Pining for Pinehurst

Nothing could be finer than being in North Carolina at Pinehurst Resort, ‘The Home of American Golf.’ 

By Adam Schupak

I took my wife to Pinehurst Resort for the 2019 U.S. Amateur and for the first hour of our ride home she passed the time on Zillow searching for our next home. We never pulled the trigger, something we came to regret as real estate prices soared post-Pandemic, but I mention it because it perfectly sums up how smitten she was with the quaint, New England-style village dubbed “the Home of America Golf.” She’s not the only one who has found Pinehurst’s many charms irresistible. Well, it is Disneyland for golfers, after all.

Pinehurst Resort consists of 10 – and soon to be an 11^th! – 18-hole golf courses, each named simply by a number, to go along with an 18-hole putting course, and a 9-hole short course. And there’s much more golf to be enjoyed in the surrounding area. A combination of sandy soil, rolling hills, pine forests and a mild climate help make the area called The Sandhills, which roughly comprises the towns of Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen, ideal for golf.

Since 1895, Pinehurst has been a destination for people escaping the hectic pace of the everyday, a peaceful respite proud to be known as the cradle of golf in America. The Holly Inn became the first hotel in the Village of Pinehurst when it opened on New Year’s Eve, 1895, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and remains one of the most charming venues in Pinehurst. The Carolina Hotel is a white, opulent Colonial Revival-style hotel with a breakfast buffet to die for, while the Manor Inn, which was refurbished not long ago, is a fan favorite for many. Each has its own character and charm and it’s hard to go wrong. 

My favorite hangout is the Pinecrest Inn, once owned by legendary course designer Donald Ross, with its covered porch, rocking chairs and timeworn charm. The restaurant is legendary for its tender, 22-ounce pork chop, where the saying goes you can cut it with a fork, but you can't finish it. The golf crowd gathers at Mr. B’s Lounge, the lobby bar, to take turns trying to chip into the hole set in front of a fireplace. There’s a framed photo hanging on a wall showing how Ross used to chip in the lobby too and a who’s who of golfers have followed suit in a tradition unlike any other.

What’s so great about Pinehurst is how the Resort refuses to rest on its laurels. It began 15 years ago with a dramatic restoration of the crown jewel at No. 2. Exposed sandy areas and native wire grasses defined the original rugged landscape of the Pinehurst courses. No. 2 was restored to its Ross-era glory by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw; Gil Hanse renovated the No. 4 Course, crafting a stellar design on some of the best golf land in the Sandhills; near the clubhouse Hanse also created The Cradle, a nine-hole par 3 layout that can be played with a couple of clubs, and Thistle Dhu, a putting course, both with an emphasis on fun. 

The restoration of Pinehurst No. 2 and the surrounding courses reestablished the distinctive landscape features unique to the North Carolina Sandhills. And last year, the Resort opened No. 10, a new course with a vibe all its own designed by architect Tom Doak with a big hand from lead design associate Angela Moser. The new course sits on land formerly occupied by The Pit, a layout that was shuttered in 2010, but Doak used the old mining pit on the par-4 eighth and elsewhere as a nod to the property’s history. 

No. 10’s greens are the stars, featuring plenty of internal contours that never seem extraneous. Unlike Pinehurst No. 2, where the crowned greens reject all but the purest approach shots, No. 10's frequently incorporate friendlier surrounds with external slopes that funnel balls onto or at least nearer to the putting surfaces as often as they might impede a shot. All kinds of chips, pitches, bump-and-runs and putts are possible from the lower sides of greens. No. 10 is long and vast but still feels inviting, even with so much exposed sand in view. It's challenging without being over-the-top hard. As one of my friends, who joined me for the round, later put it, "I felt like I had just played a really unique course without it being gimmicky."

Golfweek’s Jason Lusk hit the nail on the head when he concluded his course review with this high praise: “I’d go back in a heartbeat, and I would be loath to make another trip to Pinehurst that doesn’t include a loop around No. 10.” 

Located about three miles south of the main Pinehurst Resort campus, the new course is just part of a 900-acre region the resort has acquired and named Pinehurst Sandmines. Another 18-hole golf course is under construction by Coore-Crenshaw. If you’re out that way, stop in for the authentic Northern Mexican restaurant La Poblanita in Aberdeen and Cork for some good old-fashioned bourbon or wine.

If the golf upgrade wasn’t enough, the amenities at Pinehurst have improved too. An abandoned steam plant was transformed into the popular Pinehurst Brewing Co.; The Deuce became a stylish apres-golf grill overlooking the 18th green of No. 2; the members' clubhouse and Carolina Hotel dining room were renovated; new swimming, fitness and beach facilities were constructed for members; and in 2024, the World Golf Hall of Fame, which had originally opened in Pinehurst in 1974 before spending 25 years in Florida, moved back home last year and stands beside the USGA’s Golf House Pinehurst.

The hits keep coming. The resort’s No. 2 course hosted the 2024 U.S. Open for the fourth time, and the Ross masterpiece is scheduled to host that USGA championship four more times before the halfway point of this century. Outside of a home game in NorCal, there’s no better Open venue. Where else – other than Pebble Beach – can you roll out of a championship exit and onto brick sidewalks with charming shops selling pricey golf knick-knacks that if you’re not careful you may require a second mortgage payment? I tend to wear out my credit card at the Old Sport & Gallery, which specializes in golf memorabilia, art, antiques, books, and collectibles.

"I've always said Pinehurst is the anchor in my mall, and I couldn't be here if they weren't here," says shop proprietor Tom Stewart, who opened his museum of golf, where everything is for sale, in 1997. 

There seems to be no end in sight to this busy stretch of activity at Pinehurst to make a great resort greater. They’ve succeeded in making it so technically there’s no need to ever leave the property – except then you’d miss out on nearby courses such as Pine Needles, Mid Pines, Southern Pines and the quirky, cult favorite Tobacco Road. So many golf courses, so little time. It’s why by the time you’re boarding your flight home, you may be tempted to check the local real estate listings too.