GREAT EATS HAWAII: PINEHURST #2

PINEHURST #2

PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA

Another golfing dream realized after spending a few days at Pinehurst. The entire experience here was amazing. Staying at the Carolina Hotel, taking in the history, eating at the restaurants and having the opportunity to play four courses here was another huge check of my golf Bucket List. Pinehurst is a golfers dream and playing Pinehurst #2 was epic. I had a great Caddy who helped me play the round using just one ball. This is an accomplishment for me because I usually scatter them all over the place. While I did scatter a bunch, my Caddy was able to find my ball. #2 is one of Golf's gems.

A course played by every major professional player and a place that has hosted multiple U.S. Open's and even the Ryder Cup. What I remember most about #2 are the greens. They are all elevated. If you do not hit the sweet spot on the green, your ball rolls off and continues to roll and roll. Having a Caddy is helpful because they can tell you where best to hit the ball. They also help with reading the greens which are fast and have a lot of breaks. The course itself is stunning. A masterpiece of design by Donald Ross. Playing #2 is expensive at around $500 per round. It is the course that supports all of Pinehurst I was told. Playing here took me back to thoughts of St. Andrews and really fortified my love for the history and game of golf. Stepping up to the Payne Stewart Statue just off hole #18 brought tears to my eyes. Images of him winning the U.S. Open in 1999 and seeing his excitement and famous pose is etched in my mind. To think he would be dead just months later makes me so sad inside. So many stories at Pinehurst #2. Hawaii's own Michelle Wie won a U.S. Open here and it is so cool to see her photos all over the walls at Pinehurst. I made sure to take this course in and just looked out over each hole while other were hitting. Took photos of every hole so I could go back and take it all in again. While I took the photos in sequence (Holes 1-18), when I upload them on the blog they do not stay in order which I hate.