poor chip on many holes is likely to leave the ball in an even worse position.

The United States Golf Association, mercifully, has recognised the genius of Ross's design and left the Bermuda grass around the greens almost as short as the putting surfaces.

Players are universally delighted with the decision, and most have been looking forward to this Open since Pinehurst was announced as the venue in 1993.

"Pinehurst No. 2 might be the best chipping course in the world," says Ben Crenshaw, a two-time Masters champion and a keen student of the game.

"Fans get tired of constantly seeing us hack it out of long rough (at Opens)," said Mark O'Meara, winner of last year's Masters and British Open.

"It will add the element of imagination around the greens, and players like to use their imaginations," said Curtis Strange, who won the 1988 and 1989 Opens.

Strange won the 1975 and 1976 North and South Amateur on Pinehurst No. 2, where it will be played for the 99th time this year, and says he cannot wait to return for the Open.

Actually, Pinehurst has an outstanding golf history, despite never previously hosting a U.S. Open. In addition to the North and South Amateur, one of this country's top amateur events, No. 2 for many years was the venue for the North and South Open.

Ben Hogan registered his first professional victory in the North and South Open, joining other champions like Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Walter Hagen.

Pinehurst was also the venue for the 1936 PGA Championship, the 1951 Ryder Cup matches, the 1962 U.S. Amateur championship, the 1994 U.S. Senior Open and a number of other professional tournaments, including two PGA Tour Championships.

So what took the USGA so long to bring a U.S. Open here? The primary reason offered is that Bermuda grass, which proliferates in the heat and humidity of the Deep South, made the greens too slow and too bumpy.

But modern agronomy came to the rescue. Researchers at the USGA developed a new strain of bent grass, found mostly in the cooler North, that could withstand the south's searing summer heat and disease-promoting humidity.

When the Pinehurst resort built its eighth golf course in the mid-1990s, the new grass, called "Penn G-2," was used for its greens -- and the experiment worked. The resort and the USGA then rebuilt all 18 greens on No. 2, using early drawings, and seeded them with the new grass.

"I'm absolutely delighted with what we've accomplished," says USGA agronomist Tim Moraghan. "We have the finest championship in golf coming to one of the finest golf courses."

Still, Pinehurst No. 2 will not be a pushover for the 156 players who will test it starting on Thursday.

The USGA has narrowed most fairways, grown the thick Bermuda rough to a still-testing three inches along the fairways and lengthened the course to 7,175 yards while reducing par to 70 by converting two par-5 holes into par-4s.

Still, the genius of Donald Ross and his devilish greens should provide a unique and exciting championship.

"I can hardly wait," said Tom Meeks, the USGA's director of competitions. "It will be something we've never seen before."

Reuters