A Championship Week for Men and Women at Pinehurst

 

PINEHURST HOSTS US OPEN MEN's and WOMEN's  CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

 

Congratulations to Martin Kaymer and Michelle Wie!   Both of  these gifted young athlete/golfers dominated their field at the 

 

US OPEN 2014.     In a venue that evokes such history and prestige, we wanted to share with you the full story of 

 

Pinehurst.   A truly luxury retreat unchanged throughout the century!!

 

 

 

THE HISTORY OF PINEHURST

 

 

Our story begins in 1895, when Boston Philanthropist James 

 

Walker Tufts purchased 5,800 acres of ravaged timberland in 

 

the Sandhills region of central North Carolina. This land, which 

 

cost Tufts about $1 per acre, once held a flourishing pine forest 

 

that had been cut for timber and used for its plentiful supply 

 

of turpentine and building supplies. What was left behind was 

 

a barren, sandy wasteland.

 

Many locals thought Tufts the fool for his purchase, but the 

 

astute businessman sold his thriving Soda Fountain Company 

 

on the idea of a health retreat – far away from the cares of 

 

the world. From the very beginning, Pinehurst was designed 

 

as a philanthropic gesture by Tufts, as a place for middle-class 

 

Americans to recuperate from the ailments of the time. Most 

 

believed that those suffering from the respiratory illnesses as 

 

a result of the Industrial Revolution could be cured by the 

 

“pine ozone” only found in the region. Tufts idea was to 

 

create a New England-style village, with walkways and year

 

-round greenery.

 

To help make his dream reality, Tufts hired the firm of 

 

Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot to create a master plan for the 

 

ravaged land. Its chief designer, Frederick Law Olmsted, was 

 

well regarded at the time, designing such large projects as 

 

Central Park. More than 220,000 tree seedlings and other plants 

 

were brought in as a result, many of which were imported 

 

from France.

 

As streets, sewer and water systems were established, Tufts 

 

wrestled with what to officially call the place he’d developed. 

 

For the first six months it was known simply as Tuftstown, 

 

after its founder. But while at his summer home at Cottage 

 

City (now known as Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard), Tufts 

 

searched a list of names submitted for a contest to name a 

 

real estate development. He decided the name Pinehurst was 

 

appropriate: The “Pine” of course for the beautiful trees and “

 

hurst”, a wooded hillock or plot of rising ground. Thus, he 

 

adopted it for his village and resort.

 

By the first year, Tufts had directed completion of a general 

 

store, dairy, boarding house, more than 20 cottages, and the 

 

Holly Inn, which was opened December 31, 1895.

 

The Carolina hotel opened in 1901. It immediately served as the 

 

center of all activity at Pinehurst, surrounded by lush grounds, 

 

perfect for enjoying the warmth of the day. Recreation and 

 

gracious accommodations were premier features of Tufts’ 

 

health resort. Riding, hunting, polo, lawn bowling, bicycling, 

 

and archery were popular in Pinehurst’s early days; many 

 

remain so today. Tennis was one of the first planned 

 

recreational activities at Pinehurst, with two courts on the 

 

original blueprints for the Holly Inn lawns.

 

Annie Oakley, sharp-shooter and star of the Buffalo Bill Wild 

 

West Show, came to Pinehurst in 1916 with her husband, Frank 

 

Butler. Annie was in charge of the Pinehurst Gun Club, and 

 

gave shooting exhibitions at the Carolina hotel twice a week. 

 

Between 1916 and 1920 she instructed up to 125,000 men and 

 

women in the art of marksmanship.

 

 

 

GOLF AT PINEHURST

 

 

Golf came to Pinehurst three years after the resort first 

 

opened to the public. According to history, some hotel guests 

 

introduced the game in the dairy cattle grazing fields, hitting 

 

little white balls that disturbed the herd. Tufts then hired Dr. D. 

 

Leroy Culver of New York to design and build a golf course in 

 

Pinehurst, and in February of 1898 a rudimentary nine-hole 

 

course was constructed. The first clubhouse followed a few 

 

months later. In 1899, Pinehurst’s first golf professional, John 

 

Dunn Tucker, was hired to add an additional nine, which later 

 

became Pinehurst No. 1, our first 18-hole layout.

 

In 1900, Tufts hired Donald J. Ross, a young Scottish golf 

 

professional, to direct golf operations at Pinehurst. Ross 

 

remained with Pinehurst until his death in 1948. During those 

 

five decades, Ross built a reputation as one of the foremost 

 

golf professionals and course architects in the country. He 

 

designed or redesigned more than 400 golf courses throughout 

 

the North American continent.

 

His first Pinehurst efforts began with his arrival as he 

 

redesigned Pinehurst No. 1. His first 18-hole design here was 

 

Pinehurst No. 2, a championship course with sand greens and 

 

a natural, gently rolling topography. He later built No. 3, No. 4, 

 

and a rudimentary employee/caddie course, all of which he 

 

continuously updated during the off-season.

 

In 1903, the Pinehurst Golf Club was established, the North and 

 

South Championship series was underway, and Pinehurst was 

 

becoming a major focus for golf in the U.S. The best in the 

 

world have played Pinehurst: Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, 

 

Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold 

 

Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Glenna 

 

Collett Vare, Babe Zaharias, Patty Berg, and Louise Suggs. 

 

Snead once proclaimed Pinehurst No. 2 “as my number one 

 

course.”

 

It has greeted and challenged golfers from throughout the 

 

world, as the site of the 1936 PGA Championship, the 1951 Ryder 

 

Cup Matches, the 1962 and 2008 U.S. Amateur Championships; 

 

the 1989 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, the 1991 and 1992 

 

TOUR Championships, the 1994 U.S. Senior Open, and the 1999 

 

and 2005 U.S. Open Championship, the first of which was won 

 

with a famous 15-foot putt by Payne Stewart. In 2014, Pinehurst 

 

hosted both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open 

 

Championships in back-to-back weeks, marking the first time 

 

in history that both tournaments were played in the same 

 

year, on the same course.

 

 

 

A CHAMPIONSHIP DESTINATION

 

 

Many other sports have hosted their championships at 

 

Pinehurst as well, including the U.S. Clay Court Championships 

 

in Tennis; the U.S. Croquet Championship, and the World 

 

Lawnbowling Championship.

 

And in 2002, it returned to its roots as a health-driven resort 

 

with the opening of The Spa at Pinehurst, adjacent to the 

 

Carolina hotel. It was one of the first spas in the South to 

 

receive the Mobil Four-Star spa designation.

 

Each of Pinehurst’s recreational facilities has a history as steep 

 

as Pinehurst itself, and the resort has been able to retain that 

 

turn-of-the-century charm and ambiance. While many guests 

 

still migrate from New England, Pinehurst is a destination that 

 

continues to welcome guests from around the world.

 

Just as Tufts envisioned over 100 years ago, guests visit today 

 

to discover this peaceful retreat. What they find amidst this 

 

serenity is the history, beauty and Southern hospitality of an 

 

era past. Add to that eight world-class golf courses—including 

 

the renowned Pinehurst No. 2—an award-winning spa, a tennis 

 

facility, family activities, dining, shopping and more and you’ll 

 

see what makes Pinehurst the quintessential resort.

 

 

History of Pinehurst Article courtesy of Pinehurst Resort….