Pinehurst #4
lies immediately adjacent to
#2.
A Ross original opened in 1919, #4 got a face lift when Robert Trent Jones added length, water and bunkers
to it for the '73 World Open. Rees Jones came in during the '80s and tweaked it again. Since then
the course had gotten a little ragged around the edges, so The Pinehurst Company contracted with Tom
Fazio, who had done #8, the Centennial Course, to redo #4 entirely. Opening in the spring of 2000, the
result is a spectacular layout worthy of your visit.
More sand than grass? The 7th at Pinehurst #4
Well aware of the context in which he was asked to design #4, Fazio paid homage to Ross by
designing crowned greens on many of the holes. He also added British style pot bunkers among
a staggering 188 bunkers in all. Complementing these are natural sand bunkers planted with love
grass and other native grasses to give the course a different look from #2.
Pinehurst #4 doesn't spread out as much as #2. The holes are packed tighter together. The greens
are larger some have hogbacks and various shapes. The focal point of the course is the lake which
allowed Fazio to craft some great holes. Most notably of these is the 510-yard 13th, a
risk-reward hole that starts from a slightly elevated tee box to a tight landing area bounded by
bunkers right and the lake left. The hole then winds around the lake to a sloped green tucked
snugly between the lake on the left and three bunkers right. For many golfers, reaching the green
in two isn't the problem. It's finding the nerve to hit the shot. The three other par 5's on this par
72, 7,117-yard (6,214 from the whites) layout are also reachable in two.
The lake also comes into play on two of the par 3's. The 170-yard 4th plunges dramatically
down from a lofted tee box over an inlet of the lake to a green complex reminiscent of 12th at
Augusta. The level 189-yard 14th requires an accurate drive over another inlet to a
large green perched just right of the lake.
The two short par 4's - the 382-yard (from the whites) 8th and the 367-yard (from the whites)
15th - are among the best on the course. Both feature elevated greens and tight landing areas
guarded by bunker clusters. Distance is definitely not a problem but like so many of the holes
on this fabulously inventive creation, pinpoint accuracy is a must if you are to walk off
the course with a smile on your face.
How good is the course? My playing partner told me, "Don't play this course unless you are
willing to fall in love with it." 
Continued:
Pinehurst Golf
