SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. – The most famous of the 51 courses in the golf mecca called Pinehurst area is Pinehurst No. 2, recently named an anchor site for the U.S. Open by the U.S. Golf Association. This week the area will also host the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, and many more big events are sure to come to the area now that the USGA is moving its headquarters there.

The USGA will have plenty of courses to choose from, the most unusual being Talamore. A Rees Jones design that opened in 1991, Talamore has long been one of the Pinehurst area’s most popular layouts for both local players and visitors, but they probably best remember it because of the llamas that grazed in a fenced-in area near the No. 14 tee.

When Talamore opened the llamas were used as caddies.  That’s no longer the case, but they’re still on the premises as a photo op for golfing visitors looking for the unusual, and they’ve even been incorporated into the new flags on every green.

The original course underwent a 2016 renovation and more upgrades followed in recent years, resulting in the layout now being called The New Course at Talamore. Visiting golfers still have something new to photograph, and it’s a lot more fearsome than those docile llamas. The resort is one of the first in the country to install EcoBunkers.  There are 10 of them spaced around holes 2, 5, 9, 15 and 17.

To say those bunkers are difficult to escape is putting it mildly. At least no one in my group could get a ball on a green from out of them, and the starter had advised us to just chip back to the fairway most of the time to minimize frustration.  That was good advice.

These sod-wall bunkers are steep, and the tallest on No. 9 is seven feet high.

While these bunkers are a significant challenge and could be controversial, they’re also beautiful.

Matt Hausser, the general manager at the Talamore Resort, likens them to the bunkers on courses in the British Isles that have hosted the British Open. He admits those at Talamore “might be a little daunting’’  to some players, but they’ll also make for good conversation after their rounds.

“(Golfers) are going to notice that they want to miss them,’’ quipped Hausser.

And that’s not all.

These EcoBunkers aren’t going away any time soon. Hausser believes they’ll last for decades. The resort opted to put them in as part of an on-going multi-million dollar property enhancement that also included the addition of a Toptracer range and a 15,000-square foot practice putting course.

EcoBunkers resemble the best of the traditional sod wall bunkers, but they’re more sturdy because synthetic grass tiles were used in their construction.

The EcoBunker edging system dates back to 2006, at the Radyr Golf Club in Cardiff, South Wales. The course there was designed by the legendary course architect Harry S. Colt.  Its bunkers proved  vulnerable to erosion and alternative measures were considered when repair costs escalated.  That led to Richard Allen, a club member and civil engineer, finding a solution.

Some rolls of artificial grass carpet – commonly known as Astroturf – were being temporarily stored in the club’s parking lot. Allen’s ensuing research revealed that much of that Astroturf was being dumped into a landfill, which also meant another big cost, and that the material was not bio-degradable. That suggested it was resilient and durable.

Allen turned inventor, and eventually was granted patent protection. Now clubs in 40 countries have incorporated a form of EcoBunkers.  The system used at Talamore is a wall constructed on multiple layers of stacked artificial grass tiles. That provides a permanently safe resilient edge, significantly reduces sand contamination from bunker sides, prevents damage and eliminates the time-consuming greenkeeping practice of bunker edging.

Allen formed EcoBunker Ltd. in 2014 and the product has evolved since then. Scottish style bunkers became more in demand in states such as Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas where tropical temperatures are more extreme and heavy rain and winds associated with hurricanes and tornados caused significant stress on bunker walls.

The Talamore Resort has a second 18-holer, the King’s Course at Mid South Club. It’s an Arnold Palmer design that opened in 1993 and was completely renovated in 2017.  It doesn’t have llamas or EcoBunkers but does have more elevation changes than Talamore and is generally considered more difficult. Both courses were well-conditioned and had firm, generous fairways and greens that were fast and tricky.

Both also offered excellent lodging options.  That includes the Palmer Cottage, a new feature located between the two courses.

 

PINEHURST, North Carolina – These are extraordinary times for the “Cradle of American Golf.’’

