More golf courses should learn that lesson. I live in Colorado, and courses here tend to have thick, lush, watered rough. Making the rough more like the native prairie would make for a more interesting challenge and greatly reduce the amount of (scarce) water that golf courses require.
It frankly looked terrible in '14 because the groundcrew didn't water the fairways. The contrast with the green short grass and the tan waste areas looks nice in flyover videos and scenic pictures, but they let the fairways brown out last time around and it wasn't a good aesthetic. I'd also like to see some more rough in places. It would help add to the strategy of the course.
@@gwilson314 The fairways were a bit like brick in 2014. Wie was hitting low, chokedown fairway woods off tees and the ball was running forever. They could water the course a bit more and still meet the "hard and fast" standard of play. But I don't think watered rough make sense for the course. It would only serve to stop balls from going into the native areas, which are the key defense of the course. "Rough" is supposed to mean unmaintained, not watered grass that hasn't been mowed recently.
Native grass clumps create shot-shaping necessities. Is the clump forcing a draw, or a fade? Must the ball be played high or low, because of its relationship to a clump? These are the things that make golf memorable. I would even venture clumps of grass are better than trees, because the ball can still be hit in the air.
I don't want to see low scores at the 2024 U.S. Open. I want it to be brutal. I just watched Scottie Schefler win the 2024 Memorial, and his 4 day total was less than 10 under. I'd like to see a winning number less than that. Par or just a few under is what I hope for. If someone wins the U.S. Open at 10 to 15 under, I will be disappointed.
I played this course twice the first spring after the renovation. Incredible experience. It’s almost impossible to lose a ball off the tee, it’s beautiful, strategic and challenging. Get a caddie, enjoy the walk.
Well done Bill and Ben and for the owner being brave and getting it back to how it should be. I played it in 1980 when I was 17 years old and it was much more like it is now. Ogilvy speaks a lot of sense and the middle of the fairway should never be the best position. St Andrew's is like that, you can hit it as far left as you want but the second shot will be much harder. 17th is a prime example, if you keep as far right as you dare over the hotel and sheds the 2nd shot is much easier to miss the road hole bunker. Donald Ross would be very pleased and too many great courses have been ruined by people not knowing what they are doing. Played against Ben Crenshaw in the 1983 Ryder Cup and he was a great choice for Pinehurst number 2.
This was magical. Great work that makes me even more excited for the US Open. Also this is the first long video my 7-month-old daughter has sat all the way through, so even more thanks.
Amazing video all around. Can't believe you only have just under 24k subs. Loved seeing the transformation of the course told by Bill. Invaluable firsthand knowledge into the recreation of a gem of a course.
I love it that on one major per year, the challenge is extreme. They all play the same course, and face the same challenge. It OUGHT to be the most stressful tournament, which makes it all that much sweeter to come out on top. What a treat we hackers will have this week!
Great arrangement to show how the renovation took place and their goals. Maybe not a restoration for the greens but they took the best of the history and made it the best it could be today.
Pinehurst #2 is a great American golf course. It’s a bit surprising to me that it didn’t get a U.S. Open until 1999. It’s a great U.S. Open golf course because it really challenges the pros around the greens, which they don’t see at all week in and week out.
I've been thinking about joining Club TFE for the architectural breakdown videos. How indicative is this of the rest of the architectural videos that you produce?
I’d say this course, pebble, and now Bethpage are the US open trifecta. Because neither one of them are typical parkland green grass everywhere golf like a Torrey or Merion or Oakmont or something like that. I played Bethpage this past year and it was just. You feel like you’re surrounded is a good way to describe it. My stepdad has played this iteration of No. 2 and being a mid 70s shooter at home he said breaking 90 would be a feat even as well as he hit it that day. Amazing courses we have for this tournament.
Pinehurst belongs in the class of Merion & Oakmont, but Bethpage, Pebble, & Torrey are much closer to the old version of No. 2 than the restored one. Pebble could really be something with a proper restoration, but due to never-ending resort play at over $500/round for the current iteration I'm sure it'll never happen.
@@Huddle_House56 Based on history I'd only put Oakmont, Merion, Shinnecock, & Pebble in the class of quintessential US Open courses. Honorable mention at this point to No. 2, but I think it will eventually join the four elites based on future events scheduled.
Great courses and definitely a big part of the event’s history, but today considered “old guard” in terms of US Open courses. Look at future venues for proof of this.
Yeah, really up close and personal look at the challenges the top pros will be facing off extreme back tees at the US Opens….amazing how old style GB &I links upturned saucer greens are the best and most difficult courses!! So two main difficulties…crazy wastelands with those grassy tufts just off fairway replaces for the most part traditional ruff and then entry into these crazy slopy greens with a mid iron!!!???? Yeah…uhm….its just amazing to me that anyone who shoots under par can actually do that. Ive seen a few videos where regular 5 to 10 handicappers have go e for a 36 hole stretch in one day on this course and have come off so demoralized that they want to cry..US OPEN 2024…should be fun for us mere mortals to watch the punishment dished out to these pros….its like I spit on your grave revenge rape punishment but in golf!!!! LOL LOL😂
who ever designed a golf course with so many 500 yard par 4's?...and those are to crowned unplayable greens... what a shame to ruin good golf courses for 'novelty golf' that we have today.
