Architect Tom Doak and his crew will break ground on a new course for the legendary Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina later this month, the resort’s tenth. It is expected to open in the spring of 2024, to coincide with the return of the US Open to Pinehurst’s No. 2 course.
The course will be built on the site of the old Pit Golf Links, designed by local architect Dan Maples, which closed in 2010, and was bought by the resort early the following year. It is located around four miles south of the main Pinehurst resort clubhouse.
Before Maples created the course, the site was an abandoned sand mine, hence its name. The new course will incorporate rugged dunes mined at the turn of the 20th century accented by native sand and wiregrass. With natural ridgelines, intriguing landforms, longleaf pines, streams and ponds, Doak envisions a course that complements the resort’s other courses through its contrasts.
“The site is topographically distinct and drastically different from anywhere in Pinehurst,” Doak says. “It’s bigger, bolder and more dramatic. There’s about 75 feet of elevation change, and we’ll work our way up to it around the mid-point of the layout. You’ll have expansive views from this apex over the rest of the course. It will be an unforgettable experience for golfers.”
“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.”
German designer and shaper Angela Moser will serve as Doak’s lead design associate for this project. Moser has worked with Doak on many projects, including the acclaimed new St Patrick’s course at Rosapenna in Ireland, and the forthcoming Te Arai in New Zealand.
“The number one thing that excited us about the project is working with the beautiful sand that’s native to this region,” Doak says. “The sand, the wiregrass, the bluestem grass, and other native grasses that grow around the Sandhills create a fabulous texture for golf. It’s something most places just don’t have.”
In addition to Doak’s routing, Pinehurst envisions the potential for more growth in the area, which encompasses 900 total acres in Aberdeen, of which the golf course site amounts to some 200 acres. A variety of development opportunities will be evaluated with town officials, including additional golf, short course, clubhouse, guest cottages and other lodging.