Open
Invitation

Repeat performances of the
game's championship events
prove the Sandhills merits
inclusion in the trilogy of golf


By David Droschak


It took the United States Golf Association decades to bring its signature tournaments to the North Carolina Sandhills. Now, it can hardly stay away.

In late May Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines hosts its second U.S. Women's Open in five years. Pinehurst No. 2, where the dust has yet to settle from the 1999 U.S. Open, will host that event again in 2005. It's almost unheard of for those championships to return to host courses so quickly. And since 1991 Moore County also has hosted the Senior Women's Amateur, the Women's Amateur Public Links and the Senior Open.

USGA official Tim Morgan says there were several reasons — all of which now seem quaint — why the USGA once was reluctant to stage its major events in the “Home of American Golf,” which the Sandhills calls itself.

“In the 1970s and '80s there was a mentality among officials, whether they be USGA officials or club officials, that the championships are going to be played in the summertime,” Morgan says. “And you know it's hot down here in the summer.

“In those days — you're talking 25 or 30 years ago — there was some question about course condition, there was some question about getting people to come out in the heat, there was a little mystery if it was going to be successful or not. But, as turf grass has improved, as maintenance standards have improved, and the overall play of the game has improved, Pinehurst has stepped to the plate.

“With new types of grasses and the expertise it gives us, the confidence to go down there, and the host club the confidence they're going to survive and not worry about losing grass and not having people show up — that has helped regenerate interest in the Sandhills.”

In the last few years the Pinehurst area also has grown tremendously and is no longer the sleepy little village it once was. Major restaurants chains have flocked to the area, and hotel space has gone from 1,400 rooms in 1990 to 2,400 this year. By the time the U.S. Open returns in 2005, the area should have more than 3,000 rooms.

“That's one of the reasons the area was unable to host events prior to 1990 — we didn't have the lodging,” says Caleb Miles, executive director of the Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Having more rooms helps considerably because you are dealing with lots of blocks of rooms that are very important from the players to officials to the vendors and the media.”

The confluence of these two trends — better local amenities and a greater stature in the golf industry, explains why the Pinehurst area recently was ranked by Golf Digest as the third-best golf destination in the world behind St. Andrews and Pebble Beach, Miles says.

“And some will argue that this is a more complete golf destination than either of those,” he says. “Both of those are limited in the number of golf courses you can play. There are 42 here.

“The USGA events have really enhanced the brand value of the area,” Miles adds. “People are more aware of the destination, people see it on television, there is a strong interest in people wanting to play the golf courses such as Pinehurst No. 2 and Pine Needles. The uniqueness of the destination sort of came through on television.”

Recapturing the Magic

This year's Women's Open follows a 1996 championship at Pine Needles that was a tremendous success by all accounts. That event had beautiful weather, a super turnout and a great champion in Annika Sorenstam, a repeat winner, who was one of only two players who broke par. How to top that performance has been the single-minded focus of the Pine Needles staff for months.

“Our goal is the rarest of accomplishments — to produce a sequel that surpasses the original,” says Reg Jones of Pinehurst Championship Management, the group organizing the Women's Open.

Pine Needles becomes one of only seven courses to repeat as host of the Women's Open, joining such famous layouts as Baltusrol, Hazeltine and Winged Foot. Pine Needles also joins Indianwood in Lake Orion, Mich., as the quickest to repeat as host site.

One major goal is to sell out a Women's Open for the first time in history. A crowd of 108,000 came to the 1996 event, and many believe 30,000 a day is attainable for this year's four-round event, which runs from May 31-June 3. The attendance record is 115,000 set at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis., in 1998.

“It just seems harder to capture the magic the second time around, especially when the magic was as great as it was in 1996,” says Jones.

In some aspects, this year's event is way ahead of schedule. Corporate sales for hospitality tents and the like have more than doubled from $1.1 million in '96 to $2.4 million this time.

