A Pleasure, A Penance, A Pilgrimage (Pinehurst No. 2)

Pinehurst No. 2 is one of the most revered golf courses in the world. It's hosted the PGA Championship. It's hosted Ryder Cup. It's hosted the U.S. Open in 1999, 2005, 2014 and 2024. It's now an anchor site for the U.S. Open. It's hosted the prestigious North & South Amateur since 1901 and the Women's North & South Amateur since 1903. The USGA selected Pinehurst as the site for its second headquarters. It was designed by Donald Ross. It's situated near the heart of the Village of Pinehurst. It is the heart of Pinehurst Resort and Country Club. And it's one of America's premier championship courses and one of golf's ultimate pilgrimages.

A Historical Overview

The story of Pinehurst No. 2 begins in the early 20th century when Donald Ross, a Scottish immigrant and golf course architect, was commissioned to create a course that would be both challenging and fair. Ross began his work in 1907 and continued to refine the course until his death in 1948. His vision and meticulous attention to detail are evident in every aspect of Pinehurst No. 2.

Ross was initially supposed to be the architect of Augusta National along side Bobby Jones. However, in the 1929 U.S. Amateur, when Jones lost his first round match, he ventured over to Cypress Point (the tournament was at Pebble Beach) and he was enamored with what he saw. After playing Cypress, Jones selected that course's designer Alister MacKenzie would be Augusta's architect.

Donald Ross was not happy to learn of this change, and redesigned and reworked his famed Course No. 2. According to the resort, at this time in the mid 1930s, Ross added the fourth and fifth holes while abandoning two of the weaker holes. He rebuilt the greens and converted them to bermuda grass from their original sand surfaces. He added tees. He added bunkers. He was not going to let a new course in the south upstage No. 2's reputation.

The Design Philosophy

Arriving at the main clubhouse at Pinehurst just reveals a golfing heaven. Course No. 2 is not even visible from the entrance from the parking lot, but The Cradle is. The exposed sand on The Cradle, the resort's par-three course, gives golfers the sense of excitement, anticipation, and the challenge that awaits them at No. 2.

Ross's design philosophy centered around creating a course that integrated seamlessly with the natural landscape. He believed that a golf course should "appear as if it had always been there." Pinehurst No. 2 is a perfect example of this principle. The routing of the course is a pleasant walk, not too challenging and uses the mild contours of the land very well.

The sign at the first tee of the No. 2 course describes Ross' thoughts about the course.

I sincerely believe this course to be fairest test of championship golf I have ever designed. It is obviously the function of the championship course to present competitors with a variety of problems that will test every type of shot which a golfer of championship ability should be qualified to play. Thus it should call for long and accurate tee shots, accurate iron play, precise handling of the short game, and finally, consistent putting.

Donald Ross describes his famed No. 2 course on a sign next to the first tee.

The Strategic Challenge

Pinehurst No. 2 is not a course that relies on length or brute strength to challenge golfers. The four par fives (for resort play, the US Open has only two par fives) from the white tees are all under 500 yards. The course tests every aspect of a player's game. The wide fairways offer generous landing areas, but the strategic placement of bunkers and natural hazards requires careful planning and precise execution.

The greens are the heart of Pinehurst No. 2's challenge. Commonly describe as turtlebacks or upside down saucers, the greens also feature with spines and ridges to further complicate approach shots or pitches and chips. These slops also turn what appears to be a straightforward putt into a daunting task. The need for precision extends to approach shots, as the greens and surrounding slopes can easily repel anything but the most accurate shots. Sometimes a chip shot will come right back to a player's feet; other times, it will bound down the other side of the green. It can be demoralizing and humiliating.

Playing Pinehurst No. 2

One of the critiques of Pinehurst No. 2 is that many of the holes appear similar. This is certainly an understandable observation: the holes are all lined with native areas and wiregrass, the greens are all inverted and repel poor shots into low collection areas or bunkers. And it may be true that there is not one truly stand out hole, but No. 2 is a collection of good to great golf holes. And when playing the course, each hole offers a unique challenge.

The course begins to the far left of the clubhouse, away from the hub of activity that is the driving range (delightfully called Maniac Hill), the Thistle Dhu putting course, the Cradle short course, and the groups of golfers with their clubs and carts headed to Course Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5, which are also all headquartered at the resort's main clubhouse. It feels like No. 2 is unimportant in that regard, that Pinehurst's premier course is tucked away and not on display.

The first hole is often called a gentle handshake, a design philosophy often attributed to Ross. The quote may actually be that a first hole should be a firm handshake. Regardless of the quality of handshake, the first opening hole welcomes players to the course by showcase the course's features.

The third hole is the shortest par four on the course, but by no means the easiest. A fairway bunker pinches in the landing area requiring golfers to consider laying up or trying to give it a little extra hit to carry. The green is brutal with its contours and surrounds, and anything long of the green will roll and roll (and roll) to a place where it will be a difficult up and down.

This bunker cuts into the landing area at the third hole, complicating tee shots. The approach isn't much easier.

The third green, fourth tee, fifth green, and sixth tee, all come together and form a little hub. These holes are amongst the most difficult of the course. During a US Open, it is a great place to watch the tournament.

The sixth hole is the first par three. It plays 200 yards from the blue tee, 178 from the white tee, and 240(!) from the U.S. Open tee. It may be the first time a player is hitting a long iron from a lie other than the sandy native area. Bunkers catch directionally-challenged shots while a severe false front repels weak shots.

The ninth is the shortest par three but proper club selection is vital. The two-tiered green with the upper tier on the left has slopes behind the green and to the right of the green. Bunkers short of the green will leave a difficult recovery.

The ninth hole doesn't offer much room for error from the tee.

After the 10th hole, golfers come to The Nest, the shared halfway house of Course Nos. 2 and 4. Picking up the signature cocktail, The Woodpecker, named after a bird native to the sandhills and on the endangered species list, may cure some wounds.

The Nest is the shared halfway house at Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 4, modeled after the original clubhouse.

The 13th hole is an uphill par four that bends slightly right around a deep fairway bunker on the inside of the dogleg. An approach shot that comes up short (or even on the front part of the green) will roll back down the fairway some 20-30 yards.

The 13th hole at No. 2 is a classic, uphill dogleg, with a deep bunker in the corner of the turn.

The 14th hole parallels the previous hole and runs back down the hill. Any approach too far right will run into a native sandy area.

The 15th and 17th are the two par threes on the back nine, and the last two reasonable chances to earn the famed Deuce coin, a souvenir coin given to golfers who make a two on any hole on Course No. 2.

The final hole at Pinehurst No. 2 climbs slightly uphill back toward the clubhouse. The Payne Stewart statue visible behind the green is the ideal target line for the tee shot. With onlookers from the Deuce restaurant and patio behind the 18th green, the approach becomes a little more nervy, even without considering the deep left and short right greenside bunkers.

The approach to the 18th hole is challenging enough. Add in all the onlookers from patio at the Deuce and the shot gets even more nervy!

Pinehurst No. 2 is a difficult, challenging, championship-caliber course. It scars amateur and professional golfers alike. It creates a statistic applicable only at Pinehurst: greens visited in regulation.

A trip to Pinehurst No. 2 is not complete without posing with Payne.

But at the end of the round, golfers raise a glass - perhaps of the delicious Pivoted IPA from Pinehurst Brewing Company - to their day the course. They'll post with the Payne Stewart statue. And they'll do all that with a smile on their face. Because while Donald Ross said that "golf should be a pleasure, not a penance" and many feel that Pinehurst No. 2 is a penance, the pleasure of the course also shines brightly.