A rare bright spot during the eye of the pandemic came in early September 2020, when the United States Golf Association named Pinehurst Resort and Country Club’s legendary No. 2 course as its first “anchor site” for U.S. Open Championships.
“Getting the No. 6 job was a major step for us in the golf-design business,” Tom Fazio says of the mid-1970s assignment to build the resort’s first course away from its core operation in the Village of Pinehurst. “There was next-to-nothing new built in 1974 and ’75. Then the call came from Pinehurst.”
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
Southern Pines Golf Club, an original Donald Ross designed golf course built in 1906, has been recognized by raters from Golf Digest as one of the best renovation projects for 2022.
“For me, Pinehurst is such a special place for golf,” says Fazio, who at 77 is still designing new courses and working on renovations of his earlier works. “Put Donald Ross in the equation and it’s even more special. It’s been an historical destination for over a century. There’s a special feeling — a feeling for golf and its tradition and history and longevity.”
Fall around the Home of American Golf may be the most enticing season of all, when there’s a nip in the air on the first tee and you’re out of your pullover by the turn.
Calling these “the best of times” around the Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen area of North Carolina might seem like it’s saying a lot, but sometimes the shoe simply fits. Just take a look at everything that is currently happening around the Home of American Golf.
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.
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.
