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Of course, with any modern
renovation, new tees were added to
stretch the championship course by
more than 300 yards (273m) to 7565
yards (6808m).
Most interestingly, 650 irrigation
sprinkler heads were removed and
a centreline irrigation system was
restored. The later decision, to irrigate
fairways and greens only - the centre
of the golf course – while leaving
the surrounds to naturally adapt, has
restored a more rustic appearance
from years gone by in keeping with
the surrounding sand hills terrain.
The course’s appearance and changed
playing characteristics underlines a
strong message for the game in general
that the USGA committed themselves
to promoting four years ago.
“It’s a throwback to the old days
and the idea of ‘maintenance up the
middle’,” Executive Director Mike Davis
said at the USGA’s annual meeting in
February. “This is a major focus of our
Green Section. Maintain the middle
of the golf course and spend less time
and money on irrigation, fertilizer and
fungicides in the roughs.”
Four years ago, the USGA announced
its intentions to promote more naturallooking golf courses that rely less
on artificial ‘modern’ irrigation and
maintenance methods.
“Go back to the way golf used to
be played.” Davis added, “You use less
resources and you reduce the cost. You
just hope around the world, people
will look at this golf course and say, ‘It
doesn’t have to be lush and green‘. “
Davis emphasised, not for the first
time, that “Maintenance up the middle
is a great message for the game,” and
the 114th US Open at Pinehurst will be
the USGA’s most high profile canvass
for that message. It helps their cause
too that this Open has ‘historical
significance’ written all over it as a now
older Mickelson will be bidding for a
career Grand Slam of all four major
championships with a win at Pinehurst.
The intrigue created by the new
look to a masterpiece of United States
golf, coupled with the prospect
of America’s most popular golfer
achieving a career-defining moment
that will attract global attention,
should be enough in most people’s
assessment for the USGA to be more
than content with this year.
Not so. The USGA’s current
innovative streak seem to hold no
bounds as the eyes of the world will
also be trained on not just one, but two
United States Open Championships in
back-to-back weeks.
In a concept proposed, endorsed
and announced in 2009, the USGA
will host the Opens of the men’s and
women’s game over consecutive
weeks at Pinehurst No. 2.
“With any innovation there is always
some risk,” Davis said recently. “But we
thought there was more upside than
potential downside. It would be an
opportunity to showcase the best men
The iconic Payne Stewart at the 1999 US Open.
and the best women in back-to-back
weeks, and there is a secondary interest
here in showcasing women’s golf. “
“I’m a big believer the women never
get enough credit. They can really
play. I have come to realize how
very, very good they are. This will
give them an opportunity showcase
their skills, and I think playing the
week after the men on the same golf
course will draw some people to
watch that wouldn’t otherwise.”
Davis’ gushing praise for the quality
of the women’s game did little to
hose down the concerns expressed
to him in no uncertain terms when
he addressed players at the LPGA
Founder’s Cup tournament in
Phoenix this March.
Although the dual-US Open
announcement was made nearly five
years ago, the reality of the situation
seems to have set in only now – with
course conditions being the focal
point of player concerns, given the
men will play their Open first.
Davis has said the scheduling of
the men’s Open first up was with
agronomical logistics in mind, as
the USGA wants the greens to play
firmer for the men than the women
and that it’s easier to soften the
greens from one week to the next
than the reverse.
Green speeds for both Opens
will roll at approximately 11.5 on
the Stimpmeter, slower than most
Open setups but in keeping with
the size and undulation of the
green complexes at Pinehurst,
and the course will be set up at
approximately 7500 yards (6750m)
for the men and 6700 yards (6030m)
for the women.
The course setup will ensure landing
areas on most holes will be