Pinehurst #2—Pinehurst, NC
Rankings as of 3/28/2011...
-32nd best course in the US, 6th best public course in the US, 2nd best course in NC, 32nd toughest course in the
US (Golf Digest)
-11th best course in the US, 19th best course in the world, 5th best public course in US (Golf Magazine)
-17th best classic course, 5th best resort course, #1 public course in NC (Golfweek)
I had the pleasure of playing #2 last year (2010) and then playing it again right after the Coore and Crenshaw
renovations in 2011. To be clear, I absolutely loved the course in 2010. The green complexes were really good
and the choice of attack angles to the green were crucial for success. But after the renovations the golf course
just might be the very best in the world. I say “just might be” because I haven’t played every course in the world
and, of course, most judging of golf courses is purely subjective. Therefore, by definition, it is dependent on each
person’s own taste. But regardless, the “new” Pinehurst #2 certainly deserves mention in the discussion of the
world’s best.
I’ll save the hole by hole description of the course and simply guide you to The Sandhills Insider for that
information, as that site is quite simply THE best source for Pinehurst related information. But I will point out the
key differences from last year’s version to this year’s version.
1) With the changes to rough areas and bunkering, the strategies of the holes were more obvious. For example,
attack the green from the right side of fairway;
2) Along those lines the risk/rewards seemed excellent, that is if you had to attack a green from the right side of
the fairway, the more severe rough and fairway bunkers were on that side;
3) The greens seemed to be more sculpted. The people that I talked to at Pinehurst said C&C didn't touch the
greens, but I think a bit differently. And in a few of my photos I think you can see some changes to the greens;
4) With these changes the holes are more memorable and not jumbled together in my mind.
Hole #1...
Hole #3...
Hole #13
Hole #16