Vehemently disagree. Mowing lines were a joke. There's too much green in US championship golf as is. Now it is representative of the region and plays firm enough to warrant the title of the Old Course of the US.
I thought so at first. But the more I thought about it, the new (old) design is way better. The way it looked in '99, you couldn't discern it from Merion, Oakmont, or Winged Foot.
@@gwilson314 Three guys broke par in 2014! The penalty for missing the fairway is hitting off a sandy lie. Some lies are more penal than others but they're definitely more difficult than the fairway. Way more variance than rough. And did you watch the PGA? Valhalla had rough, was super green and was the most embarrassing major setup I can remember seeing.
It just looks so much better when it’s not just grass
More golf courses should learn that lesson. I live in Colorado, and courses here tend to have thick, lush, watered rough. Making the rough more like the native prairie would make for a more interesting challenge and greatly reduce the amount of (scarce) water that golf courses require.
It frankly looked terrible in '14 because the groundcrew didn't water the fairways. The contrast with the green short grass and the tan waste areas looks nice in flyover videos and scenic pictures, but they let the fairways brown out last time around and it wasn't a good aesthetic. I'd also like to see some more rough in places. It would help add to the strategy of the course.
@@gwilson314
The fairways were a bit like brick in 2014. Wie was hitting low, chokedown fairway woods off tees and the ball was running forever. They could water the course a bit more and still meet the "hard and fast" standard of play.
But I don't think watered rough make sense for the course. It would only serve to stop balls from going into the native areas, which are the key defense of the course. "Rough" is supposed to mean unmaintained, not watered grass that hasn't been mowed recently.
Native grass clumps create shot-shaping necessities. Is the clump forcing a draw, or a fade? Must the ball be played high or low, because of its relationship to a clump? These are the things that make golf memorable. I would even venture clumps of grass are better than trees, because the ball can still be hit in the air.
Fantastic work, Andy. The only bad thing is that I wish it was longer than 20 minutes.
This is excellent commentary by Ogilvy. This guy is dialed
Such good work. Really enjoyed it.
Also, bill coore is the goat. Anytime he shares thoughts/wisdom, it's always a treat.
More Bill Coore please !
This is always the answer
Spectacular work as always. This US Open is going to be a real treat.
What an incredible difference. An absolute masterpiece of a restoration. Coore and Crenshaw are geniuses
I don't want to see low scores at the 2024 U.S. Open. I want it to be brutal. I just watched Scottie Schefler win the 2024 Memorial, and his 4 day total was less than 10 under. I'd like to see a winning number less than that. Par or just a few under is what I hope for. If someone wins the U.S. Open at 10 to 15 under, I will be disappointed.
It has been a blast watching Fried Egg Golf's video game level up over the years. One of the best yet!
This is absolutely incredible. Amazing work, TFE team.
I played this course twice the first spring after the renovation. Incredible experience. It’s almost impossible to lose a ball off the tee, it’s beautiful, strategic and challenging. Get a caddie, enjoy the walk.
Well done Bill and Ben and for the owner being brave and getting it back to how it should be. I played it in 1980 when I was 17 years old and it was much more like it is now. Ogilvy speaks a lot of sense and the middle of the fairway should never be the best position. St Andrew's is like that, you can hit it as far left as you want but the second shot will be much harder. 17th is a prime example, if you keep as far right as you dare over the hotel and sheds the 2nd shot is much easier to miss the road hole bunker. Donald Ross would be very pleased and too many great courses have been ruined by people not knowing what they are doing. Played against Ben Crenshaw in the 1983 Ryder Cup and he was a great choice for Pinehurst number 2.
This was magical. Great work that makes me even more excited for the US Open.
Also this is the first long video my 7-month-old daughter has sat all the way through, so even more thanks.
The more I learn about this course the faster it is becoming one for the bucket list xx
Awesome video. I enjoyed the soundtrack just as much as the description of the course’s history.
More architecture videos please! The podcast is great but I miss TFE’s steady output of insane quality videos like this.
Really enjoyed this video. Great mix of commentary. Thank you.
Amazing video all around. Can't believe you only have just under 24k subs. Loved seeing the transformation of the course told by Bill. Invaluable firsthand knowledge into the recreation of a gem of a course.
The shot at Valhalla at 5:17 is well played.
Absolutely loved this!
I love it that on one major per year, the challenge is extreme. They all play the same course, and face the same challenge. It OUGHT to be the most stressful tournament, which makes it all that much sweeter to come out on top. What a treat we hackers will have this week!
Great arrangement to show how the renovation took place and their goals. Maybe not a restoration for the greens but they took the best of the history and made it the best it could be today.
this is awesome stuff guys
Love hearing Ogilvy talk about great courses.
