Pinehurst Flyovers - Holes Nos. 7 - 9

Back to the sand hills of North Carolina as we close in on the back-to-back Opens at Famed No. 2.  Here's the USGA flyovers and brief discussion of Holes Nos. 7-9.

Hole No. 7 - Par 4 - 429 Yards:  After several very difficult holes favoring those that draw the ball, we have a bit of a breather here and throw a bone to the faders.  Here's Shackelford's thoughts on the hole:

The seventh hole will look entirely different than it has in previous U.S. Opens after receiving the most dramatic facelift of all. Mounds installed by various architects and owners were removed, the tee lowered, the fairway widened and most of all, the hazards restored.

This hard dogleg right could be a candidate for a tee movement up because as it has been driveable in the past and this figures to be one of the worst holes for divots. But it will generally play 424 yards for the men and 389 yards for the women, and will call on a left-to-right shot shape to a fairway that narrows the longer the drive is hit. The approach is one of the more beautiful second shots on the course to a slightly elevated green where judging distance is tricky.

We won't quibble over the five yards difference between our respective Yardage Guides, but doesn't it seem that the tees would have to be moved up quite a bit?

Here's the flyover:

Hole No. 8 - Par 4 - 490 Yards:  One of my favorite tee shots on the property, this is a very manageable Par-5 for resort guests.  Shack calls this the most visually appealing hole on the course, though that's a competitive category.  It will likely be a mid-iron in for the big boys, to a severely crowned green with a significant falloff in back, but with no greenside bunkers.

Hole No. 9 - Par 3 - 190 Yards:  The shortest hole on the property is often the player's favorite, or at least

that was my reaction.  Shackelford reminds us of a photo of Donald Ross playing the ninth hole that critics pointed to before the Coore-Crenshaw restoration.  And Shack also links back to his own post from the time the restoration project was announced.

The hole plays somewhat uphill to a green with two distinct segments.  I was able to two putt from the left side of the green down to a front-right pin, but that wasn't at U.S. Open green speeds