PINEHURST — Golf course architect Tom Doak has embarked on a new project to design and develop Pinehurst’s 10th golf course, the first in almost three decades. Doak has long had a passion for golf and, specifically, the design of courses themselves.
“When I was twelve-thirteen years old, I got to see Harbour Town, Pinehurst, and Pebble Beach, and they were so different from the public course I grew up playing in Connecticut that I became fascinated with golf course design,” Doak said.
Doak has since designed six courses that have been ranked among the top 100 golf courses in the world, according to Golf Magazine. He has also written multiple books about the sport and architecture of the courses.
“Having a Doak course at Pinehurst allows guests to play a course designed by one of the most creative golf minds of this generation. Some equate playing at Pinehurst to visiting a golf architecture museum. You get to experience some of the best work from different design eras when you come here,” says club officials.
In the 1890s, James Walker Tufts, a Bostonian Philanthropist, purchased 5,800 acres of land to build a New England Village on what now has become Pinehurst Resort. The Holly Inn began housing guests in 1895 and The Carolina Hotel in 1901, both of which are still housing guests and golfers today.
In 1898, Pinehurst’s first golf course was built, consisting of nine holes and one clubhouse. In 1989, golf professional John Dunn Tucker was hired and continued the course by adding nine other holes, completing Pinehurst’s No. 1 course. The Pinehurst Golf Club was later established in 1903.
Pinehurst Resort now features 2,000 acres of historically dense North Carolina land, three hotels, eleven dining venues, and a multitude of recreational activities for all to enjoy.
Expected to open in 2024, Doak’s new course is envisioned to complement other courses at the resort by contrasting them all superbly. The land consists of natural features that create the character of what differentiates Pinehurst from other golf resorts, such as native sand and wiregrass.
“I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid, and I have to pinch myself that people pay me to do it,” Doak said. “What keeps it interesting is that every site is different, and the best design solution is the one that makes the most of those differences.”
