VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. (February 29, 2008)
Pinehurst No. 1, the oldest layout in the stable of courses at Pinehurst Resort, will reopen Saturday following a $1.7 million renovation, officials said.
The nine-month restoration of Pinehurst No. 1 included the addition of new laser-leveled tee boxes, 419 Bermuda fairways, sand bunkers, new greens constructed to USGA specifications and seeded with Penn G2 Bent grass, and a state-of-the-art irrigation system.
One of the most popular layouts at the resort for both members and guests, the course logs close to 50,000 rounds a year. Tee times are now available for resort play beginning March 2.
The restoration was the first major work done on No. 1 since the early 1980s, according to Brad Kocher, senior vice president of grounds and golf course management at Pinehurst.
“On any golf course you need to maintain the infrastructure,” Kocher said. “We’ve got the right bunker sand now, the right coverage on irrigation and beautiful green construction.”
It will also have improved accessibility through a major project planned for 2008. A tunnel will be constructed under Morganton Road so golfers won’t have to wait for oncoming traffic to stop as they leave the first green and head to the second tee. Kocher said the second tee was moved forward and the 16th green to the right in order to accommodate for construction of the tunnel.
Those were the only design changes of note to the 6,093-yard layout, beyond moving a few greens away from Morganton Road, and reshaping some bunkers and tees.
“When you’ve got a good golf course and good routing, you essentially leave it alone,” Kocher said. “When people come out here, they are going to have the same feeling as before; the course will just be in so much better shape.”
The nine-month renovation was completed by Pinehurst’s golf course management team. It officially reopens March 1 with a Pinehurst Country Club members’ event.
“If you ask 100 members or guests to describe No. 1, all of them would say it’s fun,” Kocher said. “It’s a golf course you can play in four hours or less and really enjoy. It sits on the land right, it’s scenic, it has good landscaping. You feel good after playing No. 1, and now golfers will feel even better.”
Storied History of Pinehurst No. 1
Pinehurst’s legendary golf history began in 1897, when Pinehurst founder James Walker Tufts received a letter from the resort dairyman proclaiming guests were hitting little white balls into the cow pasture, affecting milk production.
The two-year old health resort turned to a golf destination when Tufts asked a local doctor, Leroy Culver, to design the first rudimentary nine holes of what would become No. 1. John Dunn Tucker would complete the 18-hole course in 1899 as a 5,176-yard layout. Donald Ross later redesigned the course following his arrival, in 1901.
Pinehurst No. 1 was the original site of Pinehurst’s most storied championships before Pinehurst No. 2 opened in 1907. It drew America’s first golfers to Pinehurst, including famed British Amateur Harry Vardon, who, after four exhibition rounds in 1900, saying, “It (No. 1) is very sporty, no two holes alike. You have 18 holes which it will be a great pleasure to any golfer to play over."
Walter Travis won the 1904 North and South Men’s Amateur Championship on No. 1; Alex Ross and brother Donald Ross took turns taking first place honors at the North and South Open Championships on the course for its first five years.
Ben Crenshaw also proclaimed the strength of Pinehurst’s shorter courses, noting “I just don’t think people understand how good those holes are. They’re shorter but there’s plenty of character to them.”
Photography of No. 1 can be found on http://www.pinehurstmedia.com For more information or to make a reservation, see www.pinehurst.com or call 800-487-4653.
About Pinehurst
Located in the North Carolina heartland, world-renowned Pinehurst Resort is a 2,000-acre property founded in 1895 by Bostonian James Walker Tufts. Its storied golf history began in 1901 with the United North and South Men’s Amateur Championship, one of the nation’s oldest consecutive running amateur events. Other major championships at Pinehurst include the 1936 PGA Championship, 1951 Ryder Cup Matches, 1991-92 TOUR Championships, and nine USGA Championships. It will serve as the site of the 2008 U.S. Amateur for the second time in its history, as well as the 2014 U.S. Open Championship for the third time in fifteen years.
Pinehurst Country Club was founded in 1899 and currently consists of 4,800 active members.
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