He built the first four Pinehurst courses over the next 20 years and went on to design more than 500, becoming one of the most influential golf course architects in the history of the game. Pinehurst was put on the golf map by Ross, a golf course architect lured to the area in 1900 from Dornich, Scotland. Some golfers also are drawn to Pinehurst's refreshing lack of ostentation. But tourists also are lured by its history and tradition, its mild climate and a serene beauty punctuated by its shimmering longleaf pines and rolling hills. Golf, which draws about 750,000 visitors a year to the area, is the main attraction. When the azaleas, magnolias, dogwood and camellias are in bloom, its beauty is dazzling. The village looks much as it did more than 100 years ago, with its winding, tree-lined streets combining New England simplicity with Southern charm. Tufts and designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, whose projects included New York City's Central Park. The village was founded as a health retreat in 1895 by Boston soda fountain magnate James W. The spiritual core of the area is the Pinehurst Resort - the world's largest golf resort - and Pinehurst Village, a charming turn-of-the-century town. The games top golf course architects are all represented here, including Donald Ross, Rees and Robert Trent Jones, Arnold Palmer, Tom Fazio, Gene Hamm, Ellis and Dan Maples, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Most of the courses in the Pinehurst area - known locally as the Sandhills - are in southern Moore County in south-central North Carolina. More recently, it declared that Pinehurst offered the best golf in the nation. Andrews in Scotland and Pebble Beach in California. In 2000, Golf Digest magazine rated Pinehurst the third-best golf destination in the world - behind only hallowed St. But there is a single-mindedness about the game in Pinehurst that tends to set it apart from other top golf destinations. Most locals say that's a slight exaggeration. That's why 'Golf Cart Crossing' signs seem to outnumber stop signs in and around the golf communities interspersed with the areas 40-plus courses.Īnd that's why a stay at Pinehurst reminded golf pro Tom Watson of a quote he once heard: 'Golf is not a matter of life and death to these people. That's why USAir, which until recently flew into Pinehurst, instructed its baggage handlers that if they ran out of room in the cargo hold they should leave luggage - not golf clubs - behind. As you might expect from a place that bills itself as the 'Home of American Golf,' Pinehurst takes the game seriously.

Jack hamm golf digest