The U.S. Golf Association will begin unveiling its new campus in Pinehurst on Dec. 1. This six-eight acre spot will evolve leading into the U.S. Open in June, 2024. That may turn out to be the most significant addition to the golf industry, but — shortly before the big tournament — Pinehurst No. 10 will become the first new design to open at the resort in nearly three decades. Its opening is scheduled for April 3.

In between the two openings the USGA will be working its way into a new era, and it’s been a long time coming. Discussion about the move from New Jersey to Pinehurst started during the frequent rain delays during the 2009 U.S. Open in New York. Now those talks have come to fruition.

“Our campus all along was to showcase all our values, not just our championships,’’ said Janeen Driscoll, director of brands communications for the USGA. “This community only knows us for the U.S. Opens we bring here. We truly believe this is the center of the golf universe, and we’re going to give back.’’

The USGA received $27 million from the state of North Carolina to help bolster economic development and Pinehurst donated the land.

Pinehurst also produced 1,200 on its volunteer wait list, community involvement that impressed the USGA, and the organization was also interested in working with the well-regarded North Carolina State University agronomy program.

Several Pinehurst people were hired by the USGA to open an office after the 2005 U.S. Open was played at Pinehurst No. 2. It was a small operation – a max of 20 staffers to focus on U.S. Open matters – while the corporate office remained in New Jersey. There are 350 people based there.

With the shift in headquarters the Pinehurst office staff will max out at 65.  It’s a massive facility built on land that had been used for tennis courts and is located between The Carolina Hotel and the first tee of Pinehurst No. 2 with the address of 3 Carolina Vista.

One wing of the complex will house administrative offices and the equipment testing  center. The other will have the USGA Experience on the bottom floor and the World Golf Hall of Fame on the higher floors.

At our museum in New Jersey most everything is about the history of golf,’’ said Driscoll. “About 90 percent of our collection is in a vault below ground, though, and most people don’t get to see it. We have golf bags of most every president, books dating back to 1400 and a very rich art collection related to the game of golf.  That’s why we built this. It’s not just to look back at history.’’

The World Golf Hall of Fame started in Pinehurst in the 1970s. Upon its return the Pinehurst Resort wil become the site of the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies every year a U.S. Open is held in Pinehurst. The next inductions will be sponsored by CME Group next June 10.

Some items from the New Jersey museum will be brought to Pinehurst and exhibits will change every six months. The walk through the USGA Experience and Hall of Fame will be seamless.

The USGA Experience will feature a championship gallery, interactive exhibits, movie shorts and video clips that will intrigue golf devotees.

“It’ll give us a chance to story-tell more than we had in New Jersey,’’ said Driscoll, a golf industry veteran who has been a Pinehurst area resident since 2000.  “This will be almost double the size of what we have in New Jersey.’’

The equipment test center in New Jersey will be demolished and moved to Pinehurst. The new headquarters will also be a base for the USGA to develop a national team similar to what other countries have.

That’ll be headed by Heather Daly Donofrio, who came over from the Ladies PGA Tour to become USGA managing director of player relations and development. In September Chris Zambri, associate head men’s coach at Pepperdine University, was named the first head coach of the U.S. National Development Program.

ALL THESE NEW THINGS tend to overshadow the hard work put in by the longstanding members of the Pinehurst golf industry.  The course at the Talamore Resort, for instance, once was known for the llamas that graze in an area on the back nine.  That’s still a novel feature, but the course has been renovated and is now called The New Course and its practice range includes Trackman technology.

Talamore has been an old favorite. This time we were introduced to Southern Pines, which has its own following.  Those golfers just got a new 18-hole putting course, called Overhills. It’s a Kyle Franz design.

SOUTHERN PINES, North Carolina – Traveling to golf destinations has had a big impact on our lifestyle for 10 years. Make no mistake, though. The pandemic affected us big-time, just as it has everyone else.

