On December 25th, there was Santa Claus.
On the 27th, there was Donald Ross. For scads of avid young golfers in the Carolinas and beyond, the Christmas season means not only toys under the tree but a trip to Pinehurst for the Donald Ross Memorial Junior Tournament.
Even if you’ve made a recent visit to the Sandhills region of North Carolina — the “Home of American Golf,” Pinehurst, along with the bourgeoning Southern Pines and Aberdeen areas — you will quickly discover that Pinehurst ‘24 is a decidedly different destination
A vintage photograph showing Pinehurst owner Richard Tufts seated on a bench beside architect Donald Ross taken in the 1940s had long captured Tom Pashley’s fancy. Here was Tufts, third generation of the Pinehurst founding family and a giant in American golf administration circles in the mid-1900s, alongside Ross, the native Scotsman and architect of four golf courses at Pinehurst by 1919 and nearly 400 nationwide through his death in 1948.
A U.S. Open at Pinehurst seems old hat now. In about a year, the esteemed No. 2 course will be the venue for its fourth rendition of America’s national championship, following 1999 (won by Payne Stewart), 2005 (Michael Campbell) and 2014 (Martin Kaymer). And after the 2024 competition, there are four more on the docket through 2047 as the USGA has tabbed Pinehurst No. 2 as an “anchor site” for the Open.
The Village of Pinehurst, the broader Sandhills community and the revered No. 2 course are officially in countdown mode as the calendar swings to one year out from the 2024 U.S. Open. Where did 10 years go so quickly since June 2014, the last time the USGA brought its marquee event to the sandy loam and turtleback greens of Pinehurst No. 2? “It’s exciting and energizing when you think that it’s actually here,” John Jeffreys, course superintendent of Pinehurst No. 2, says of the transition from Los Angeles Country Club on Father’s Day 2023 to the 2024 competition to Pinehurst.
The Pinehurst Resort wanted to open its 10th course around the time Donald Ross’s masterpiece No. 2 hosts its fourth U.S. Open in June 2024. Tom Pashley, the resort’s president, contacted Doak in mid-2022, and if that Open were a year later Doak most likely would have passed.
Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst Resort will host the 2024 U.S. Open at the venerable Donald Ross course for the fourth time, June 13-16, 2024.
That connection is a recurring theme around Golf Pride’s 36,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Global Innovation Center and headquarters, which debuted in 2019 near the entrance of Pinehurst Resort’s No. 8 course.
As we like to say around the Home of American Golf, “When the dogleg bites, when the bogey stings, when we’re feeling sad, we simply remember our favorite things, and then we don’t feel so bad.”
With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein, there really are an embarrassment of riches in the Sandhills region of North Carolina, particularly when it comes to golf and the associated activities and amenities.
Around the Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen area, these are a few of our favorite things
Pinehurst Resort has announced that it will be creating a brand-new golf courses for the first time in 28 years. Pinehurst No. 10 is set to open in 2024 and will be designed by acclaimed golf course architect Tom Doak. Aside from the golf course, the site in Aberdeen will include a short course, clubhouse, guest cottages and other lodging.
“Tom Doak builds incredible golf courses on sand and we’re excited to see what he’ll create in the North Carolina Sandhills,” says Pinehurst Resort President Tom Pashley. “We’ve worked with some amazing golf architects who’ve embraced our natural aesthetic and believe Tom will do something fantastic on this site.”
