Q: One of the salient features of the U.S. Open golf tournament has been its rough. A recent AJC article reported that there is no rough at this year’s tournament at Pinehurst. Is the rough issue being eliminated?
—David Nugent, Canton
A: The golf course design team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore eliminated the rough and widened the fairways, leaving only two cuts of grass — fairways and greens — on Pinehurst No. 2. Those changes restored the course to the specifications of when it was initially designed by Donald Ross in 1907. The greens are unchanged. The course is "going to give the best players in the world some shots that they simply haven't had to make in past U.S. Opens," USGA Executive Director Mike Davis told The Associated Press. The U.S. Open will be held at Pinehurst, which is in Pinehurst, N.C., from June 12-15, and the course will host the U.S. Women's Open the following week. Pinehurst No. 2 last hosted the U.S. Open in 2005.
Q: My wife and I recently visited New York City. We walked around Central Park. How does it compare to Piedmont Park in size?
—Bob Smith, Marietta
A: Central Park is 843 acres, or 1.317 square miles. It is 2½ miles long and one-half mile wide. Piedmont Park is 185 acres. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park and his sons – John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. – assisted in the design of Piedmont Park.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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