For eight months we didn’t leave Florida, our home for nearly four years now. We didn’t forget how nice it was to drive around the country in search of golf destinations, however, and that urge sent us on our way to the Carolinas in mid-June. We are among the very first to report on the golf travel beat because we were more than mildly curious about how things had changed.

When we began our 11th year of road trips we targeted familiar destinations. Our journeys in the past had ranged from a couple days to over a month, all of them made by car. This first one of 2020 lasted only nine days. We made the decision to shorten it a few days while already on the road because a couple of our planned destinations reported that not all of their courses were ready for play.

Still, we found that golf vacations are very much doable in the Carolinas – just as they were when the pandemic impact hit full-force on March 12 and shut down the PGA Tour. The destinations that we visited never shut down their courses, but they all suffered from the lack of overnight guests.

We enjoyed eight straight days of golf – three courses in Santee, one in Camden and one in Cheraw in South Carolina and three more in the Pinehurst area of North Carolina. The golf offered at these places was almost like it was pre-pandemic. There was no one-player-per-cart policy and driving ranges and putting greens were in full operation. Tee times were standard and plenty of players took advantage of that.

Sponge or styrofoam donuts were in most all the cups to keep players from reaching into the holes. Most courses still kept rakes out of the bunkers, but one dispensed with that policy and had three in most of its bunkers. While flagsticks were to remain in the holes, one foursome that played in front of us had a money game going and pulled the pin on every hole. That wasn’t smart and slowed down play, but the ranger on duty didn’t protest.

In short, everyone was having a good time – at least on the golf courses where social distancing was no problem.

Off the courses it wasn’t quite the same. Lodging was just starting to pick up and the dining establishments weren’t nearly as busy as they had been in those good old days four months ago. On the way home we were stopped by state police at the Georgia-Florida line and asked where we had been. In our case, at least, that was good enough for them to cheerfully send us on our way.

Our goal on this trip was to portray what golf travel is like in this “new normal’’ period, and we didn’t find it bad at all. We suspect more people will be heading to smaller communities, seeing them as a better alternative to big cities health-wise. We’re seeing more golfers walking on their rounds, and that’s a good thing.

The key to having a successful, fun golf trip is in the planning. Lodging can’t be made spur-of-the-moment. Even the bigger hotel chains aren’t operating at full capacity. Buffet lines for breakfast were not allowed. Each diner was served by hotel personnel. Restaurants were available in all locations, but not all were open. Virtually everyone was diligent about sanitizing everything, from the menus in the restaurants to the luggage racks in the hotels.

Strangely, it seemed, clubhouses at the courses were not catering to diners. They mainly provided just beverage service.

As for the overall experience, we saved the best for last. It shouldn’t surprise any traveling golfer that the Pinehurst area was clearly the most prepared for these troubling times. We played lots of courses that were aerating their greens at the start of the trip, but that wasn’t the case at either Talamore Golf Resort or Pine Needles – long-time Pinehurst area favorites.

The two Talamore courses had undergone renovations since our last visit. The original Rees Jones-designed Talamore, which opened in 1991 and drew nationwide attention for have llama caddies, is now called The New Course at Talamore. The llamas are still there – at least we saw two of them headquartered near the No. 14 tee. A good photo op, even though llamas have no duties on the course anymore.

Construction on the Mid South Club, the other course at the Talamore Resort, started in 1988 but the course didn’t open until 1993. An Arnold Palmer design, it was acquired by Talamore in 2004.

Mid South also had its greens converted from bentgrass to champion bermuda. The spectacular double green for holes 9 and 18 is still the biggest eye-catcher on the property but clearly the work done on both layouts as well as in the accompanying villas represent a major upgrade.

The concluding round on our trip was at Pine Needles. It’s always a treat to play there.

Pine Needles is the first course to be awarded four U.S. Women’s Opens by the U.S. Golf Association. The fourth U.S. Women’s Open will be played at Pine Needles in 2022. Previous ones were in 1996, 2001 and 2007.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.TalamoreGolfResort.com, PineNeedlesLodge.com, HomeofGolf.com.

