Reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark gives eye-popping report on Pinehurst’s greens

Wyndham Clark, the defending U.S. Open champion, arrived at Pinehurst No. 2 on Monday in preparation for his title defense.

After completing a practice round, he described the greens on the course with astonishing accuracy.

“It’s very fast. If the greens get any harder and any faster, it’s going to be very close calls,” Clark said.

“They’re already on the border.”

Over the past decade, the United States Golf Association (USGA) has drawn the ire of many players for unfairly configuring golf courses. Shinnecock Hills in 2018 springs to mind immediately – just ask Phil Mickelson about the course configuration that year. Chambers Bay also received its fair share of criticism in 2015, as did Oakmont a year later.

So when Clark uses the word “borderline,” what he means is that Green is “borderline unfair.”

The green at Pinehurst No. 2 is famously shaped like a turtle back, making it appear much smaller than its actual size. Any mis-hit will roll off the edge of the putting surface, leaving players scrambling from dangerous positions around the green.

Plus, with no rain in the forecast, these greens will only get tougher as the week progresses. Temperatures in North Carolina will hover in the upper 80s to low 90s Fahrenheit, making putting surfaces increasingly firm.

But Clark and the other 155 players will have to treat them as they are.

“When it comes to practice, it’s all about where it leaves you on the green,” Clark explained.

“I went with my caddie today. [John Ellis] And we were targeting a specific pin. We’d rather be here than there. Sometimes you don’t want to miss the green, but the ups and downs mean you’re missing in the easy direction.”

The adage when playing the second hole is to hit the ball towards the middle of the green, not towards the flagstick. From there, you should aim for two putts for par.

Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images

However, these putting surfaces do not guarantee a two-putt par.

“You’ve got to use your break a lot on this green,” Clark said.

“When you’re hitting a lag putt or a short putt, you’ve got 10 feet of downhill, downward grain. Normally on most greens you’re not going to get more than four or five inches from the cup. Here, you’re playing it 10 to 12 inches so it’s not going to go under the hole and the ball is going to get away. It really takes a lot of practice. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”

Clark did not play in the U.S. Open in 2014, the last time Pinehurst No. 2 hosted the championship. He was still in college at the time.

But 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson made it happen.

“From what I remember, it’s pretty similar to 2014,” Simpson said Monday.

“This week is a classic U.S. Open in the sense that par is on your side. It’s a very difficult golf course. I thought Martin Kaymer played great in 2014. Aside from the winning score, [of 9-under]the runner-up that year, and the two winners before that, were around 1 over or 1 under. [Kaymer] It was like that at the time, but the guys are really good, so you never know what’s going to happen.”

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.