Achenbach: Pinehurst No. 2's Width A “Bad Dream”

Sigh.

It's been a while since we've read a column hoping for the good ole days of narrow, rough-lined fairways, but Jim Achenbach's lamenting of the dreadful "too wide" fairways and lack of accuracy needed to win at Pinehurst could be a prize winner! Especially since a total of four players finished under par over two weeks hitting to "mammoth" fairways.

Pinehurst No. 2 had mammoth fairways. The rough was replaced by sand and wiregrass and other native plants. Competitors encountered few obstacles off the tee. With driver or 3-wood in their hands, they must have felt like it was the Indianapolis 500 -- pedal to the metal for all four days.

I didn't see much pedal to the metal golf, did you?

There was no relationship between fairways hit and success in the Women's Open. Neither Michelle Wie, who won, nor Lexi Thompson, who tied for seventh, finished among the top 45 in driving accuracy.

Please, wake us up from this bad dream.

Of course Jim makes the mistake of confusing hitting the ball down an imaginary center line with “thoughtful strategy.”

Both played brilliant golf and deserved to win, but we should be worried that future U.S. Opens at Pinehurst can be dominated by power at the expense of driving accuracy and thoughtful strategy.

So the two winners, arguably the best in the game right now, played "brilliant golf and deserved to win," yet this is a bad dream? I'm so confused!

Comments

[Neil Young & Geraldo]

Press Agent-- I always get you confused with Media Driven. But I won't anymore.

[so]

Ballesteros "Touch of Class"

[Easingwold]

@ Ted Ray's Pipe

well said on Seve.So many today have no idea

And wide fairways doesn't mean you just blast it out there. You have to think which part of the fairway gives you the best approach to the green. Thinking, a skill often lost on some traditional US Open courses. I think there is room for one like Pinehurst every now and then.

[FWIW]

Pasture time for Mr. Achingback

[Abu Dhabi Golfer]

@Brad - about 10 years ago, the first round of the Australian Open at Victoria GC in Melbourne was actually cancelled during play because conditions had gone over the edge.

As a result, the club secretary at Royal Melbourne probably took your comments a lot more seriously that you might have ever anticipated. The debacle at Victoria was considered a big embarrassment for Australian golf and I am sure if Royal Melbourne's condition ever got close to that they would have been watering things like crazy.

[The Pro From Dover]

Ballesteros "Touch of Class" +1

What a wonderful pair of hands! He was definitely painting pictures out here -- if there ever was an artist playing golf, it was Seve.

[Brad Fritsch]

@Abu Dhabi - quite possibly, but I was clear in my words. Said it was close, but very, very good. He told me to go back to North America, where "you can hit driver anywhere you want." The same day, Jason Day said the exact same thing as I did, and he was excoriated in the press. They started questioning his Aussie-ness because he had been in the US so long. Seriously.

Back in topic - someone mentioned earlier the dirt. A buddy who caddied in the men's Open threw away every pair of socks, shorts, and his shoes from that week.