 

PINEHURST, North Carolina – There’s one thing that you can always be sure of when you visit this premier golf destination. There’s always something new and exciting in the works. This time that’s been taken to extremes.

Always looking for something different, our visit this spring provided that in an unusual way. Our two rounds were on courses about to face the wrecking ball. That did two things: it showed what resort owners judged in need of updates and it tantalized us for the possibilities of what lies ahead.

Both the courses we played were created by well-respected designers in the early 1990s. Mid South Golf Club, an Arnold Palmer design, was a favorite of mine off previous visits. Pinehurst No. 4, created by Tom Fazio, provided the stage for a most fun round in our first (and undoubtedly last) tour of the course.

Mid South will be closed on June 5, Pinehurst No. 4 on Sept. 13.

The greens at Mid South will be changed from bentgrass to Champion Bermuda, the same procedure that was performed on the companion Talamore course across the street last summer. The greens will be enlarged by 20-40 percent by Southport, N.C.-based Shapemasters, a firm that has previously worked with courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Rees Jones, Pete Dye, Greg Norman and Tom Fazio.

A hard-packed sand base will be installed as part of a cart path improvement and new condos are being built near the Nos. 9 and 18 greens. Mid South is also adding basketball and pickle ball on one of its tennis courts and putting a new barbecue and hospitality area in near the swimming pool. That’s part of a $6 million capital improvement plan initiated by Talamore’s parent company at its four resorts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

At the Pinehurst Resort, however, the changes will become even more dramatic as soon as this fall. The Pinehurst No. 4 renovation will be a big deal if for no other reason than it’s being directed by the hot architect Gil Hanse, most noted recently for designing the Brazil course that hosted last summer’s Olympics golf competition.

Hanse will be putting in wire-grass, which transformed Pinehurst’s famed No. 2 course for the historic back-to-back U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Opens of 2014. He’ll also eliminate many of the bunkers from the original design. Both moves will enhance a course that has never been short of players in the past.

Pinehurst No. 4 is just part of a bigger transformation at the resort, however. The Deuce, a chef-driven restaurant, is a welcome new addition to the clubhouse and work has already begun at two of its other courses. When everything is done some less frequent visitors might feel they won’t recognize the place.

Already the No. 1 holes on Pinehurst No. 3 and Pinehurst No. 5 have been closed. As soon as next week construction will begin on a par-3 course where those old holes had stood.

Pinehurst No. 3 already has a new first hole and two new par-3s. That was required in its transformation to a par-68 course. The new first hole of Pinehurst No. 5 is to open on May 1.

And that’s not all. Thistle Dhu, the popular putting course, is being moved to a much better location. It’ll be in full view of patrons enjoying all that the clubhouse has to offer.

All these changes may not have really been necessary, but they’re all for the good. Pinehurst has always been a trendsetter when it comes to golf destinations, and that’s been underscored by the projects now in the works.

Davis Love III had barely finished savoring his team’s victory in the Ryder Cup when the U.S. captain had another event to celebrate. His Atlantic Dunes course was to open a day later at South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island. That opening, though, never happened.

Hurricane Matthew caused damage from Florida to South Carolina, but none were more adversely affected than the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head. Many residents couldn’t return to their homes and some of those who could were still without power nearly a week after Matthew battered the Island with 88 mile-per-hour winds and a storm surge upwards of 12 feet.

The status of all the Hilton Head golf courses remained very much in limbo, with no dates set for their re-openings. The much-anticipated opening of Atlantic Dunes is also in doubt. Love’s design firm had completed a complete renovation of the Ocean Course — the first 18-holer built on Hilton Head.

When it’s available the re-design will provide a more seaside ambience to Sea Pines. Atlantic Dunes will also be a nice complement to Sea Pines’ other courses – the Harbour Town Golf Links, jointly designed by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus, and Dye’s Heron Point.

