Amateur Golfers vs Pinehurst No. 2 Par 3s

14 June 2024

With the U.S. Open this weekend, we have pulled some performance statistics from our on course performance database to see how Shot Scope users tackle the Par 3s at Pinehurst No.2.

The par 3s at Pinehurst have seen some truly tournament changing moments like Payne Stewart and Michael Campbell birdie-ing the 17th hole to seal their victories down the stretch in 1999 and 2005.

Before we look specifically at the par 3s, here are some general stats on Pinehurst No. 2. The course has 111 bunkers and sprawls over 196 acres. Of those 196 acres, there are 61 acres of turf, 41 acres of fairway, and 0 acres of rough – none whatsoever. 

Instead, players can enjoy the challenges of playing from hardpan sand/native sandscape, wiregrass, pine needles, and pinecones – this is what we refer to as ‘rough’ in the stats below.

To save adding another column to the tables, and because this stat deserves its own highlight,

This hole, depending on the tee selection, will typically play anything from a long iron to fairway wood with trouble on either side of the green waiting to catch any offline shots. 

A firm, dome-shaped green makes the likelihood of a shot that is close to the green’s edge rolling into trouble even greater.

Scoring averages above reveal just how important the tee shot is – they are all important but let me explain.

When hitting the green, players are making their par without too many issues. However, when missing the green it has the lowest likelihood of getting up and down (all lie types) and we see the scoring average shoot up.

Whether it is the ‘rough’ or a bunker, players are staring a bogey in the face at best, and with up and downs near impossible from the bunker, a good miss stays out of the sand – easier said than done!

Despite being the shortest of all the par 3s, the 9th hole is no walk in the park with a shallow sloping green causing chaos for players.

Trouble surrounds the green with bunkers ready to derail players just before the halfway point and undulations penalizing misplaced shots. 

With the highest scoring average of all the par 3s, as well as the highest scoring average for shots that miss the green, anyone who can make a par here has had an incredible hole. 

It doesn’t seem like there really is a good miss on this hole, but if you had to then long and right is preferred. Anyone who finds themselves in the sand has essentially killed their round with it playing nearly 1.5 strokes over par.  

The shortest hole on the course, playing a full stroke over par typically, brutal! 

Six holes later players can ‘enjoy’ the easiest par 3 on the course, the 15th hole. With no immediate danger to the front of the green, the amateur golfer’s favorite miss, short, should avoid any major issues.

Should players miss the green in the bunkers or the ‘rough’, they still have the best scoring averages of any of the par 3s from these lie types. They are still unlikely to get up and down with a 29% conversion rate but that’s the game we are playing – miss greens, drop shots.

Interestingly, despite having the best scoring averages, the 15th has the lowest GIR%, perhaps knowing you need to carry a hazard forces players to take the extra club they should be taking anyway – playing to the back yardages of a green will help you hit more greens.

Back in 1999, Payne Stewart bogeyed the hole in the final round to drop a shot back of Mickelson, making for one of the tournament’s most gripping duels down the stretch and his birdie on the 17th even greater.

The final par 3 of the course, the 17th is a relatively long hole with menacing bunkers once again. Long and left will find sand as well as long right and short right, with the right side bunker wrapping around the front of the green somewhat.

A brutal closing hole, the 17th has one of the worst scoring averages regardless of what you do off the tee. Players here have typically bogeyed the hole, due to the low GIR% and likelihood of getting up and down causing the average score to be 3.8.

Players that miss the green, which has been the majority, have suffered significantly from a scoring perspective with every lie type scoring average starting with a four – miss the green, make a bogey, simple.

There you have it, Pinehurst No. 2 par 3s, the amateur golfer’s worst nightmare.

Want to see how you would play Pinehurst No. 2? Shot Scope performance tracking users can use their club data to create their very own strategy for every hole at Pinehurst on MyStrategy for free.

Learn your game with Shot Scope.

*Note: These are stats for all tee locations and handicaps, they do not include the U.S. Open course settings

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