Pinehurst No. 1 Reopens after Nine-Month Renovation

Pinehurst No. 1, the oldest layout in the stable of courses at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, reopens March 8 following a $1.7 million renovation. The nine-month restoration involved the addition of new laser-leveled tee boxes, 419 Bermuda fairways, bunkers, new greens seeded with Penn G2 bentgrass and built to USGA specifications, and a new irrigation system.

One of the most popular layouts at the resort for members and guests, the course generates close to 50,000 rounds a year. 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," he said. "We've got the right bunker sand now, the right coverage on irrigation and beautiful green construction."

Later this year will be another improvement. A new tunnel will be constructed under Morganton Road so golfers won't have to wait for 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 shifted to the right in order to accommodate the tunnel. These are 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. The nine-month renovation was completed by Pinehurst's golf course management team.

"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 revamped course officially debuted 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."

Pinehurst's golf history began in 1897, when founder James Walker Tufts received a letter from the resort dairyman complaining that guests were hitting little white balls into his cow pasture, affecting milk production. The two-year-old health resort soon turned to a golf destination after Tufts asked a local doctor, Leroy Culver, to design the first nine holes of what would become No. 1. John Dunn Tucker completed the 18-hole course in 1899 as a 5,176-yard layout. Donald Ross later redesigned No. 1 in 1901.

No. 1 was the original site of Pinehurst's most storied championships, before 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, proclaimed: "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."

Alex Ross and brother Donald took turns taking first-place honors at the North and South Open Championships during its first five years, and Walter Travis won the 1904 North and South Men's Amateur Championship on No. 1.

Masters champion and golf course architect Ben Crenshaw once extolled Pinehurst's shorter courses, saying: "I just don't think people understand how good those holes are. They're shorter but there's plenty of character to them."