More on Matthew

While Hilton Head got hit the hardest by the hurricane, other courses were impacted to lesser degrees. The King & Bear and Slammer & Squire courses at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, FL. – to the south of Hilton Head – were “lucky,’’ according to general manager Jim Hahn. He reported fallen trees, flooding, damaged bunkers and debris but expects both courses to be re-open before the week is out.

Thirty-eight courses in Myrtle Beach, S.C., — to the north – were reported closed because of storm damage but 22 of those were scheduled to re-open on Wednesday, Oct. 12, and eight more set their re-openings for no more than six days after that.

Power outages were the main problem for the courses in Charleston, S.C. The course hit the hardest was The Links at Stono Ferry, which lost over 50 trees and was unable to determine a re-opening date. Wild Dunes, one of the bigger resorts in the area and one that had suffered badly in previous hurricanes, was back in operation in just a few days and another, Kiawah, planned to open on Friday.

Only one major competition was affected by Matthew. The Web.com Tour Championship at Atlantic Beach, FL., was cancelled.

Now it’s the `New Course’

The mood is more upbeat in the Pinehurst., N.C., area. Talamore is celebrating its 25th anniversary, but the course isn’t looking that old. Now, after a major summer re-do, it’s being billed as `The New Course.’’

The greens were converted from bentgrass to Champion Bermuda, a growing trend in that area, and most of the more than 75 bunkers were eliminated from Talamore’s original layout. They were replaced in part by 12 sod wall bunkers – the first to be built at Pinehurst.

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Reynolds is going National

The National Club Cottages, adjacent to the Tom Fazio-designed National Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga., are now available.

They’re the latest addition to National Village, an ongoing $40 million investment in progress at the resort that features six courses. Each of the Cottages can accommodate eight people. They have four bedrooms, 4 ½ baths, a full kitchen, two open living space areas and an expansive porch area.

The clubhouse and golf shop at National Village had been renovated prior to the opening of the Cottages. National Tavern, the newest restaurant on the premises, has become the centerpiece of the area.

More in Michigan

Golf-rich Michigan again leads the Midwest with courses ranked in Golf Magazine’s Top 100. It has five – Forest Dunes, Arcadia Bluffs, Greywalls, Tullymore and Bay Harbor. Only five other states have more courses ranked in the Top 100.

Michigan will also have another candidate for top honors next year. Sloatin Brae has opened on a limited basis at the Scott family’s Gull Lake View Resort in Augusta, Mich. Sloatin Brae is the first on the premises not designed by members of the Scott family.

Renaissance Golf Design, Tom Doak’s firm in Traverse City, Mich., designed the new course (though Doak isn’t the architect of record). Sloatin Brae opened a 12-hole loop to provide a sneak preview of the full layout that will open in 2017.

Here and there

Old Kinderhook, in Camdenton, Mo., has scheduled its Golf Appreciation Stay & Play packages for Oct. 23-31.

The Glen Club, in Glenview, IL., will host the World Speedgolf Championship from Oct. 17-18.

Chicago’s Medinah Country Club will host the Bush Cup on Friday. It’s a college match pitting the men’s teams of Army and Northwestern.

PINEHURST, North Carolina – Make no mistake. Pinehurst is at the very top of the world’s golf resorts. That hasn’t changed. The nine courses there — coupled with the other amenities provided at its Carolina Hotel, Holly Inn, Manor Inn and related condos — make Pinehurst a very special destination.

The term Pinehurst, though, doesn’t refer to just one golf resort in the eyes of most golfers. Pinehurst is an area as well that encompasses the neighboring towns of Southern Pines and Aberdeen. With their restaurants and other golf communities, they also enhance the overall Pinehurst experience.

Regular visitors may already be aware of this, but it’s possible to get as good (or maybe even better) a golf experience by visiting the other facilities nearby as it is to stay just at the big resort.

