|
|
|
||
 |
|||
|
|
|
ESPN NETWORK:
ESPN.COM | NFL.COM | NBA.COM | NASCAR | NHL.COM | ABCSPORTS | FANTASY | STORE | INSIDER
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roberts: Greens will be the star By Jimmy Roberts Special to ESPN Golf Online June 13 11:35am ET | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Let's call the man "Deep Rough," my source at the United States Golf Association. We were chatting a couple of months ago about Pinehurst No. 2, site of the upcoming U.S. Open. Now remember, this is a place that the great Bobby Jones is said to have called "The American St. Andrews," a place which Jack Nicklaus calls "his favorite layout."
Donald Ross, the man who designed it -- and many other gems such as Oakland Hills, Seminole, and East Lake -- thought so much of Pinehurst No. 2 that he made his home off of its third fairway. By seemingly universal acclimation then, this place would seem to be unparalleled as an open venue. "I don't know," said Deep Rough. "Visually, I just don't think it's a terribly distinctive course. Outside of one or two holes, I think it's going to be very difficult for the fans at home to get a sense of what makes this place so special." In the world of blue blazers, such blasphemy could get a man excommunicated pronto. But the fact is, he's right. Pinehurst No. 2 is not a breathtaking sight like Pebble Beach. It does not offer the visual variety of a place like Augusta National where each hole looks and feels unmistakably different. I may get laughed right out of the press room for admitting this but, the day I played No. 2, I walked off the 18th green and had a hard time remembering what more than four or five holes looked like. But talk to the world's great golfers and they will tell you that's actually part of it's appeal. There's nothing tricky about it. No greens buttressed by railroad ties, not a single drop of water comes into play; there is a pond in front of the 16th tee, but it's only 175 yards maximum to clear it. It's just straightforward golf. What makes Pinehurst No. 2 special are two things, one almost imperceptibly subtle, the other apparent, but probably hard to see from anywhere but close-up. When it comes to sizing up a layout, the pros revere and the golf cognoscenti rave about something called shot value. In other words, how much precision does a course demand on each shot. Pinehurst demands a lot, but in a very subtle way. Put your drive on the side of the fairway where the route to the green is shortest and your approach may be over bunkers. From this angle too, the putting surface may be virtually inaccessible. But take the longer route in and you are faced with a much less treacherous shot. The choice is yours. What is not so subtle, but what may be hard to see on TV, is the topography of the greens. Their convex shape -- like putting on a bowling ball -- means that although the putting surfaces may be relatively large (average 6,000 square fee), the effective landing areas will be very small. Venture too near the wrong part of a green and you'll find yourself off that green. Precise iron play at the open is always important -- why do you think Hale Irwin won three times? -- but at Pinehurst it will be crucial. My guess is that the greens will be topic one all week long. What will also command a good deal of attention will be the areas surrounding the greens. If you've gotten this far into this column, my guess is that you already know that for the first time since probably the 1950s, the area immediately adjacent to the putting surfaces will not be comprised of the shaggy, unpredictable and penal rough that lines the fairway. Instead, the swales and valleys around the greens will be shaved down to just about fairway length. For the players, this means one thing primarily: options: flop shots, bump and run, putting from off the green. There will be no right way or wrong way when it comes to the short game. But make no mistake, the greens will be the star. They are Pinehurst No. 2's most distinctive characteristic. And if there isn't too much rain and they are rolling at typical Open speed, we could see some real ugliness out there. "Deep Rough" wouldn't say so, but we've heard elsewhere that some people at the United States Golf Association are actually concerned that this place could end up being too hard.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
|||