On a more practical level, the event obviously is dearer to the hearts of the locals. Nearly 3,000 people have volunteered for various jobs, up from 1,700 last time. “We didn't put out any literature for volunteers,” says an amazed Kelly Miller, general chairman of the event and general manager of Pine Needles. He points out that for the 1999 U.S. Open there were 5,500 volunteers but only 3,000 were needed. “We instantly had a waiting list for volunteers.

“Reg Jones is of the belief that you present a championship,” Miller says. “There were some things we wanted to do to make sure people were comfortable. We hope to a have a bigger crowd than in '96. You need more marshals, and we've sold a lot more corporate hospitality.”

Miller said he initially was apprehensive when Pine Needles was awarded its first Women's Open, wondering if the community's small population of around 60,000 and a lack of major corporations in the area would be stumbling blocks. His worries soon vanquished.

“This is a small community and we have no members here, so at the very least it's a huge local event,” he says. “All of the sudden you've got to go out and sell. It was kind of neat to see all the people and corporations that wanted to support it. It's a tribute to the state's vision and the corporate leaders.

“In addition to being a great championship, this is a wonderful economic development opportunity. Where else do you get a chance to showcase on national and international television a location within your state? So, it draws a lot of awareness and it's a huge economic opportunity for our state.”

No Tricks, Just Treats

It's no mystery what players must do to score well at Pine Needles. Accuracy off the tee and from the fairway will be key, especially on this old Ross design that is not particularly long but can be painfully tricky to the player who chooses to gamble at the wrong time.

“It's all right there in front of you,” Miller says of the layout, which will play to 6,256 yards. “Just by the nature of the way Ross designed the golf course, when you stand on a tee you know where you're supposed to hit it. You are not looking for any landmarks. And then when you get out there you can see the greens. There are no traps in front of you. You can roll it on or do whatever you want to do.”

While accuracy is important, patience is a must at Pine Needles, according to veteran LPGA player Donna Andrews, who lives in Pinehurst. “A lot of the greens you can hit and actually roll off, so it requires more shots than you normally would have to the center of the greens,” says Andrews, who missed the cut in 1996.

“Even watching the men play Pinehurst No. 2 at the '99 U.S. Open, it was easy to see that Payne Stewart had the most patience of anybody,” she adds. “He kept hitting it at the middle of the greens and you just take your birdies when you can get them.”

The USGA's Morgan says Pine Needles “offers you every kind of shot and you're rewarded for hitting a good shot.” That's not always true at some of the newer courses, he adds. “Sometimes in modern architecture you hit a good shot and you're not rewarded by design. In the Open, I think they should be rewarded for hitting a well struck golf shot. Pine Needles offers that, plus you have a great variety — you have uphill, you have downhill, you have left holes, you have right holes, you have long holes, you have short holes, you have large greens and you have small greens.

“It may not compare to Blackwolf Run or the Merit Club or Pumpkin Ridge, and the course may appear to be somewhat fairer, but when you have to get out there to make the shot there is a lot of skill required.”

The world's best women golfers will be faced with a par-70 course, with just two par 5s, one of which is the first hole. Getting off to a fast start is a must here because the harder par 4s are down the stretch when nerves can become a factor.

“In terms of the par 4s, they're going to be very difficult for them because of their length,” Miller says. “They've added at least a couple hundred yards to this year's championship. That's really where the strength of this golf course is — in the par 4s. After the par-5 No. 10, you've got nothing but good par 4s. From 14 on in there really aren't any birdie holes. These are going to be driver and middle to long irons or fairway woods to most of the greens.

“And it is a national championship, and there is the pressure,” Miller adds about the back nine. “The natural tendency is to say, `Well, if I can just get in.' The opportunity to score really does happen more on the front nine, and maybe through 12. Starting out with a par 5 to get to 1-under to try to get going is nice. But if you get a little jittery and get a par you've lost an opportunity.”

There are a few changes from the layout in '96, but nothing major. The par-3 fifth hole, where there were major backups last time, will be shortened by about 15 yards and play at 175, while No. 13 will be bumped up to 203.

