Pinehurst No. 2

Pinehurst No. 2 opened in 1907, designed by Donald Ross, the Scottish-born architect who made Pinehurst his home. Ross continuously refined the course over four decades, calling it the fairest test of championship golf he ever designed. The course is the centerpiece of Pinehurst Resort, founded by James Walker Tufts in the North Carolina Sandhills in 1895.

No. 2 has hosted more single championships than any course in America, including three U.S. Opens (1999, 2005, 2014), the 1936 PGA Championship, and multiple U.S. Amateurs. Payne Stewart's iconic 15-foot par putt on the 18th to win the 1999 U.S. Open is one of golf's most celebrated moments.

In 2011, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw led a landmark restoration that removed all rough and replaced it with native sand and wiregrass, returning the course to its original sandy aesthetic. The restoration reduced water usage by 40 percent while dramatically improving strategic interest and visual beauty.

Pinehurst No. 2 plays through sandy, rolling terrain of the North Carolina Sandhills. Since the 2011 restoration, native sand and wiregrass border the fairways instead of traditional rough. The famous turtleback greens, crowned and sloping on all edges, are the primary defense.

Par 72 at approximately 7,588 yards from the championship tees. Walking with a caddie is recommended. Sandy soil provides excellent drainage and firm conditions year-round.

The key to scoring is positioning approaches below the hole. The crowned turtleback greens reject shots landing on the wrong side. Short-game creativity is essential since areas around greens offer multiple recovery options.

Off the tee, sandy waste areas are preferable to wiregrass. Fairways are wide but approach angles matter enormously. Some pin positions are simply not attackable.