Tar Heel Travels The Pinehurst Clubhouse It's 105 years old and jammed  with an eye-popping history of golf By Bill F. Hensley The sprawling main clubhouse at Pinehurst Resort is one of my favorite places in North Carolina. Architecturally, the two-story, domed building isn’t significant, although it has stateliness and charm, a unique design, and a lot of years to its credit. It was built in 1898, shortly after the resort was established in the Sandhills area. When it opened officials boasted that it had dressing rooms for both men and women to recognize that women had suddenly taken up the game of golf.

A statue honoring 1999 U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart stands outside the clubhouse at Pinehurst.

Historically significant? Herein lies a story. Though I have been there often, on each visit I stroll the impressive Heritage Hall enroute to the golf shop and the locker room. Walking down the long passageway, a museum appears and a hundred years of golf history rises before me. I relive the glory days of Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Babe Zaharias, Peggy Kirk Bell and others immortals of the game. I am overwhelmed with all I see.

Those names — and other illustrious players — are engraved on plaques as tournament winners. There are numerous photo displays, memorabilia and tributes to the vast accomplishments of the game’s elite. I pause to read the names of the winners of the men’s North and South Amateur, a nationally-known event that dates to 1901: Nicklaus, Harvie Ward, Billy Joe Patton, Curtis Strange, Davis Love III, Hal Sutton, Corey Pavin and others. I study photos and clippings of tournaments that have been played on Pinehurst’s hallowed ground over the years, such as the Ryder Cup and the U.S. Open, and I learn the names of the famed caddies who have been inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame for their betterment and contributions to golf — colorful personalities such as Hardrock, Willie and Ratman.

Who could not study the remarkable photo series of the late Payne Stewart sinking a dramatic putt on the 18th hole to win the 1999 U. S. Open, or the tribute to the great Donald Ross, the renowned Scottish architect who was at Pinehurst from 1900 until his death in 1948. He designed five of the resort’s eight courses, three of which remain today, including the great No. 2, which is regarded as one of the world’s finest.

Throughout the historic clubhouse there are colorful photographs, displays, and artifacts of the men and women who made headlines and enlivened the game during the past century.

A visit to this shrine wouldn’t be complete without a meal in the spacious Donald Ross Grill or a beverage in the 91st Hole, an adjoining bar that denotes the clubhouse is the centerpiece of five 18-hole golf courses that surround the building.

Each day at lunch, an enthusiastic people watcher can see the great and the near great, celebrities and the average Joe. They dine in a leisurely setting befitting the resort’s prominence, and they talk golf. A window table offers views of the huge putting green, the practice range, and the first tees of the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 courses. On the verandah, diners become part of the setting where numerous trophy presentations have been made.

The last time I had lunch in the grill, I observed a bevy of Pinehurst and USGA officials making plans for the upcoming 2005 Open championship, a foursome of club pros who were practicing for a tournament, a group from my home club in Charlotte that was down for a round, a group of women who were enrolled in the Pinehurst Golf Advantage School, golf course and grounds manager Bob Farren and two members of his staff solving a maintenance problem, and a group of about 20 golfers from New England.

 Day in and day out, the Ross Grill is the focal point of a busy golf complex. Last year, more than 300,000 rounds of golf were played at the resort. The golf shop alone attracts numerous non-golfers who are passing through the village or are on a non-golf business trip.

Enroute to the outdoor statues of Ross, Stewart, Pinehurst legend Richard Tufts, and “the Putterboy,” Pinehurst’s famed logo, I stopped by the recently remodeled 6,000-square-foot golf shop to see the latest apparel fashions. One of the nation’s largest and most successful retail operations, last year the shop sold $6 million worth of golf shirts, caps, balls and other equipment.

Next door to the golf shop is a special retail area that features a wide variety of U.S. Open goods properly embossed with the championship logo. “Be assured we are ready for the big tournament coming up next year,” offers retail sales director Stephen Cryan.

There are locker rooms for men and women near the golf shop, a large meeting room and dining facility toward the main entrance, and golf-related staff offices throughout the building. Downstairs there is storage for golf clubs and more than 300 golf carts to serve the 90 holes of golf that surround the structure.

You want history, nostalgia, shopping, great golf, convenience and luxurious facilities all in one serviceable structure? Sure you do. That’s why there is a clubhouse at Pinehurst Resort. Drop by for a visit the next time you are in the picturesque Sandhills. You’ll discover a North Carolina treasure.