HAZARDOUS DUTY

It has 51 fairway bunkers, 56 greenside bunkers, one water hazard and a thousand ways to drive a player crazy, but Pinehurst No. 2 can’t just be full of numbers without offering a way to add them correctly.

That’s what 156 players are going up against this week when the U.S. Open returns to Pinehurst for the first time in six years, since Payne Stewart knew enough to solve its taxing problems over the last three holes and win in 1999 by one shot over Phil Mickelson.

Pinehurst dates to 1907, when the Donald Ross design opened at 5,870 yards. For this Open, Pinehurst will play at 7,214 yards -- 92 yards longer than when Stewart won.

Stewart, with a clutch putting performance on the final holes, was the only player to break par as he won his second Open title on famous greens, the most rigorous tests of Pinehurst.

The sand greens that Ross called for were replaced by grass in 1935 and redone by designer Rees Jones in time for the 1999 Open. But one facet of the greens has not changed -- their unusual hump-back, or dome, shape.

Jones said the original chipping areas around the green have been improved, which means that golf balls that don’t stay on the green may roll into these collection areas, placing a premium on hitting good chip shots.

It isn’t just that the crowned greens are fast, but the run-off areas around the greens will come into play because the grass just off the greens has been tightly cut.

“Even if you miss the green, you have an option, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how the players play it,” Jones said.

First, though, you have to get to the greens. To make that more difficult, the USGA has narrowed the fairways from Pinehurst’s normal average of 30 to 35 yards across to 24 to 26 yards.

And the rough is supposed to be double its normal height for the Open, to three inches, although cool weather has hindered the growth of the Bermuda.

Paul Jett, the course superintendent, said the rough is spotty but that high temperatures would solve that problem.

Chances are there will be plenty of heat this week, the kind generated by players trying to maneuver their way around a difficult course under constant pressure.

As usual, the USGA has made two par-five holes into par fours -- the 467-yard eighth and the 492-yard 16th, probably the toughest hole on the course.

The key holes at Pinehurst are no different than they were in 1999, and the USGA has indicated it probably will keep the same pin positions, although nothing is guaranteed except problems once past No. 4, the easiest hole on the course.

No. 4 is a 565-yard par five, which is reachable in two. But that hole is followed by the 483-yard par-four fifth, and it’s big trouble. Players are probably going to use the left side of the fairway because it’s a better approach to the green. But they’d better not miss the green to the left.

The eighth doesn’t give up a lot of even lies in the fairway, and if they miss the green, it’s better to be short.

There’s a chance to pick up a shot at the 175-yard ninth, the easiest of the four par-three holes.

The 607-yard 10th probably isn’t reachable in two, and is followed by the 476-yard 11th, which has a new tee that makes the hole play as a slight dogleg left. The 13th is only 378 yards but has a narrow fairway.

The finishing holes are no bargain. The 16th was the hardest hole in 1999, and it’s likely that nothing will damage that reputation. Approach shots are probably going to be about 180 to 200 yards, and the first 20 feet of green should be considered a “false front,” according to Jett.

They’ll be happy to take par at 17, which is 187 yards and a six-iron, seven-iron or eight-iron.

The 18th is 445 yards, uphill and usually into the wind. It’s where Stewart made an uphill 15-footer, after driving into the rough, to save par and finish his round of 70 one shot ahead of Mickelson.

Stewart was unbeatable on the greens, needing only 24 putts for his last round at Pinehurst -- the only key anybody needs to unlock its mysteries.