Pinehurst #2

[SooperLooper]

I'll be playing #2 in a couple of weeks. Any advice for me?

 

Quick facts: I'm in my fifties, currently have a 12 index, and drive the ball about 240. If there's any pro I'm sort of like, maybe Luke Donald. I can get a little erratic with my driver, but (for my handicap) I have a good short game.

 

I'm not looking to break any kind of personal record, but want to shoot a nice controlled round. Bogies are fine for me, but want to keep away from the blow-ups. I'll be playing with Marines coming over from Lejeune (including my son), and they like to crush the ball - - we will be playing from the blues. So my hope is show them how a wily-old-caddie can beat them around the course :-)

 

Besides keeping it in the fairway, is there any other course management or playing advice anyone has?

 

tia

[cottonseed]

My advice would be to play from the white tees. According to the scorecard at the link below the blues play 6900 yards. With a par of 70 that is a pretty long golf course if you are hitting it 240 off the tee. If you do play the blue tees I suspect you will be chipping around the greens quite a bit, so I'd be ready with a tight short game. I've played #2 a couple of times and the good news is that when the course is set up for resort play the greens are nowhere near as fast as when it is set up for the U.S. Open. Good luck and have fun!!!

[url="http://theitinerantgolfer.com/pinehurst-resort-no-2-course/"]http://theitinerantg...rt-no-2-course/[/url]

[dlygrisse]

Aim for the middle of the greens, every pin is a sucker pin unless it is middle, be able to hit a high bunker shot, bunkers are deep, work on your short game you WILL miss greens. Since the remodel the fairways are forgiving, but the angle to the green is key, think about your approach angle before teeing off, practice hitting off of sandy hard pan, have fun, get a caddy, and lag putting prowess is essential.

[HackerDave]

Use a caddie!! They will really help and make the experience special. It's been years since I was there but it's still memorable. Have fun

[XHoop24]

I played #2 this past Thursday and I would agree with all stated above. Work on your short game, bump and runs, flop shots, putts from off the green, etc. No course I've every played has challenged my short game like #2 did. At the starter house for #2, there is a practice green that is similar to the greens on the course. I would strongly suggest arriving early and heading to the practice green to work on the various short game options for the "crowned" greens. It can be difficult to simulate away from Pinehurst.

Also - I would agree that the blue tee's are going to be a serious challenge with 240 tee shots. I played the whites and hit it about 250 and it was all the challenge I could handle as a 14 HC. Regardless, enjoy the experience, its truly a championship layout.

[SooperLooper]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I would normally agree with playing the whites, and am not too proud (usually) to play it forward. But this time it's with Marines - - and I must, must play from the blues with them! I play fast so there won't be any issues slowing anyone down because of that.

We'll definitely be taking caddies (I looped for over 10 years myself, so I always have fun with my caddie). So I'll try for middle of the fairway/right position for the approach, and I will play for the middle of the green. I have decent experience with crowned greens, and I'm looking forward to the full #2 challenge.

[wrbush31]

I'll bet any money the conversation from the caddies goes like this.

"You ever played here before? No? You're playing the whites."

"I can drive the ball 310."

"That doesn't matter, you're playing whites."


I'm a fairly long hitter, not the big 330 average like most here, but good distance, and whites were enough of a struggle for me. The greens are tough to stick and are going to be even more difficult hitting hybrid-6 iron into the green. It's not the course to be proud on.

Also, the caddies will take you to the practice green and tell you what kind of chips to use.

It's a great course. Every single person in the group should just worry about really taking it in and enjoying the experience. That's the best part.

[Don Ross]

The fairways are quite dry and firm. A well placed drive will trampoline forward for significant additional yardage. Likewise, if drawing or fading it will roll out into the waste areas. I have heard that a caddie on #2 is worth 3 to 4 shots a round, maybe you should get two or three caddies

Last time I played I let the greens get to me. I left uphill putts significantly short. The greens will likley not be terribly fast. Uphill putts need to be hit firmly.

Also, be prepared to putt from well off the greens. A good caddie will tell you this.

[HackerDave]

I remember when I played there. I'm in the middle of the fairway and my caddie tells me "You can't hold the green from here. Play to the right so when the ball rolls down the collection area you will have a better chip to the hole" Yikes.

[Shemp]

Don't try to keep up with the Marines. Play from the whites, keep it in play and beat them to a pulp with your short game.

[NJGolfer33]

What ever you do just have fun. We played #2 this past Friday. The course is in great shape. We played from the whites, took caddies, and all had a blast, even though most of us did not hit the ball well. If you have an opportunity, get some guys together and play the 18-hole putting course near #4. It was a blast to play with a couple of beers and cigars. The pinehurst experience was great and I can't wait to plan another trip to the area.

[DLiver]

I played #2 yesterday, and it was really hard. I mean really hard. The greens were stumping at 10-1/2 when started, and the wind was blowing pretty good. By the time we made the turn, the greens were rolling at 11-1/2 or more, were hard as a rock and were getting syringed repeatedly. Getting the ball to stay on the green took the skill of a Mickleson with a healthy dose of devine intervention thrown in. I mean it was a really hard golf course. I played with a group of really good sticks who have played most of the top courses around the world, and everyone was floored by how hard the golf course was. If you had a really good short game, you could get it up and down about 1 out of 5 times. You needed to hit the ball with height, accuracy and spin or you were in for a long day.

The Coore/Crenshaw renovations are awesome. The changes look very natural, are quite subtle but add a nice strategic element to the long game.

Overall the course was in great shape. Despite the course being so difficult, everyone remarked that is was "a good difficult."

It was awesome! LOL