A U.S. Open Year
The Pinehurst elixir is two-fold. The village and club offer a blend of history and aesthetics and devotion to the game of golf that set a perfect table for such a competitive feast.
The Pinehurst elixir is two-fold. The village and club offer a blend of history and aesthetics and devotion to the game of golf that set a perfect table for such a competitive feast.
Anyone who has ever teed it up in the Pinehurst area knows the name Donald Ross. A transplanted Scot, Donald Ross fused his home course knowledge (Royal Dornoch and its elevated, contoured greens) and his study at St. Andrews (strategic options) to become the most honored and most prolific early American architect. Between 1919 and 1926, six U.S. Opens were played on his designs. Pinehurst No. 2 was his masterpiece, but Seminole, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill and Inverness weren’t far behind. In the Sandhills alone, he crafted Pine Needles, Mid Pines and Southern Pines, among others. Less known about Donald Ross? He could really play.
Ripping out grass on a U.S. Open golf course was, indeed, an extremist move. But Pinehurst owner Robert Dedman Jr., CEO Don Padgett II, and architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were willing 11 years ago to roll the dice on Pinehurst No. 2, the site of multiple major championships throughout more than a century.
This fall, there is a sense of rebirth around the Home of American Golf.
For those who prefer to sling a bag over their shoulders, push a trolley or hire a caddie, the pendulum is swinging back in the early 2020s, both in how the game is played and how courses are designed and maintained. Courses that two decades ago required golfers to ride a cart are leaving transportation to choice.
Boasting an abundance of picturesque spaces and memorable places, Moore County — including the Southern Pines, Pinehurst, and Aberdeen communities — serves up plenty of opportunities for a #SandhillsSelfie.