Pinehurst No. 2, like you've never seen it before

Golf Digest does these features from time to time – an in-depth look at each hole of a famed golf course. That Pinehurst No. 2 would be featured a couple of weeks before the U.S. Open returns for the fourth time in a quarter century is not surprising.

But, while many of us are able to routinely tout No. 2’s charms, Golf Digest looks at it from another angle. And in this spectacular video, the publication makes the point abundantly clear: No. 2 is special because of its subtleties, which will challenge the best players in the world once again. As Digest writes in the accompanying piece:

There are no long-range vistas, no bunkers that look chiseled from marble and no breathtaking water holes. The design’s brilliance resides not in the spectacular but in the subtle and the degrees that small distances—feet, inches—can result in vastly diverse shot outcomes. Getting on the wrong side of a slope or contour can mean the difference between a par and double bogey. Pinehurst No. 2 is the sum of a thousand small parts that look the same but function differently to create a machine that slowly grinds away scores, one fractional stroke at a time.

Enjoy.