Dedman’s Hall of Fame

By Lee Pace

One day in July 1984, the Pinehurst Resort shuttle van picked up Robert Dedman Sr. and associate Jim Hinckley at the Moore Regional Airport and drove them down Route 22 to the traffic circle, around to Hwy. 2, past the old PGA World Golf Hall of Fame, past Dornoch Cottage (where Donald Ross once lived) and alongside the second hole of course No. 2. They wound through the curves at the Sandhills Women’s Exchange and the Village Chapel and turned right onto Carolina Vista. Rising from the canopy of pine trees was the Carolina Hotel, its copper cupola reflecting the bright sunlight. For more than 80 years it had looked just so, a beacon of hospitality to those seeking peace, quiet and a round of golf.

Historic Pinehurst Resort

Dedman’s corporate wallet was now $15 million lighter. He and his Dallas-based company, Club Corporation of America, had just purchased the resort and now the new owner and a key lieutenant had come to take inventory. They processed the view and looked at one another.

“Partner, this is something special,” Dedman said.

Hinckley remembered that moment some two decades later.

“Over the years, we talked about that first drive to the hotel,” he said. “Every time either one of us made that turn, we knew it was something special. We couldn’t believe we were a part of it.”

Forty-two years later, a member of the Dedman family still makes that turn onto Carolina Vista as the owner of Pinehurst Resort. Dedman Sr. died in 2002, but his son, Robert Jr., has taken the baton and provided the resources, vision and leadership to elevate Pinehurst to its perch in 2026 as one of the most vibrant golf destinations in the world.

And now Dedman Jr. can make a slight detour on his way into town on Village Green East and arrive at his very own home—the 7,000 square foot Fownes Cottage that was built in 1914 and is one the Village’s most historic structures. That Dedman, whose primary residence is in Dallas, would establish such significant residential roots in Pinehurst spoke volumes of the family’s long-term commitment.

Since 1984, the United States has been through one Dotcom bust, one Global Financial Crisis and two Gulf Wars. Seven men have served as President. The Apple Macintosh computer would revolutionize an industry. Golf clubs have gone from wood to steel to titanium, playing surfaces from common Bermuda to Mach I Ultradwarf.

Carolina Hotel/Courtesy Matt Gibson

Through it all, Pinehurst has skated along with four-decades plus of ownership by one family.

“Having the ability to keep Pinehurst was important to my family,” Dedman Jr. says. “It was all about ensuring the legacy of this unique place, which has come to mean so much to all of us. We buried my father in his Pinehurst U.S. Open jacket, a reflection of how passionate he was about bringing Pinehurst back to its rightful position, a place synonymous with the best of golf and the game’s history in this country. I view our role in taking it forward into the future as an important calling. One lesson I learned from my dad was to provide the vision and support for what needs to be done, then allow the right people to create it.”

The Dedmans, senior and junior, will be saluted for their contributions to Pinehurst, the state of North Carolina and indeed the game of golf on February 14 when they are inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame. The awards will be presented at a banquet at Pinehurst’s Carolina Hotel. Also joining the Hall of Fame will be Jack Nance, the long-time and recently retired executive director of the Carolinas Golf Association.

Dedman Sr. represents the consummate American success story. He grew up in The Depression on an Arkansas farm in a house with no electricity or running water. He served in the Navy in World War II, then earned an ungraduated degree from the University of Texas and a law degree from SMU.

He was working as a lawyer in Dallas in the mid-1950s when he perceived an opportunity to spread the country club opportunity beyond the one percent of elite citizens. Dedman saw hundreds of thousands of potential homebuyers and club members amid the masses of people now working, earning a good living and raising families in the post-war ‘50s. He created Club Corporation of America in 1957 (the same year his son Bob was born) and in time CCA owned and operated more than 200 clubs and had assets of more than $1.6 billion. Among ClubCorp’s premier properties in the late 1990s were Pinehurst, The Homestead in White Sulphur Springs, Va., Barton Creek in Austin, Texas, and Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

Dedman bought Pinehurst from a consortium of banks that had run the club and resort for two years following the default of the previous owner, the Diamondhead Corp. At first, Dedman just wanted the six golf courses. But the banks insisted he take the package deal of the golf facilities, the country club and the 1900 Carolina Hotel.

Pinehurst U.S. Open.

“Partner, I think this place is worth saving,” Dedman said. “This is one of those places you just can’t duplicate — it’s kind of like buying the St. Andrews of America.”

He provided the resources to upgrade the golf courses and renovate the hotel. He gave CEO Pat Corso and Director of Golf Don Padgett Sr. the mandate to restore Pinehurst to its place in competitive golf — to the days pre-1950 when it hosted the North & South Open on the PGA Tour and when it was esteemed enough to be the venue for the 1936 PGA Championship and 1951 Ryder Cup.

In time, the PGA Tour returned for the 1991 and ’92 TOUR Championships and the USGA in 1993 awarded No. 2 the U.S. Open for 1999. That seems quite a long time ago now that the resort has hosted four U.S. Opens, one U.S. Women’s Open and two U.S. Amateurs — with four more Opens on the docket.

“It didn’t happen overnight, and it took a lot of hard work by many talented people over many years to bring back the grace and charm of Pinehurst,” Dedman says. “I’m just very fortunate to be following in my dad’s footsteps. When our family got involved with Pinehurst, there were six golf courses and one very run-down hotel.

“What’s special about Pinehurst is it’s not manufactured. It’s real here. It’s truly authentic. It’s not just No. 2. It’s more than that. It’s the Village. You’re in this ideal setting. It’s the Carolina blue skies. It’s church bells in the background and you can hear the birds. There is something truly unique and special about this place.”

Lee Pace is a freelance golf writer who has written about Sandhills area golf for four decades and is the author of club histories about Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Forest Creek.