And on No. 10, a bunker on the left side of the fairway was moved 20 yards farther from the tee, meaning few players, if any, will be able to cut off the dogleg.

Several other par 4s also have been lengthened by 10 or 20 yards.

“The players are better and stronger, equipment is better and stronger, and the golf course conditioning is better every year, so we've added some length here and there, nothing significant,” Morgan says.

A Classic Ross Design

What will remain constant are the subtleties that have allowed the Ross layout to stand the test of time. “A great designer who has a thorough knowledge of the game of golf and has the foresight to see that the game is going to improve and get stronger over time knows the type of shot that has to be hit,” the USGA's Morgan says. “Donald Ross did a wonderful job on a lot of the golf courses that he worked on because he had that ability to see what the game is all about.

“Pine Needles, like Pinehurst No. 2, like Salem Country Club where we have our Senior Open this year, those courses are always going to be there,” he adds. “Sure, you're not going to have the length the player had in 1925 as they would in 2001, but if you give the past player today's equipment and conditions, they are going to be able to compete just as easily on this course.”

Miller said building a difficult golf course is easy. But building a classic layout like Pine Needles takes a keen understanding of the game that helped propel Ross, who died in 1948, to legendary status as an architect.

“It's a great tribute to him that it's a challenge to the greatest players in the world, yet it's fun for our everyday guests,” Miller says. “To me, that's the difference between a great golf course and just a good golf course. I think of Pinehurst No. 2 being that. There is not much out of bounds, not much water, not much death or glory, and you just kind of dink it around, but for the great players it's a super test of golf.”

The same holds true of Pine Needles. “It's just the little things,” Miller says. “There are no huge breaks in the greens, there are no big swales, but a putt that looks like it's a right-edge putt will sometimes stay straight. Those kind of things. You're got to look at the lay of the land.”

The par-4 second hole is a perfect example of what Miller is talking about.

“You have a downhill lie to a downhill green — it slopes quite a bit away from you but it doesn't look like it,” he says. “If you hit it on the middle of that green it's going to roll into that back bunker. But if you hit it short it may come up short. So, there are about 5 yards where you can land that ball. The subtleties kind of make it special.

Like most Ross courses, this one is excellent for walking and watching players on different holes.

“It's very easy for the gallery,” says Peggy Kirk Bell, a pioneer of women's golf and the owner of Pine Needles. “You don't have to walk 500 yards to the next tee. You get off the green and you go to the tee in a matter of 20 yards. It will be a fun course to be in the gallery. It is going to be the place to be.”

And like Pinehurst No. 2, anyone can play Pine Needles. The resort has lodging on site and a popular teaching school.

“Most U.S. Open venues are private country clubs and not accessible to the average golfer,” Miles says. “This course is open to anybody who is a golfer.”

In fact, one of the ticket packages includes a novel idea — a return trip to play Pine Needles.

“The neatest thing hosting the championship does for you is it gives you a tremendous amount of credibility with the public,” Miller says. “One of the unique things about golf is you can go play where they play the U.S. Open. You can't play in the Super Bowl or get out on the diamond in the World Series.

“If there is somebody who is picking this area and deciding where to stay or what courses to play, people will say, `Hey, they had the U.S. Women's Open there — it must be pretty good.' People have a reason to want to come here. It certainly has helped with our business.”

In 1996, USGA officials announced on site a return to Pine Needles. While Jones doesn't necessarily expect the same prompt attention this time around, he's hopeful the USGA will choose to place the site in its unofficial “rotation.”

“We don't want the Women's Open to be a one-hit wonder,” Jones says. “We want the Women's Open to become a trilogy. Pine Needles has been referred to as the Shinnecock of women's golf. We feel all the components are set here for the Open to return after 2001.”

Andrews agrees. “I am glad to see the USGA come back here and I hope the PGA and LPGA will get a clue and bring tournaments here,” she says. “One of the complaints was the lack of hotels. They can't complain about that anymore.”

Nor about anything else.

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