Probably one of the first golf architecture books I read was Tom Doak‘s The Anatomy of a Golf Course. I’ve followed his work since (e.g., The Loop at Forest Dunes, Barnbougle Dunes (Tasmania), Cape Kidnappers, Streamsong, Tara Iti Golf Club, Pacific Dunes, and Old Macdonald).
In the last 30 years, there was no new golf course development in Pinehurst Resort. Tom Doak will design the resort’s 10th golf course. The new golf course will be located 4 miles south of the main resort clubhouse.
The Tom Doak-designed golf course will be ready for play starting from late spring of 2024, coinciding with the return of the U.S. Open to Pinehurst Resort No. 2.
The new course – the Pinehurst Resort’s 10th – will incorporate
- rugged dunes mined at the turn of the 20th century and accented by native sand and wiregrass.
- With natural ridgelines, intriguing landforms, towering longleaf pines, streams, and ponds.
Doak says
“The site is topographically distinct and drastically different from anywhere in Pinehurst Resort. It’s bigger, bolder and more dramatic.
There’s about 75 feet of elevation change, and we’ll work our way up to it around the mid-point of the layout. You’ll have expansive views from this apex over the rest of the course. It will be an unforgettable experience for golfers.”
Landscape architect Angela Moser will serve as Doak’s lead design associate for this project. Moser’s impressive credentials include work at
- the Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course,
- Streamsong Black in Bowling Green, Fla.,
- St. Patrick’s Links in County Donegal, Ireland,
- Te Arai Links in Tomarata, New Zealand, and
- Ohoopee Match Club in Cobbtown, Ga.
In addition to Doak’s routing, Pinehurst Resort envisions the potential for more growth in the area, encompassing 900 total acres in Aberdeen. A variety of development opportunities will be evaluated with town officials, including
- additional golf, a short course,
- a clubhouse,
- guest cottages, and
- other lodgings.
Which I will be very curious about are….
- What kind of golfers is the new golf course intended for?
- The forests around golf courses and wetlands are crucial to protect and enhance water systems at golf facilities. How will Doak manage sustainably the forest?
- Will they follow FAO’s sustainable forest management principles?
- How will they improve and increase the overall biodiversity of the future golf course?
- What will they do to reduce the climate change impact?
I am really interested in Pinehurst Resort‘s sustainability efforts because 2023 will be a pivotal year for sustainable action. This is not just about Pinehurst Resort but it is relevant to every single golf club in the world.
I am expecting golfers will hold golf clubs responsible for progressing in this field. Golf clubs will have to show real proof of traction toward true and meaningful change.
Therefore, it is a big business risk not to take sustainability aspects seriously.