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U.S. Open 2024: Judging by this video, Pinehurst No. 2's 5th green is going to be absolutely brutal this week
David Cannon
“Nothing is certain except death and taxes and that the Pinehurst No. 2 greens are going to ruin your weekend,” Benjamin Franklin probably once said. Now, Franklin died about 100 or so years before the revered course was established, but the man was a genius for a reason. He also wasn’t wrong.
It looks like we’re in for a good deal of drama this week, especially with the chaotic Pinehurst greens built for maximum disarray. At this point, you might be better off putting with a blindfold on and just praying that things work out. This video from TaylorMade Golf exemplifies how tough putting might get at the U.S. Open.
That ball’s still rolling as you read this, right past Pinehurst No. 4 and No. 9.
The pros agree that the upcoming U.S. Open greens are out to get the golfers this go-around. “I mean, they are extremely fast, Clark admitted. “If they get any firmer and faster, the greens, I mean, they'd be borderline. They already are borderline.”
Golf Digest Architecture Editor Derek Duncan went into detail about what the best golfers in the world can expect from the 5th green's dastardly setup. Spoiler Alert: It’s bad.
“What makes the fifth hole so lethal is the green and its pernicious slope,” Duncan says. “The perimeter of the putting surface dips into shallow gutters of shortgrass behind and to the right, but the first third of the green is a false front. The left edge curls away down an incline.
“Shots that don’t make it all the way to the middle section of the green … will either roll back off the front or to the left.”
So, this all seems pretty bad for the players but pretty damn great for us viewers at home. Pros furious over greens and botched shots is exactly what the U.S. Open is all about. Sorry to all golfers out there trying to make a living this weekend, but it looks like we’re in for some tremendous content.