Pinehurst Resort Offers Elegant Golf and Lifestyle

By SCOTT MARTIN

            Golf at Pinehurst. There’s a ring to that, a clarion call almost, an invitation heard and heeded around the world. When golfers not fortunate enough to live in the Tar Heel state think North Carolina, they almost always think Pinehurst and the storied yet muted elegance of the clubhouse, the remarkable consistency of the golf, and that magnesium-bright white of the resort’s Carolina Hotel set against the stark azure of a Carolina blue sky. Pinehurst is a celebration of the game, its adjuncts, and the art of getting away from the hassles of modernity and the absurdities of the frantic lifestyles that so many of us lead.

            It’s not a stretch to say that golf in North Carolina would not be the same without Pinehurst. It was the resort’s founder, James Tufts, who lured the fresh-off-the-boat (and penniless) Donald Ross to the Sandhills. The story goes that Ross thought the land reminded him of his native Scotland but that has to be a lie. Today, much of the Pinehurst area is pristinely landscaped, but 100 years ago, based on the abundance of photographic evidence, the land that’s home to one of the top destinations in the golfing universe was nothing more than scraggly pine forest dotted with swampy ponds – not exactly a landscape that mirrors the majesty and power of Scotland’s wind-blasted and unforested coast.

            Still, Ross saw something in the Sandhills that he liked. Although he traveled frequently and often spent the summers in New England, Pinehurst was his home until his death in 1948. In almost 50 years, Ross established Pinehurst as the cradle of American tournament and championship golf. His firm built famous and routine courses in North Carolina from Asheville in the west to Wilmington in the east. He set the standard for golf course architecture in North Carolina.

            There are eight golf courses at Pinehurst, with a ninth expected to open in the next five years or so. With superb architectural pedigrees and perfect land, all are excellent and one can claim greatness. Let’s take a quick tour of the property.

If Pinehurst No. 1 were located in a metropolitan area, it would be one of that city’s top courses. It plays longer than it looks and there are some long, tough, textbook Ross par 3s that must be conquered. Writers have penned hundreds of thousands of words about Pinehurst No. 2 and thus it needs little introduction but its seemingly simple design is the modern antidote to space-bred shafts, hot balls and high-COR drivers. When the USGA held the U.S. Open there in 1999, it baffled most of the best golfers in the world. The enduring image from that tournament is Payne Stewart holing his famous putt. But in the final round, John Daly had an 11 on the eighth, pinballing his orb around the green, proving that successful navigation of No. 2 requires cerebral application, not grip it and rip it.

            At only 5,682 yards from the tips, Pinehurst No. 3 is often overlooked as too short to be of any consequence. But scoring isn’t necessarily easy as the greens are so strong that Pinehurst staff once spotted Ben Crenshaw studying the contouring. If there was ever a stepchild at Pinehurst, it might have been No. 4, once a Ross design but subsequently patched over by numerous architects hired without useful direction. That all changed in 1998, when Pinehurst asked Tom Fazio to produce a new course using many of the existing corridors. The result, which opened in 2000, gives Pinehurst an “on-campus” test to rival No. 2. The non-Ross courses begin with No. 5, designed by Ellis Maples. While No. 5 lacks the teeth and muscularity of No. 2 and No. 4 and thus may not appeal to the scratch man, it’s a fun course perfect for a spirited match play contest.

            The portfolio of off-campus courses begins with No. 6, designed initially in 1979 by George Fazio and subsequently tweaked by his nephew Tom. The course is the most undulating of the Pinehurst courses and the back nine is well known in the area as one of the better tests. Rees Jones designed No. 7 in the mid-'80s, making good use of one of the best properties in the area. Jones provided the resort with an interesting pastiche – part pure Pinehurst, part Pine Valley, part English parkland. Not completely happy with the end result, Jones has been tweaking the course in the past year to add some length, improve the drainage and recontour some around the green complexes. It will re-open this spring.

            To celebrate the resort’s centenary, Pinehurst contracted Tom Fazio to build No. 8 on land previously used, in part, for shooting. The course instantly became one of the most popular at the resort and, with its difficult and firm greens, one of the most controversial. But few doubt the quality of the design and its rugged “rough around the edges” look that’s a pleasant contrast to the other Pinehurst courses. There are no houses on the course.

            So what of No. 9? All the resort will say is that it’s still on the drawing. There is no scheduled opening date. But it’s not a question of if, but when, according to a Pinehurst spokesperson.

            As was the case when the resort opened in 1895, there is much more to Pinehurst than golf. Those who think that a Taylor Made R500 series is deep-sea diving suit for fat people can boat, bike, bowl, beach, banquet, croquet, steam, tennis, shop, sup, swim, lounge, and now, among myriad other treatments, have warm rocks placed on their back in the super-sumptuous-no-expense-spared-brand-spanking-new Spa at Pinehurst. This opened last year and is already a huge hit with guests and locals.

            Accommodation at Pinehurst ranges from the well-appointed Carolina Hotel to the unbridled luxuriance of The Holly. Pinehurst purchased the latter five years ago; then, during the much needed renovation, outspent an unlimited budget. The quality of the fare at The Holly rivals that of a four-star restaurant in a large city.

Events are also becoming increasingly popular at Pinehurst. There are numerous golf, tennis, lawn bowls and croquet tournaments throughout the year. Every fall, the resort hosts its Grand Slam event where golfers from each club that has hosted a major tournament come to Pinehurst. Each Thanksgiving, the North Carolina Symphony kicks off the holiday season with a concert at Pinehurst. And in just two years, the U.S. Open returns to No. 2. Things went so well in 1999, that, as yet, no significant changes are planned for the 2005 Open.

The resort can obviously accommodate those who really want to splurge but, for those who want to get the Pinehurst experience for a more modest investment, the opportunity exists.

And it’s an opportunity that should be enjoyed. Every golfer in North Carolina needs to visit Pinehurst once a year, arriving early on a sunny spring or fall morning, rolling down the windows in the car as the soil turns from amber clay to soft sand, inhaling the scent of pine, moving forward to the destination and yet stepping back into another world. It’s the world of the golfers and personalities whose photos line the halls in the clubhouse and the Carolina Hotel. It’s the world where you can still walk the golf course. It’s the world of Payne Stewart and Donald Ross. Quite simply, it’s Golf at Pinehurst.