1999 U.S. Open: A Look Back

A U.S. Open at Pinehurst seems old hat now. In about a year, the esteemed No. 2 course will be the venue for its fourth rendition of America’s national championship, following 1999 (won by Payne Stewart), 2005 (Michael Campbell) and 2014 (Martin Kaymer). And after the 2024 competition, there are four more on the docket through 2047 as the USGA has tabbed Pinehurst No. 2 as an “anchor site” for the Open.

2024 U.S. Open: A Look Ahead

The Village of Pinehurst, the broader Sandhills community and the revered No. 2 course are officially in countdown mode as the calendar swings to one year out from the 2024 U.S. Open.      Where did 10 years go so quickly since June 2014, the last time the USGA brought its marquee event to the sandy loam and turtleback greens of Pinehurst No. 2? “It’s exciting and energizing when you think that it’s actually here,” John Jeffreys, course superintendent of Pinehurst No. 2, says of the transition from Los Angeles Country Club on Father’s Day 2023 to the 2024 competition to Pinehurst.

X Marks the 10-Spot

The Pinehurst Resort wanted to open its 10th course around the time Donald Ross’s masterpiece No. 2 hosts its fourth U.S. Open in June 2024. Tom Pashley, the resort’s president, contacted Doak in mid-2022, and if that Open were a year later Doak most likely would have passed.

A Few of Our Favorite (Golfing) Things

As we like to say around the Home of American Golf, “When the dogleg bites, when the bogey stings, when we’re feeling sad, we simply remember our favorite things, and then we don’t feel so bad.”

With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein, there really are an embarrassment of riches in the Sandhills region of North Carolina, particularly when it comes to golf and the associated activities and amenities.

Around the Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen area, these are a few of our favorite things

Pinehurst Resort Announces New Course to be Designed by Tom Doak

Pinehurst Resort has announced that it will be creating a brand-new golf courses for the first time in 28 years. Pinehurst No. 10 is set to open in 2024 and will be designed by acclaimed golf course architect Tom Doak. Aside from the golf course, the site in Aberdeen will include a short course, clubhouse, guest cottages and other lodging.

“Tom Doak builds incredible golf courses on sand and we’re excited to see what he’ll create in the North Carolina Sandhills,” says Pinehurst Resort President Tom Pashley. “We’ve worked with some amazing golf architects who’ve embraced our natural aesthetic and believe Tom will do something fantastic on this site.”

Coore & Crenshaw Roots Run Deep

Golf architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw each have a significant tie to the Sandhills and Pinehurst No. 2 from their respective early days in golf.

Coore was born in 1946 and grew up in nearby Davidson County. As a boy, he made frequent trips with adult golf friends and boys his own age to Pinehurst to play limitless summertime golf on No. 2, this before the advent of air conditioning and Pinehurst becoming a year-round resort