Pinehurst No. 10 is a wild, amazing experience.
GOLF
In the fast-growing world of destination golf, one destination qualifies as a true American classic: Pinehurst.
As Pinehurst No. 2 is enjoying Bryson and Rory's historic debut this summer at the US Open, the magnificent golf course flowed just outside the resort's gates. In August, as Pinehurst's sweltering summer heats up, GOLF editors James Colgan and Josh Sens tour the region to find “everything else” — 2 great golf, cool tourist spots, and yes, I mean and a local favorite Martini (or three).
This is the second part of that series, following a discussion of another major local tournament host: Pine Needles.
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I played Pinehurst No. 10 for the first time in April and I almost immediately regretted it.
To be honest, the fault was mine alone. Pinehurst's newest golf course was everything it was billed to be: exciting, creative, eye-catching and thought-provoking. I thought its performances were friendlier than anything I had experienced in the Pinehurst area, and I found its diversity unusually beguiling. In my mind, it easily achieved the difficult task of being completely different from anything (already loaded) in the North Carolina Sandhills region.
There was only one problem: It was too long.
To the eyes of the flesh, that seemed impossible. Pinehurst No. 10 was a par-70 golf course with drivable par-4s and a pair of near-100-yard par-3s. But as I turned to the par nine, I found something concerning development on my scorecard: This par-70 golf course with drivable par-4s and par-4s that are nearly 100. it was again somewhat more than 7,000 feet long from the tips.
Where was the distance? I was about to find out.
The next five holes – holes 10-14 – knocked me out of my mind. In order of trickery: 265-yard par-3 (almost everyone plays driver), two 500-yard holes, 600 yards on 5, and a 180-yard par-3 where “anything left is dead,” said course designer Tom Doak.
When the stretch was over, it occurred to me that I hadn't played anything shorter than a 6 iron in over an hour.
“It's a par-70,” Doak said with a maniacal grin. “But we'll get those two guns somehow.”
Unfortunately, I didn't take much time to appreciate Doak's comments — I was talking quietly about the state of my golf game, and the sheer number of high, long-distance shots I'd attempted and failed in the past 90 years. minutes.
My day on the white-green combo tees — about 6,600 yards — gave me a glimpse of all the good things No. 10 had to offer, but it would also teach me something else: I was happy to be there, but I went in. it was not fun.
It didn't take long to realize how stupid that idea was. I was playing one of the coolest new golf courses in the world, for my workand I was able to understand what was fun and exciting about it. Why was I letting the pride of sporting blue-white combo tees make me happy?
I drove up the 18th fairway, looked back at the wild landscape around me – the towering pine trees and the huge dunes, its happy habitat and amazing concerts – and silently made a deal with myself.
If I ever come back hereI said, I'm going to play this differently.
Thankfully, it took all of four months before the opportunity arose again. This time, I was back at Pinehurst No. 10 with Josh Sens, senior GOLF writer and amazingly gifted golfer, and we were given a job: See the best that Pinehurst has to offer. outside of Number 2.
As we drove to the course, I explained my plan for the day to Josh. Pinehurst No. 10 is a sprawling piece of land with about half the tee options on any hole, I said, so. ours the goal was simple: maximize fun. Play a match against the goal of playing the most exciting, exciting hole imaginable — whether it's the one from the tee box to the front par-4, or the tippy tips on the mammoth 600-yarder.
And so, for the better part of the next three hours, that's exactly what the two of us did – exploring the various features of the golf course with nothing but our own amusement in mind. We played the 14th, 265-yard par-3, from the tips, blasting drivers down the chute in hopes of staying one green. We played the fourth, a short par-4 with two thimble-like bunkers in the fairway, from the forward tees, turning it into a risk-reward shot when the fairway in the upper left corner counted.
On the 17th hole, a tricky par-3 over some of the only water on the course, we turned our tee box to encourage a hero shot to extend our game. On the 16th, a par-4, we chose our fairway based on a short walk from the previous green.
It was curious to think of golf this way; as a pursuit in happiness again for leisure instead of the basis of competitive integrity. But it was also strangely comforting. Our game odds weren't that bad, but our intellectual connection to our round was great. (Basically, a matching game to encourage (this plot, since we both played in the same boxes.)
By the time my second round on No. 10 was over, I was sure I had more fun there than any golfer alive. It was a hell of a change from the experience I had four months earlier, but I couldn't say it was a miracle. As we left the course that August morning, Josh summed it up perfectly.
“If you're in Pinehurst, you're probably here with friends, and maybe you're here to have fun,” he said. “I hope a lot of people do what we did.”
And what did we do?
We are having fun.
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