Video: Pinehurst No. 2's Second Hole

The opening hole at Pinehurst No. 2 offers a reward to those who lay up down the right side (if you prefer to hit into the length of the green instead of across the trouble, in this case a ridge). With No. 2's second hole, the prevailing wisdom says that Donald Ross' green rewards the opposite angle of approach from the left side of the wide fairway (doubled in width during the restoration by Coore and Crenshaw).

At 507 yards for the U.S. Open, it's long but plays slightly downhill. I still see many keeping driver in the bag because of a subtle pinch point, but the longer one can drive it here the better as the green seems better designed for a short iron or wedge. If there were one green I'd nominate for a deflating from too many years of becoming crowned, this would be the one.

I differ on this hole from State of the Game guest Ran Morrissett, whose excellent Pinehurst profile lauds the second as one of the finest in the country.