Donald Ross and Pinehurst
For decades I have wanted to play in Pinehurst, NC, home to Pinehurst Number Two and other highly regarded courses. Number Two was the site of Payne Stewart's legendary US Open victory in 1999. While Payne Stewart is revered, it is golf course architect Donald Ross who dominates the area.
One of the greatest and prolific architects to work in America, Ross designed courses in 31 states and four Canadian provinces. Born in Dornock, Scotland, he immigrated to America in 1899, the year of his first project. Over the next 48 years he designed over 400 courses. Ross's influence in Pinehurst is so broad there is a statue of him in the town square. What other golf course architect has a statue in the center of the city?
There has been an aura for me about the courses in Pinehurst. The Pinehurst Golf Club courses, all nine of them, have always had a mystique. The Country Club of North Carolina, Forest Creek, and other non Ross designed courses were swept along with the Pinehurst reputation.
After several invitations from Pinehurst member and friend Tim Kosiek, a trip was put together. With an easy morning flight to Raleigh, NC, we were in a rental car for the hour and fifteen minute drive to Pinehurst and 2:00 tee time at Country Club of North Carolina. CCNC, as it is called, is a private 36 hole facility.
Dominated by the beauty of the tall pine trees, I was struck by the fresh pine fragrance. The Dogwood course, which opened in 2016, has wide fairways and large greens and was perfectly conditioned. At CCNC it seems everybody has taken stress relief pills. It's quiet and genteel. There is no feeling of rushing to the first tee or any place else. As my friend said, "It's the south."
Large homes are set back some distance from the course, deep in the pine woods. With the pines 100 or more feet high and branches only near the top, houses far away are visible. No losing balls in these woods. With no light getting to the ground, there is no underbrush, just pine straw. Balls hitting trees echo throughout the woods, sounding like a Mickey Mantle home run.
Throughout Pinehurst, the traditional bermuda grass with its horrible grain has been replaced by "super grass", "dwarf bermuda" or several other names I heard. It is a great surface for greens which are fast, tight, uniform. It is a most enjoyable golf course.
We head to Pinehurst Number Three the next morning. Tipping out at 5850 yards, it is not overly demanding, but, oh, those greens. It was here I came to appreciate the creativity of Ross's work. Even though the course was never meant to be a monster, Ross delivered top rated greens. Shelves, partial turtle backs, false fronts, mounds and collection areas are all evident.
There are several great Donald Ross courses in Minnesota, including courses on the "Golf Digest Top 100" list. None of them have greens as interesting, creative or imaginative as any of the three Ross courses we played.
We moved to Pinehurst Number Two for the afternoon round. Playing from 6350 yards there is only one word to describe it, fantastic. A redesign several years ago has reestablished the hard packed sand and waste areas off the sometimes narrow fairways. The green complexes are Donald Ross at his best. It proved if a genius architect lives on the course and continually works with it, the result will be Number Two at Pinehurst.
The diabolical difficulty of the greens cannot be overstated. It is too difficult for "resort" players. However, since it is at a resort, everybody wants to play this brute. The result? With 10 minute starting times, the rounds are five hours plus. The slow play detracts greatly from the experience. Play should be moved to at least 12 minutes, if not 15 minute starting times. Pinehurst Number Two would be a much better experience with 15 minute times.
"Let's try the 18 hole putting course, Thistle Dew," our host, Tim said following our round at Number Two. The rolling, mounded, 50,000 square foot green provides nothing but fun following a day of play. Grabbing a drink, the putting course is located adjacent to the clubhouse. Refreshment holders for the drinks are the 18 tee markers for each of the holes. Laughing and making fun of the poor efforts of others highlight this entertaining green.
A visit to the highly acclaimed par three course, located next to Thistle Dew, will have to wait for my next visit. An early adaptor to a par three course were the courses of the Alabama Trail. Built 25 years ago, Robert Trent Jones figured out that golfers on vacation wanted more to do than just play 18 holes. Resorts, like Pinehurst and private courses, such as Pine Valley and Desert Mountain have added par three courses. They are fun and challenging.
After another pleasant round at the Cardinal Course at CCNC the next morning, we headed out to Mid Pines. A resort steeped in tradition, it has been owned by the McGowan family that included legendary player Peggy Kirk Bell. One of the great thrills in golf is to play a course in which you have minimal expectations and find a great one. So it was with Mid Pines. While the greens were slow, they were the 18 finest Ross greens I have ever seen.
Incorporating several design features from Number Two and Number Three at Pinehurst, and adding in wonderful topography at Mid Pines, Ross put together a real gem. The forest changed from only pines to a mix of pine and hardwoods as we moved away from the Pinehurst neighborhoods. There were many deep, blow out looking bunkers around fabulous green complexes in this sand based area.
Courses in the area have transformed rough into waste areas, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's an ongoing struggle to get rid of the bermuda and other grasses continually coming back on a volunteer basis in the sandy areas. With a constant vigil of getting rid of the volunteer grasses, it's a great look. Mid Pines struggles to keep those unwanted grasses out.
Mid Pines has a challenge to balance the speed of greens so that resort guests and regulars can enjoy play. Our afternoon round found greens no more than eight on a stimpmeter. As a result it became a round of enjoying the aesthetics of the greens more than playing them.
Mid Pines and its sister course Pine Needles, both Donald Ross designs, would be in the top 25 in the country, if there was more money spent on maintaining them. Mid Pines is one of the best courses I have ever seen and was told Pine Needles is even "better".
We finish the trip with a second go at Pinehurst Number Two. With an earlier tee time in the morning, we are confident the pace of play will improve from our first go round. Groups start from both the front nine and back nine. We move around our first nine holes in two hours. Suddenly things change and it takes more than two more hours get to the 15th hole, a brutal par three, where we are the third group. It would be more than three hours to play the second nine holes.
The Pinehurst area is a golf mecca every golfer needs to see. The beauty of the pines and great courses didn't disappoint. The best of one of the greatest architects to ever work in America, Donald Ross, is on display everywhere. While the pace of play problem detracts, playing in Pinehurst was a thrill in A Life In Golf.
