Old is New at this Year’s U.S. Open
That’s a long one! This year’s U.S. Open is a stretch even for the pros. All eyes will be on the 7,500 yard Pinehurst 2 in a month, when USGA throws down the gauntlet for not just one, but both the men’s and women’s challenges this year, a first in USGA history. But with this novelty and a few fresh faces, we also get a taste of history revisited. Legendary golf course architect Donald Ross designed the course in 1907 with the idea of combining the natural elements of North Carolina’s topography and Scottish link philosophy. Over the last half century, Bermuda grass greens crept outward, taking over, and much of Ross’s vision faded into rolling but according to some, mundane fields. In anticipation of this year’s tournament, the two-man restoration team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have reverted much of the sprawling turf to local wiregrass and starved the edges in order to blend lush center-lines with the browning periphery. In doing so, they’ve halved the amount of turf, as well as the number of sprinkler heads, on Pinehurst 2, a nod to the growing trend toward sustainability in the industry.
The big guns will be flexing on this long, par 72 course, but they can’t just blast with abandon, since the renovations have made the lanes seem wider but are actually a bit tighter and more technical due to a greater variety of angles and approach options; the older veterans should do well here. They will get a break on the widened fairways though, another homage to Ross’s original layout. Crenshaw and Coore further restored Ross’s original course by leveling some of the more severe grades. They rebuilt the bunkers and dethatched the remaining greens, thus calming some of the more drastic undulations brought on by time and play.
It’s truly a year of firsts for the USGA, as they’ve seen record applications for the Open break 10,000 for the men and 1,700 for the women. The excitement surrounding the event is already being felt in Pinehurst. Phil Mickelson mentioned that he couldn’t get a tee time to perform the pre-tourney analysis he likes to do. "I've tried to get down there three times now, and the course has been booked all three times, so I don't know when I'll get down there,” he told reporters. It’s easy to see the fervor rising along with the temperature as the time draws nigh for a worthy few to take a long walk in the North Carolina sand hills.
Author: Malcolm Provost; Assitant Director of Manufacturing
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