Category: News

Record Purse of $10 million Set for 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles

Paradise in the Pines Podcast to Feature Area Personalities and Highlight Tourism

Pinehurst No. 2 Ranked Sixth on Golf Digest’s Annual Rankings of Public Golf Courses

PINEHURST, NC (October 11, 2021) – Pinehurst No. 2, host of three U.S. Open Championships and future host of the 2024 event, is ranked sixth in the United States among Golf Digest magazine’s annual list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses. Other Pinehurst area courses ranked on the list include Pinehurst No. 4 (32nd), Tobacco Road Golf Club (49th), Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club (73rd), Pinehurst No. 8 (76th) and Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club (93rd).

“Once again, these rankings reinforce that the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area is the undisputed ‘Home of American Golf,’” said Phil Werz, president and CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “While these courses are the core of any bucket list trip to the Pinehurst Area, we have a wide variety of quality courses from which to choose that offer an amazing golf experience for a number of price ranges.”

Overall, 17 courses made the list for the first time including Pinehurst No. 4 following a complete remodeling by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2019. Prior to the renovation, the previous version of No. 4 was ranked as high as 57th in 2015-16.

Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club will host the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, the fourth time the event has been held at the Southern Pines course. Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this fall. Tobacco Road has been ranked since 2009 with this year marking its highest position in the poll, moving up from 52nd. Pinehurst No. 8 has been ranked since 2003. Aside from hosting the 2024 U.S. Open, Pinehurst No. 2 will also welcome that national championship in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. In 2020, No. 2 was named as the USGA’s first U.S. Open anchor site.

For a complete look at America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest, click here.

The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In 2020, Moore County ranked as the twelfth largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $396 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county. For more information, visit HomeofGolf.com.

# # #

ConventionSouth Magazine Honors Destination for Best Meeting Sites in the South

PINEHURST, NC (October 7, 2021) – The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has earned its twelfth consecutive Readers’ Choice Award as determined by the voters of ConventionSouth magazine. The CVB is among 415 other convention and visitors’ bureaus, meeting facilities and hotels located across the South to receive this year’s award.

There are only eight 12-time winners of this particular award throughout the Southeast and the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB and the Greensboro CVB are the only organizations in North Carolina to achieve this level of recognition. The only other 12-time winners include: The King and Prince Golf Resort in Georgia; the Myrtle Beach Convention Center; the Chattanooga Tourism Company in Tennessee; Austin Convention Center in Texas; and the Greater Birmingham CVB and Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism, both in Alabama.

According to CVB president and CEO, Phil Werz, the organization garnered top votes for the best meeting sites in the South. More than 8,000 voters participated in this year’s Readers’ Choice survey. The survey also reported its highest voter participation via social media this year. The Readers’ Choice Awards program started in 2001.

“The pandemic provided a great challenge for meeting planners as events and meetings were severely curtailed in the last year,” said Werz. “While we are not back to previous levels in terms of larger meetings and conventions in this destination, leisure demand remains very strong and we have witnessed a return to record hotel occupancy numbers and room tax collections in 2021. It’s great to know that the Pinehurst area remains a desired destination for meetings planners that will return to us when the time is right.”

“ConventionSouthreaders and fans have voted to decide the best meeting sites in the South, and it is no surprise to us that Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB has been selected to receive our annual Readers’ Choice Award,” said ConventionSouthAssociate Publisher Ashleigh Osborne. “The value in receiving this prestigious recognition is that it comes from the United States’ top meeting professionals who hold events in the South. These planners demand the highest level of customer service and quality facilities, and they have contributed in determining that the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB indeed displays the commitment to professionalism, creativity and service that they require.”

Since creation in 2001, this is the eleventh time that Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB has received the award, making it an even greater honor to present it with a 2021 Readers’ Choice Award. Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB will be featured as an award recipient in the December 2021 Awards Issue of ConventionSouth magazine. This exciting issue will also showcase some of the most talented meeting professionals in the nation as ConventionSouthalso presents planners with its annual “Meeting Professionals to Watch” designation. “Featuring peer advice and trade secrets from our Meeting Professionals to Watch in 2022, our Awards Issue is one of the most popular must-read resources within the meetings industry,” Osborne said.

Celebrating almost 40 years as a leading meeting planning resource, ConventionSouthmagazine is based in Gulf Shores, Ala., and is distributed to more than 18,000 meeting professionals located across the country who book meetings held within the South, according to Osborne. A complete list of award winners can be found online at: https://conventionsouth.com/2021-readers-choice-award-winners-announced/

The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In 2019, Moore County ranked as the eleventh largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $563 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county.

# # #