It's the U.S. Open! And it's at Pinehurst!

If you weren't sure, check YouTube.

This week, the U.S. Open is being held at Pinehurst No. 2, and I am about as excited for this for any major in some time. It’s mostly because I’ve played the course but also seen a lot of it from prior tournaments, and - increasingly - YouTube golf.

You’re gonna hear the term “wiregrass” a lot this week.

A months ago, it seems, Pinehurst had a media event where quite a few folks I already follow on YouTube got a chance to play it. And this week, the #content has been dropping. HARD.

Here are just a few of what popped out this week:

There are more. All of those were pretty good videos, by the way!

And what they all make abundantly clear is that Pinehurst No. 2 provides a very good test of golf. Because of the green shapes and speeds, it’s not a course you can simply overpower. Whoever wins this will be the best at keeping the ball in the fairway as much as possible and hitting the most greens.

You might say, yes - that is indeed how most people win tournaments or play good golf. Good point. But on most courses these days, the best strategy for elite golfers is to hit the ball as far as possible, then wedge it to a receptive part of the green or get aggressive looking for a birdie. The problem is that those receptive areas on most greens are tiny, and the penalty for hitting even just an adequate shot instead of a great one is, or can be, exceptionally penal.

The bunkers can be pretty penal, too. There’s a ball up near the top of this one, completely covered by sand. I’m not as happy about this as I might look.

The last time the U.S. Open was here, Martin Kaymer notoriously won (and won by eight shots!) by putting from way off the green. Players in the tournament this week are already complaining about the greens, which is … exciting.

The U.S. Open has a reputation that it’s the hardest test, designed to determine the best golfer, not embarrass him. I don’t need it to be preposterous but I do like the idea that nobody is going to go low at THIS major. That approach CAN yield a truly random winner if favorites get particularly unlucky. I expect more than a few good, highly ranked golfers to post at least a triple bogey at some time this week. I know some people enjoy it when a Michael Campbell or Ben Curtis win, but I actually much prefer it when someone gets hot, wins a few tournaments and then notches his first major. Guys like Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman were hardly nobodies when they notched their first, having recently won and having consistently good starts - and in Harman’s case, a solid career of doing just that.

I think that someone like Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and maybe six-eight others is going to end up winning by showing exactly how to drive accurately, hit controlled and thoughtful approach shots and putt smartly. Whoever does win is going to have to have control of his game and play and that is going to be incredibly fun to watch.