Doral vs. Castle Stuart From The Air

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Turfundeground’s Eric J. von Hofen shot this footage of Doral and I hoped it would look better, but it actually looks even more tired and ordinary than it really is. On the ground it has moments, though I haven't seen this year's changes. Then again, any course that has to be tinkered with nearly annually just isn't really worthy of much architectural discussion, is it?
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It's Up To Arnie To Restore Pebble Beach's 14th Green

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Jim McCabe tells us how the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach came to be announced and slips in this about the 14th green.

Harper said they will hold tickets at 37,500, the same as 2010, but one thing that won’t be the same come 2019 is Pebble Beach’s diabolical 14th green.

“It will be rebuilt according to USGA specs,” Perocchi said, though he emphasized it’s part of Pebble’s long-range plan to convert all of its greens. The 14th as it currently sits presents an enormous challenge to players, even with wedges in their hands. There’s very little room to land approach shots to an elevated left side, and the right side is very low and hole locations are virtually non-existent.

Perocchi said Arnold Palmer – not only an icon, but part of the group that owns Pebble Beach – will oversee development of a plan for the 14th. Expect an expansion of the upper left side of the green, as well as a softening of the steep slope to the right. No decision has been made as to when the changes will be made, but Perocchi said it probably would be in the next two to four years.

"People make the mistake of thinking golf on the PGA Tour is what American golf is."

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Australian Golf Digest's Rohan Clarke interviews Mike Clayton and they post a preview online. A couple of highlights:

People make the mistake of thinking golf on the PGA Tour is what American golf is. America is full of incredible golf courses but it's a huge mistake to think tour golf is what American golf is. Tour golf is entertainment golf, that's not American golf. Those courses don't rate in terms of the great American golf courses.

And this on Royal Melbourne:

The middle of the fairway was never the best place to play to the hole from. You always had to go to the edges to get to the best line because the greens were hard and it was windy. I guess you just grow up thinking that's what all golf is like. You watch golf now and it's just hit the fairway, hit it between the lines. Kick field goals between the posts. So my philosophy is shaped initially by Royal Melbourne, which was the best example of what golf was about in Melbourne. I played St Andrews in 1984 and you get totally confused by that place. You see there's no rough, really. Figure it out for yourself where to play. So my philosophy is don't tell anyone where to go. Don't dictate to the player anything. Just give them space and let them figure it out for themselves where best to play it. So if they're strong at one part of the game, they can use that strength somewhere.

Pinehurst #2 Like You've Never Seen It!

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Now, when you watch these two videos posted by the Pinehurst PR team on the day of their official restoration website launch, there are a couple of things to look at:

A) Look at just how hideously the course had evolved. Even though bunker locations haven't been touched by Coore, Crenshaw and the "boys" on this job (which I know includes the great Dave Axland), note how the simple loosening of the edges already lends a feel of naturalness to the place that had been lost. It'll only get better over time.

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