The USGA holds its 113th U.S. Amateur Championship Aug. 18-24 at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, in the village of Pinehurst, N.C., where Paul Jett, CGCS, at the No. 2 course, has prepared a challenging layout.
Jett, who hosted U.S. Opens at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1999 and 2005, has changed very little of the Donald Ross course since the 2005 U.S. Open, but says it will play very differently because of the time of year.
“The golf course is so completely different in August than it is in June that there’s nothing we could do that you could correlate to what might happen in June,” says Jett, referring to North Carolina’s hot and humid Augusts. “Whether it rains or not, it’s still going to be wet and there won’t be a lot of run. It’s literally going to be the same setup as for a U.S. Open, but it will play completely different. The bermuda is at the end of its growing cycle, it’s a lot coarser and the greens will be soft.”
The greens are more receptive to golfers' approach shots than they are in June because the cool season bentgrass is weakened by the prolonged summer heat. But the surrounds and rough will be thicker and more difficult to swing through than they are in June because the warm season bermudagrass thrives in the heat and is peaking in its growth this time of year. This could also work toward the golfers' favor as the tougher leaf blades could hold the ball up higher for an easier escape.
There is a new tee at the par-4 third hole that will play at 385 yards in the qualifying rounds and 336 yards in match play. No. 16 tee has been rebuilt to stretch the par 4 to 510 yards. For the matches, No. 2 will be a par 70 at 7,232 yards.
GCSAA member Kyle Brown is the superintendent at the No. 4 course, a Tom Fazio makeover. Stroke play qualifying will be held on both venues Aug. 18-19 to cut the 312-man field to 64 for match play for the remainder of the week at course No. 2.
Jett is a 22-year GCSAA member who is a scratch golfer and played collegiately at Clemson University. He is a five-time runner-up at the GCSAA National Golf Championship. Jett also is vice president for the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association.