PINEHURST AREA IS FORE GOLFERS.
by MARC ATCHISON

EVERY MAN HAS THREE FRIENDS. NOT BECAUSE THEY LIKE
THE COMPANY BUT BECAUSE it makes a perfect traveling
golf foursome. And besides, playing golf by yourself is
like having sex alone – there’s no one there to appreciate
your accomplishment.  So there I was with three friends -
Claudio, Wynn and Terry - navigating the back roads of
North Carolina headed in the direction of this golf Mecca
where hundreds of thousands of players come each year
to pay homage to the guru of course designers, Donald
Ross.  It was in Pinehurst, where Ross made his home -
now a national shrine - where the great designer carved
out several amazing courses in the tall pine wilderness
that surrounds this Rockwellien town.

His greatest accomplishment is now part of the eight courses that make up the amazing Pinehurst Resort, a mega golf complex that has grown in past years to include several historic inns in town like the charming Carolina which comes complete with a wrap around porch and rocking chairs. How southern!

Pinehurst No. 2 and its saucer-like greens – a Ross trademark – has become a part of golf lore because it is considered one of the toughest tests on the planet.
The site of two U.S. Opens, the most memorable of which was the 1999 edition when the late Payne Stewart sank a dramatic 15-foot putt on the 18th hole to win one of the game’s greatest prizes. A few days later Stewart was killed in a plane crash but he still casts a shadow over the 18th hole in the form of a bronze statue that was erected in his honor a year after his death.  It’s that statue, which freezes Stewart in the classic one legged, fist punching pose that he broke into after his Hollywood ending on No. 18 that every player now insists having their photograph taken in front of.

My friend Claudio, a Payne Stewart fan, went one step further.  “How do you like my outfit?” asked the dapper Claudio when he showed up on the first tee at Pinehurst No. 2 wearing Plus-4s (knickers) - Stewart’s trademark.  “I want to play this course just the way Payne played it back in 1999,” Claudio announced.  Off we went – with two burly caddies (Claudio nicknamed them Moe and Slow) carrying four sets of clubs (the caddies are optional but add to the excitement of playing this legendary layout).  Besides, the caddies try their best to keep us weekend duffers out of trouble – most time not succeeding, however.

Tiger Woods once said: “From tee to green, Pinehurst No. 2
is nothing special. But those greens, Wow, those greens!”

Ross was a cruel man – at least when it came to making greens. Think of them as green magic carpets, and hold onto your hat because you’re in for a helluva ride. The master architect believed the short game is what separates good and great golfers. Hey, maybe he was the one who came up with that classic golf line: “Drive for show – putt for dough.”

My opening tee shot was arrow straight and my approach shot landed just right of the green – an easy up and down, right?
“I’ve seen professionals four putt from where you are, remarked my caddy, who was wrong with his prediction – it took me five putts to finally sink the ball.  Welcome to Pinehurst No. 2!

The greens are so hard to navigate at No. 2 that Pinehurst Resort actually offers lessons to help golfers try and overcome them. You can prepare for the slick challenge that awaits you here by practicing at home – on top of your car roof.
The rest of our round on No. 2 was just as challenging but the surroundings were delightful. This really is a walk in the park, with pencil straight pines and enough flora to stock several botanical gardens.

Claudio’s round was more “pain” than Payne’s but he got to walk in the footsteps of his golfing hero and in the end had his photograph taken beside the bronze statue of the legendary Stewart.  But Pinehurst is a lot more than No. 2. The resort’s other seven courses are just as pleasing to play and cost a lot less. Nos. 1, 4 and 7 along with No. 2 would be the perfect foursome to play here.  The area surrounding Pinehurst, which is made up of the lovely communities called Southern Pines and Aberdeen, make this course-rich region one of the great golf destinations in America.

There are 43 courses packed into a 15-mile radius so there’s is a course suited to every level of a player’s game. The accommodation here ranges from the super luxurious Pinehurst Resort to comfortable inns, condos and hotels – all suited for traveling golf foursomes.

There’s some good news for Canadian golfers, especially those who want to make a trip here in the least amount of time. Delta, which flies out of Montreal and Toronto, now has a seasonal flight into Pinehurst – it ends Nov. 13 – via Atlanta. That should provide even more golf traffic for the area that can, because of its course inventory, handle much more.

You don’t have to play the Donald Ross courses at Pinehurst to get a feel for the man’s genius – although not playing the Pinehurst Resort courses would be like touring Rome without stopping at the Vatican. Mid Pines, located down the road in Southern Pines, is a four and a half star (Golf Digest) Ross creation and Pine Needles is another is his masterpieces. Golf architects live for their day they can create a course on Ross’ Pinehurst canvas so the area is filled with layouts deigned by the likes of Jack Nicklaus (National Golf Club); Arnold Palmer (the Palmer course at Woodlake and the Carolina); Gary Player (Pinewild Country Club); Rees Jones (Talamore); Ellis Maples (the Maple course at Woodlake, and two courses at Whispering Pines); and so on and so on… Let’s not forget the amazing Tobacco Road just up the road in Sanford, N.C., which, it says here, is, pound for pound, one of the top 5 courses in the state – maybe the country.

This region is especially affordable during the lazy days of summer.   While the heat can be excruciating at times, remember Pinehurst was the place aristocrats used to spend their summers because it’s much cooler than other parts of the south.
Strolls around idyllic Pinehurst and dinners at the quaint Holly Inn – part of the Pinehurst Resort empire – are all part of the thrill of playing in and around this fairytale town which, with its white picket fences, is apple-pie America at its best.

Pinehurst is easy to get to – either by car or now plane –

but it’s a hard place to leave.

For more information on golf packages at Pinhurst and the Pinehurst area visit www.homeofgolf.com or www.pinehurst.com

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Marc Atchison is the former Travel and Golf Editor of Canada’s largest daily newspaper The Toronto Star. More of Marc’s stories are also available on www.tnnworld.com.