Short Course Boom Comes to Sandhills

James Barber grew up in England and was an avid golfer when he moved to America in the late 1800s to manage the family shipping operation. Naturally, he learned of Pinehurst, visited and was smitten by its golf-centric ways.

Barber was familiar with the St. Andrews putting course and other such courses popular on the grounds of English country inns in the early 20th century. When he built a mansion just a short walk to the northwest of The Carolina Hotel, Barber asked his friend and fellow golf enthusiast Edward Wisell to help him design and build a miniature golf course amidst the gardens.

The fairways for the 18 holes were made of a sand and clay mixture like that used for the greens on the regulation golf courses (this before they were converted to Bermuda grass in the mid-1930s), and the holes were accented with stone, bricks, grassy humps, shrubs and other horticultural obstacles. It was called in some historical references “Lilliputian Golf” but also by the name Barber concocted when he first viewed the assemblage of golf holes in 1918 and said, “This’ll do,” which migrated to a Scots-flavored appellation, “Thistle Dhu.” Golfers wielded a putter for most strokes but for some holes needed a niblick (the era’s version of a nine-iron) to negotiate the hazards.

“It is most interesting and entertaining, calling for a delicate and expert touch in the short game as evolved in pitching and chipping … you will come away chastened,” the American Golfer observed.

That original “short course” in Pinehurst no longer exists, but there are a handful of venues in the Sandhills that offer golfers a bite-size taste of the game — shorter holes, quicker rounds and plenty of smiles and guffaws.

On ground beside the Thistle Dhu putting course is The Cradle, a nine-hole course with holes ranging from 56 to 127 yards that opened in 2017. It’s the perfect venue for kids and grandparents for a low-key and fun round of golf, for twilight “emergency nines” and to enjoy a beverage from the Cradle Crossing Bar while watching the action from an Adirondack chair.

“We have built a playground where kids and elders can enjoy the game — they can hoot and holler and high-five all they want. It’s a relaxed and comfortable feeling,” said architect Gil Hanse, who designed the course along with partner Jim Wagner while they were redesigning Pinehurst No. 4.

“The theme of The Cradle and Thistle Dhu is fun,” says Pinehurst Resort President & CEO Tom Pashley. “Fun is undefeated. Fun knows no age, no gender, no level of playing ability. Anyone can come out here with a few clubs and a ball and have some fun.”

The nine-hole Azalea course is tucked within the back nine of the club’s Magnolia Course and has similar aesthetics and feel to the Gene Hamm-designed big course, with holes ranging from 97 to 192 yards.

The members at Pinewild, a gated residential community, have embraced the Azalea’s ranking and assimilation into the handicap system, particularly the members of a group known as the Pinewild Azalea Ladies. The rating and slope for the course are posted on the scorecard as 27.5 rating and 85 slope for the men and 28.5/86 for the women.

“The ladies have been very excited about the course rating,” says Kyle Kirk, the club’s director of golf. “The rounds in 2023 were up 50 percent from the year prior, showing the trend of playing executive courses and short courses is on the rise. The addition of the Azalea Course now being rated will only fuel the popularity of the Azalea.”

“The Azalea is a big part of the Pinewild experience,” says Gus Ulrich, the club’s director of instruction. “A lot of groups that come from out of town will play an ‘emergency nine’ on it if they don't have time to play another full round, and they always say they enjoy it so much. The green complexes are so good, and you will use just about every club in your bag except for the driver and 3-wood. They are still bent grass greens and kept in really good condition.”

“The main point of The Loop was to provide students in our Learning Centers and Golf Academies a place to receive ‘on course’ lessons, where they could take their time with instructors vs. being ‘pushed’ on the regular course due to play,” Miller says. “We also wanted a place for groups to have an additional fun place to play after playing 18 holes — take some drinks out, play with their friends in a casual, fun and challenging setting.”

"This will be a way for members and guests to extend the day and their golf experience,” says General Manager Matt Hausser. “You can finish your round, grab a wedge and a putter and a beverage and go around three times in 45 minutes. It’s a cool setting, and there are some great visuals looking across the lake. It’s just another feature to help Legacy stand out from the crowd.”

Tobacco Road Golf Course, located 20 miles northeast of Pinehurst, is building a 12-hole par-3 course called The Matchbox that is located on a seven-acre parcel adjacent to the 12th and 13th holes of the Mike Strantz-designed course. Owner Mark Stewart had the idea for the short course and contacted Justin Carlton and Lee Marshall of Carlton/Marshall Golf Design, who thought the site ideal for a short course but with the use of synthetic turf for the greens. It is expected to open this summer.

Tom Fazio completed the routing for the course in the mid-1990s, with the 18th green placed beside one of the picturesque lakes dotting the property. But that left the issue of getting from the final green, around the lake and back to the clubhouse.

“We might as well put the land to good use,” said Fazio, who then created an extra par-three hole.

And thus the “Hog Hole” was born, so named because golfers could go “whole hog” and bet double-or-nothing on all the day’s betting exchanges.