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
So it’s appropriate that a golf and country club in Pinehurst founded by a man named Urquhart should today have a strong bond with the village of Dornoch.
This area of south-central North Carolina has deep Scottish roots dating to the 1700s, when droves of Scottish emigrants fled the Highlands to the shores of North Carolina and moved up the Cape Fear River and its tributaries inland to the pine forests of Moore County. They found land for the taking and plentiful game for hunting.
The board of directors of the Pinehurst Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) voted unanimously at its October 24 meeting to award $821,000 in grants to six Moore County municipalities and non-profits as part of the organization’s One-Time Project Fund (OTPF). This is the first time in the 36-year history of the CVB that the organization has offered a tourism-related grant program. The program was proposed earlier this year due to a surplus of the CVB’s fund balance which created an available pool of up to $1 million for the OTPF.
Whether you are fueling up for a day on the links or simply starting your morning on the right foot, you’re in for a breakfast delight when visiting the Home of American Golf. From coffee shops to trackside noshes, there are some seriously captivating and delicious spots to start your day in and around Pinehurst, Southern Pines, and Aberdeen. At each spot below, you’ll find more than just a cup of coffee.
There are more than a few legends who once walked the grounds of Pinehurst, North Carolina. As a town established in 1895, numerous storied guests and residents have roamed the streets. From world-famous golfers to sharpshooters, these famous men and women impacted history both in the area and well beyond it.
Tom Fazio was working at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, in the mid-1970s on some course renovations leading up to the 1979 U.S. Open when he noticed an ambitious and talented member of the course maintenance staff named Mike Strantz.
“Mike developed a close friendship with Andy Banfield of our staff,” Fazio remembers. “He was a talented artist and drew sketches of golf holes. He showed a real desire to get into golf course design. He liked us and we liked him. After the Inverness project was finished, we offered him a job working for us.”
If Mike Strantz hadn’t died from tongue cancer in 2005 at the young age of 50, would he ever have made it to Pinehurst proper to design a golf course?
We’ll never know, of course, but at least 25 percent of his remarkable but all too limited design portfolio was built within 45 miles of the Village of Pinehurst.
Twenty-five miles to the northeast is Tobacco Road in Sanford, which opened in 1998 with craggy edges, blind shots and dramatic ups and downs whittled from the site of an old sand quarry.
Seagrove potters have exciting activities planned to celebrate American Craft Week from October 7-14. Visitors are invited to browse and purchase new works fresh from the kilns, have an opportunity to meet the potters, enjoy refreshments, watch demonstrations and learn more about the pottery process at participating shops.
Southeast Tourism Society (STS) has named the Festival D’Avion as one of the Signature Events of the Southeast for 2023. The event is one of 20 tourism events selected by STS among its 13 member states and the District of Columbia. It was the only event in North Carolina recognized among the selections. The event was originally nominated by the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).