Pinehurst #2 is a great American golf course. It’s a bit surprising to me that it didn’t get a U.S. Open until 1999. It’s a great U.S. Open golf course because it really challenges the pros around the greens, which they don’t see at all week in and week out.
This is well done. Thank you!
Bill Coore is hands down my favorite person in golf
Great production. Great video. Thanks
We love you Andy…. Thank you for
Very interesting. Thank you!
I'm in two minds about #2 - sometimes i think it is amazing, sometimes i think all the holes blend into one. Looking forward to the US Open
Can’t wait to be there next week.
This is amazing….awesome stuff TFE.
excellent work.
Great video 👍
Played this course many years ago. Hit first hole in two and four putted. From tee to green uneventful but greens are scary.
God I love this video. Thanks team.
I've been thinking about joining Club TFE for the architectural breakdown videos. How indicative is this of the rest of the architectural videos that you produce?
Candidly, this is one of the best things we will produce this year. Having said that, the ClubTFE videos are quite good and unique
Fantastic stuff
I play the Donald Ross course at Elk Rapids, Michigan, which will be celebrating its 100 anniversary in July, 2024.
Love Elk Rapids, such a fun little course.
I feel like I’m actually there!
So good
I’d say this course, pebble, and now Bethpage are the US open trifecta. Because neither one of them are typical parkland green grass everywhere golf like a Torrey or Merion or Oakmont or something like that. I played Bethpage this past year and it was just. You feel like you’re surrounded is a good way to describe it. My stepdad has played this iteration of No. 2 and being a mid 70s shooter at home he said breaking 90 would be a feat even as well as he hit it that day. Amazing courses we have for this tournament.
Pinehurst belongs in the class of Merion & Oakmont, but Bethpage, Pebble, & Torrey are much closer to the old version of No. 2 than the restored one. Pebble could really be something with a proper restoration, but due to never-ending resort play at over $500/round for the current iteration I'm sure it'll never happen.
@@588GM more of the historical aspect of it
@@Huddle_House56 Based on history I'd only put Oakmont, Merion, Shinnecock, & Pebble in the class of quintessential US Open courses. Honorable mention at this point to No. 2, but I think it will eventually join the four elites based on future events scheduled.
Shinnecock? Winged Foot? Brookline?
Great courses and definitely a big part of the event’s history, but today considered “old guard” in terms of US Open courses. Look at future venues for proof of this.
Courses like this show how mundane a regular PGA Tour stop is. Perhaps a video like this at TPC Craig Ranch would change my mind.
I pray that the Open will be a true test for these guys, unlike this past PGA Championship. A US Open track shouldn't give up rounds in the low 60's.
“Bad shots get really punished” describes my one go around at number 2 well.
I tell people that have yet to play #2 that average shots are punished and bad shots are severely punished.
In its current state, it reminds me of some of the Australian sandbelt courses
Only quibble is that #5 was imo one of the very best par 4s in all of golf.
Pinehurst No. 2 is the toughest course I've ever played.
This is an amazing video. If I ever win Power Ball, I'd hire C&C to build me a course :)
Turtle. Back.
Hope to see a high scoring winner again, over par winning score. Not this -20 joke in majors.
Yeah, really up close and personal look at the challenges the top pros will be facing off extreme back tees at the US Opens….amazing how old style GB &I links upturned saucer greens are the best and most difficult courses!! So two main difficulties…crazy wastelands with those grassy tufts just off fairway replaces for the most part traditional ruff and then entry into these crazy slopy greens with a mid iron!!!???? Yeah…uhm….its just amazing to me that anyone who shoots under par can actually do that. Ive seen a few videos where regular 5 to 10 handicappers have go e for a 36 hole stretch in one day on this course and have come off so demoralized that they want to cry..US OPEN 2024…should be fun for us mere mortals to watch the punishment dished out to these pros….its like I spit on your grave revenge rape punishment but in golf!!!! LOL LOL😂
The USGA will destroy this course-trust me...
who ever designed a golf course with so many 500 yard par 4's?...and those are to crowned unplayable greens...
what a shame to ruin good golf courses for 'novelty golf' that we have today.
just to sell overpriced equipment that has no place in tournament golf.
Just show the holes oh my days…. 20 minutes of blabbering on
Which channel do you think this is?
Meh, looked better in '99
Vehemently disagree. Mowing lines were a joke. There's too much green in US championship golf as is. Now it is representative of the region and plays firm enough to warrant the title of the Old Course of the US.
I thought so at first. But the more I thought about it, the new (old) design is way better. The way it looked in '99, you couldn't discern it from Merion, Oakmont, or Winged Foot.
The 2014 version was barely watered and there was little penalty for missing the fairway. Hopefully it is greener this go-round.
@@gwilson314that’s why they planted a lot more wire grass
@@gwilson314 Three guys broke par in 2014! The penalty for missing the fairway is hitting off a sandy lie. Some lies are more penal than others but they're definitely more difficult than the fairway. Way more variance than rough. And did you watch the PGA? Valhalla had rough, was super green and was the most embarrassing major setup I can remember seeing.