Some of the others have joined forces to offer golf packages as well. For instance, how about a three-round trip in which you play Dormie Club, Mid South and Talamore? They’re all within a few miles of the big resort and – though none have a famous course like Pinehurst No. 2 – their layouts are plenty good.

That’s just one option. Here’s a synopsis of what you’ll get if you try out nearby facilities that don’t include Pinehurst Resort’s nine layouts.

DORMIE CLUB – This layout, four miles north of the village of Pinehurst, has been rated the second-best public course in North Carolina by Golf Digest magazine, behind only Pinehurst’s legendary No. 2. As most of you know, I don’t take all the formal polls as gospel, but Dormie Club does stand out from the other area courses.

The design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed this one, which opened in 2010. Its most defining feature is the 80 feet of elevation changes. You don’t get that in many places in the Carolinas.

Couple the elevation with the natural lakes, pine forests and sandy waste areas that were incorporated into the design and you have a most memorable golf experience on a course that doesn’t quite reach 7,000 yards from the tips. The course has a rustic, natural look with beds of pinecones defining many of the areas between greens and tees.

The clubhouse is a very modest one, and that’s as much a part of the charm as the understated logo and limited signage around the place. The fairways are generous and the greens huge, but there’s no letup. This is a challenging layout all the way around.

Challenging is also a term for describing of the course’s history. The original plan was for a walking-only private club that had a $140,000 initiation fee. That changed in tougher economic times, and the course has been opened to the public and carts are available. Reverting back to a private club isn’t out of the realm of possibility, however.

MID SOUTH CLUB

This may be the best course in Arnold Palmer’s design portfolio. (It’s definitely the best of the many that I’ve played).

Located in Southern Pines, it’s a beautiful course with a clubhouse to match in a very pleasant gated residential community. Nos. 9 and 18 share the same green, and that makes for a great view from the clubhouse above. The course, which opened in 1993, has hosted qualifiers for the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Amateur.

Both the course and practice areas at Mid South were in excellent condition during our early spring visit and the layout, which could play anywhere from 4,773 yards to 7,003, offered something for all level of golfer. Without doubt Mid South is one of my very favorite courses in all of the Pinehurst area.

TALAMORE

This is the sister course for Mid South, a user-friendly Rees Jones design that opened in 1991.

Jones later fine-tuned Pinehurst No. 2 for the U.S. Opens of 1999 and 2005 but Talamore is much different that the area’s premier championship venue. Its most unusual feature are the three llamas fenced in between the No. 13 green and No. 14 tee. About 10 years ago llamas were used as caddies at Talamore and they remain part of the club’s logo. More recently the club added the Llama Pen Bar & Grill as part of a major series of upgrades.

In fact, few courses in all of Pinehurst have made as many upgrades as Talamore, which is one of the host courses for golf and lodging in the U.S. Kids World Championship that is played at a variety of area courses.

One of the most significant upgrades at Talamore is yet to come. Following the lead of nearby courses Mid-Pines, Tobacco Road and The Legacy, Talamore will convert its bentgrass greens to Bermuda in May.

PINE NEEDLES/MID PINES

I mention these together because the two Donald Ross-designed layouts were both ranked in the Top 25 of GolfWeek magazine’s ranking of the Top Resort Course in the USA. The only other places to have two courses in that Top 25 are Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straits and Streamsong.

Pine Needles is a popular tournament venue, probably No. 2 behind Pinehurst No. 2 in that regard in the area. Pine Needles hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 1996, 2001 and 2007 and will be the site of the second U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2019. It is also the only course in all of Pinehurst to offer the new GolfBoards to its players.

LONGLEAF

Big plans are being made for this club since the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation purchased it last year and renamed it the Longleaf Golf & Family Club. For starters it has been named the home of the new U.S. Kids Golf Academy and the Foundation made immediate capital improvements to underscore the change in focus at the facility.

A state of the art practice area was among the upgrades and it included a 10,000 square foot putting green with a nine-hole putting course. This may be the area’s best spot for a family golf getaway.