By Steve Pike
Pinehurst Resort’s first original golf course in three decades now has more than just the number “10’’ as its moniker. Reflecting the features and history of the North Carolina sandhills, the Tom Doak-designed course will be named Pinehurst Sandmines.
Located on more than 900 acres and just a few minutes from Pinehurst Resort proper, Sandmines will offer Pinehurst guests yet one more extraordinary golfing experience. Future developments for the property include; a second 18-hole golf course, a short course, clubhouse and guest cottages.
Sandmines sits on the property once occupied by The Pit, a Dan Maples-designed course. Pinehurst Resort purchased the property more than a decade ago. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw created the first routing on the property, while they were renovating Pinehurst No. 2, but that never came to fruition.
Tom Doak created a design running along the property’s northwest ridge that likely will be second only to the famed Pinehurst No. 2. An 11th course will probably use the Coore/Crenshaw design, whenever it is built.
“A year ago, we were excited to announce that Tom Doak would begin carving a new era of Pinehurst golf on this exceptional property,” says Bob Dedman Jr., CEO of Pinehurst Resort. “Today, we take another step forward into our continued evolution with a nod to what came before.”
Beginning in the 1920s, the sandy soil in this location proved useful to multiple mining operations, specifically Pleasants Sand and Supply, which was founded after World War II. Over the next half century, sand mined in Aberdeen was shipped along the adjoining railroad for building projects all over the United States, notably including another North Carolina landmark – the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Following Pleasants’ closure in the mid-1970s, rugged dunes, mounds and berms forged from mining excavations were left behind to be reclaimed by nature. Now, decades later, that land and the untouched surrounding areas are being reimagined among the towering pines that restored it, the first fruit of which will be Doak’s newest original, No. 10, which uses about 250 acres of the total property.
“There’s a lot of history at this place, and you just want to honor it,” said Angela Moser, Doak’s lead design associate on No. 10. “You want to have it be a part of what you’re building, so you’ll see reminders of it.”
That is also reflected in the Pinehurst Sandmines’ logo. A rail car, dashed in railroad red color befitting the area’s industrial innovations, features subtle hints about the property’s past – and its future – within the car’s structure and design. The car carries a “matterhorn” shaped mound that resembles the 25-foot sand deposit framing No. 10’s dramatic 8th hole – a tangible, signature remnant of the commercial mine’s influence that Doak freshly incorporated into No. 10’s routing.
“Pinehurst’s past, present and future is right here in the sand,” said Tom Pashley, Pinehurst Resort President. “We look forward to seeing what more can be mined in this area.”
