Pinehurst #2 Finally Getting The Treatment It Deserves

If you ever bemoan the rankings, just remember they do serve a positive purpose as evidenced by Pinehurst #2's recent and well deserved plummet down the list for the architectural sterilization driven in part by a cattle-herd operational mentality which decided sandy pine scrub would slow down play. Seems they have gotten the message, because as Ron Green Jr. reports (thanks reader Gene), Coore and Crenshaw are being hired to return some soul to the place:

Tinkering with what is considered Donald Ross' masterpiece is a delicate matter, and Pinehurst president Don Padgett III is taking a careful approach.

He has consulted with Coore and Crenshaw as well as Mike Davis, senior director of rules and competitions for the USGA, who will oversee the set-up for the U.S. Opens.

"They are trying to develop a concept to restore the course to a lot of the original design criteria while, at the same time, have it be a championship venue for the Opens," Padgett said this week.

And...

The main alterations would involve bringing back more of the sandy areas dotted with wire grass off the fairways, places where there is now rough. It would be similar, Padgett said, to how the course was in the 1930s and 1940s when Ross lived in the area and worked on it.

"What people expect of No.2 has gone away," Padgett said. "I think they (Coore and Crenshaw) plan to bring that back."

Padgett said if the plan moves forward, it will be at least a year, maybe longer, before work begins.

"I'm just glad to be headed in the right direction," Padgett said.

Me too!