America’s Largest Golf Resort Just Got Bigger—And May Be The Best

03.04.2024 - 10:47 / forbes.com

Until yesterday, Pinehurst Number Two was the most famous of nine standout 18-hole courses at America’s largest—by far—golf resort. Today, with grand opening of the Tom Doak designed Pinehurst Number Ten, the resort became the only one outside of China to ever have ten eighteen hole routings—plus a short course and grass putting course.

There is no public course outside of Scotland’s Old Course at St. Andrews more steeped in golf history than Pinehurst Number Two. Not Pebble Beach, not TPC Sawgrass, not Whistling Straits. These are all great destinations, but Pinehurst Number Two is in a league of its own when it comes to golf history. It’s also excellent, and consistently rated among the very top handful of the best courses you can play in the entire country. If Pinehurst Number Two were a solo act, it would be worth traveling from far and wide to play, a true pilgrimage or “Bucket List” round. But Number Two is far from alone—it’s just the tip of an exceptional iceberg at the nation’s largest golf resort.

Just a historical snapshot: Pinehurst Number Two is the only public course that has hosted the Ryder Cup and two different men’s Majors (the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open—three times). It has hosted so many other Major Championships and the important USGA Championships it is hard to count: U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Men’s Amateur, Women’s Amateur and U.S. Amateur Four Ball. It hosted the World Hall of Fame Golf Classic more than 10 times, seven PGA Club Professional Championships, and the North and South professional tournament—50 times. For the first half of the 20^th century, the North & South amateur tournaments were among the highest profile in all of golf, and Number Two hosted the Men’s, Women’s, Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s and Junior Amateurs. If all that is not enough, it is one of just three public courses that have held the final PGA Tour event of the year and one of the biggest weekends on the golf calendar, the FedEx Cup finale, the TOUR Championship—and it’s been here multiple times.

In 2014, Number Two hosted the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Open back to back, the first time they have ever been held on the same course in the same year, and this double up will be revisited in 2029. But first, America’s most important tournament, the 2024 U.S. Open, returns this June. In a historic move by the USGA, Pinehurst was named the first ever “anchor site” for the organization’s tournaments, and as such will host the men’s U.S. Open again in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. Six other USGA Championships including the U.S. Amateur, U.S Women’s Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur have also been scheduled. It also happens to be home to the world’s first ever practice range, a concept that