Around the nation, hickory golfers hone their skills for the fifth and final leg of the U.S. hickory championship to be held in November at the Mid Pines golf course. Anticipation would be high in any year but there is a new twist for 2013. The course amid the North Carolina sandhills so loved by hickory wielders has been re-done in a style that Donald Ross would have no trouble at all in recognizing.
There is less grass and more sand, mainly in the form of waste areas. And those waste areas have native grasses in and around them. When the course first re-opened in August, players received sheets delineating what was a bunker and what a waste area. Simply put, if it has grass all round it, no grounding the club. If it does not, it is a waste area. Don’t be confused by rakes lying near the latter, they are there for you to clean up after your shot, not to indicate a bunker.
Several greens have been modified, most notably the ninth. These undulant greenswards have never been the easiest to putt. They are no easier now. Indeed, one suspects the grounds crew can make them as fast as they want. And put the pins in a few more awkward spots.
Golf aficionados can no doubt spot and pronounce at length on the changes and their importance. And some have. For a less observant type, notably this writer, the changes are more subtle than obvious. The layout looks the same, just a little more bucolic. Sure, there is more carry over waste areas in front of some tees. Yes, the par fives seem to play a bit longer. But nothing to deter the 100 or so men and women who will tee it up come Nov. 8.
In the name of honesty in reporting, my two rounds at Mid Pines since the re-opening have been with contemporary clubs so I could carry the ball further and stop it a little faster on the greens than with hickories. As I will be playing a shorter course in November I doubt the difference in equipment will change my assessment very much. And so will most of those who contest the Mid Pines Hickory Open.
My reading of the North Carolina Hickory Golf Association blog is that most hickory-ites who have played the course enjoy the changes. A few do not. You might want to check the NCHGA website for photos and a variety of opinions. My own view, as expressed on that site, is that it was a delightful course to play before and it is a delightful course to play now.
Come and enjoy.