Pinehurst No.1

It all started here. When Pinehurst No. 1 welcomed players in 1898, golf aficionados flocked from the North to enjoy a winter round (early visitors included John D. Rockefeller and President William McKinley). After English golf legend Harry Vardon conducted a series of golf demonstrations at No. 1 in 1900, Pinehurst was on its way to being on the world golf map. Dr. Leroy Culver built the first nine holes and John Dunn Tucker added the next nine, but it is clearly Donald Ross’s touch that you feel on Pinehurst’s first golf course.

After his initial efforts reworking the back nine, he implemented changes on the front, and made further revisions in 1913, 1937, 1940 and finally in 1946, shortly before his death. The simple yet strategic philosophy that informed Ross’s later design work is very much in evidence on No. 1, which is all the more remarkable when you consider that this was for all intents and purposes his first design.

Recalling his Scottish heritage, Ross made liberal use of bunkers, both across the fairway and around the green. Don’t let the short 6,089-yard par 70 fool you; wild drives or a sloppy short game can make for a long day. No. 1 was a great start for Pinehurst, and it’s a great start for your visit.