Pinehurst No 8

[Cwmgr]

Going to pinehurst no 8 for my 13 year olds uskids teen world championship. Any tips recommendations or advice would be much appreciated . 

[DaveP043]

#8 is a good tough course.  The turf in the Pinehurst area is usually very tight, making solid contact on chip and pitch shots a bit more demanding than in places where the fairway grass is a little more lush.  I'd recommend practicing using a putter from off the green.  I don't remember what the practice area at #8 looks like, but there is a really large short-game area near the main Pinehurst clubhouse that you can probably use to practice these shots.

I get to that area pretty regularly, let me know if you're looking for restaurant ideas.

[mdaugherty24]

Go buy a yardage book it will come in handy for tee shots. Spend a lot of time with short game. Greens are Championship Bermuda and they are gonna be fast and firm. Practice lag putting and like Dave said get a good feel for putting from off the greens. Practice chipping from tight lies, chipping up to elevated greens and bunker shots up to elevated greens. Short siding yourself around the greens on #8 = DEATH!!! Good luck

[GolfLug]

He will need the high soft pitch. I am not a great chipper but I remember having hell of a time stopping anything off the green. Don't let him get too annoyed if that happens. Gorgeous course.

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, GolfLug said:

He will need the high soft pitch. I am not a great chipper but I remember having hell of a time stopping anything off the green. Don't let him get too annoyed if that happens. Gorgeous course.

I'll disagree a little with the bold part here.  Yes, if you're behind a bunker, you'll need to hit a high soft one, or be able to spin something if the lie is good.  But for most of the short game shots, a lower chip-and-run or putt is often the better choice, if you're comfortable  with it (well, if your son is).  That why I suggest doing short game practice.  I know I don't practice these type of shots a lot, since we have different turf conditions here in northern Virginia, but the tight firm fairways and firm fast greens in Pinehurst are really well suited to playing lower running shots.

In talking about firm fast greens, something else comes to mind.  Even on full shots from the fairway, the ball may not stop really quickly on the greens.  If you see this happening, be prepared to look at the front edge distance, rather than the pin distance.  I remember a lot of false fronts and elevated greens, so you're unlikely to have a full shot bounce on if it lands 10 yards short. You have to get it entirely on the green, but be ready to adjust to the "front edge" strategy if you find that you can't make it stop on normal shots.

[GolfLug]

54 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I'll disagree a little with the bold part here.  Yes, if you're behind a bunker, you'll need to hit a high soft one, or be able to spin something if the lie is good.  But for most of the short game shots, a lower chip-and-run or putt is often the better choice, if you're comfortable  with it (well, if your son is).  That why I suggest doing short game practice.  I know I don't practice these type of shots a lot, since we have different turf conditions here in northern Virginia, but the tight firm fairways and firm fast greens in Pinehurst are really well suited to playing lower running shots.

@DaveP043, on most days I would concede to your greater experience on these greens (and your much better short game in general). Anyway, we will agree with bottom line that should not expect ball to check much.

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

In talking about firm fast greens, something else comes to mind.  Even on full shots from the fairway, the ball may not stop really quickly on the greens.  If you see this happening, be prepared to look at the front edge distance, rather than the pin distance.  I remember a lot of false fronts and elevated greens, so you're unlikely to have a full shot bounce on if it lands 10 yards short. You have to get it entirely on the green, but be ready to adjust to the "front edge" strategy if you find that you can't make it stop on normal shots.

This part I will agree 100% with.

 

Anyway @Cwmgr, good luck to your son. Enjoy.

[Cwmgr]

Has anyone been to pinehurst lately . I know the greens will be firm and fast. That's what we mostly play in Vegas. My question is will they hold any approach shots and when chipping my on hits lower trajectory wedges that check up and release to hole .  We've been very creative at practice greens this week with playing all types different shots . Thanks for input 

[mdaugherty24]

I play Pinehurst every weekend. You shouldn't have any problems getting your wedges to hold the greens. But its a different story when it comes to your long irons unless you have a really high ball flight. Best advice I can give you is get your yardage to the flag and play 5 yards shorter to compensate for the firmness and roll out. Don't be too aggressive going after flags, missing greens on #8 will get you into big trouble no matter how good you are at chipping.  Best thing to do is play at the center of the greens and score with your putter. Don't expect your chip shots to check up either, they will roll out as well.

[mdaugherty24]

Here is the leader board from the Junior North and South Amateur from a week ago just to give you an idea of the scoring conditions. 15-18 year old boys, Rounds 1 and 3 were played on played on #8. 

The girl that just won the US OPEN won the North and South in 2003.

http://tpp.ghin.com/Club/Scoring/ResultsStroke.aspx?mode=alpha&id=126855