Travel
Pine Needles has hosted the U.S. Senior Women’s Open three times since 1996. When Pinehurst hosted the 1999 U.S. Open, no one was quite sure exactly
how things would work out. Sure, some big-time tournaments had been played at Donald Ross’s signature No. 2 course, but not a United States Open. At the end of the week though, there was no doubt that both the golf course, and the community, was worthy of its selection. The USGA reported that the 99’ Open was the most profitable tourna- ment in USGA history up to that point. In fact, things went so well and so smooth that the USGA turned around and rewarded the resort with another Open championship date a mere six years later, in 2005, a time frame almost unheard of in modern times for a return trip to a U.S. Open site. The USGA had found a winning formula. “We’ve said it many times, we just cannot simply conduct these champion- ships without a committed and dedicated partner,” said USGA president Tom O’Toole at last year’s U.S. Open. The golf course is obviously a key component in securing major cham- pionships. Pinehurst No.2 provided a challenge and excitement in each and every U.S. Open held there. But so many other things have to work, logisti- cally, to pull off hosting an event of this magnitude, and the Pinehurst area has shown that it can handle it. Total attendance for the back-to-back U.S. Opens hosted by Pinehurst Resort in 2014, exceeded 340,000, according to the USGA. Combine that with over 6000 volunteers, 980 members of the media, players and caddies and their families, and it’s an undertaking that can best be described as daunting. How does this area—which has been described as quaint and quiet—pull it
off?
“Other than the course itself, what makes Pinehurst a special place is because there is plenty of room down there for parking, broadcast and corporate tents,” said former USGA president Jim Hyler in a recent Trian- gle Business Journal article. As a North Carolina resident, Hyler was a key member of the business community back in 1999 who helped sell the area as a great place to entertain clients during the U.S. Open. That Open sold out all of its on-site corporate hospitality tents. Six years later, at the 2005 U.S. Open, the USGA reported record numbers in corporate sales, merchandise sold and attendance. Many facilities struggle to find room to accommodate the infrastructure
needed to host a U.S. Open. Pinehurst has five golf courses on-site, and four more within a short drive. That allows the USGA lots of options and flex- ibility in setting up multiple merchandise tents, a large media center, and the previously mentioned corporate hospitality village. Parking, a problem at many major championship venues where 45-minute bus shuttles can be the norm, has been pain-free at Pinehurst, by using large area lots north and south of the Resort. Most rides took less than 15 minutes at the 2014 U.S. Opens. Reg Jones, the USGA’s senior director of U.S. Open Championships, who occupies an office in the village of Pinehurst, has said that the community, which consists of many golf enthusiasts, is also a big part of the success. Residents support not only events like the U.S. Opens, but even smaller tour- naments like the long-running North & South Amateurs, where volunteers number in the 600 to 700 range. As for the lodging space and restaurants, it’s true that most of the accom- modations in Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen, were occupied by players, media, tournament officials and volunteers during the U.S. Opens. But Raleigh and Fayetteville, two good-sized cities, are about an hour’s drive from the area and easily accessible. Other towns on the outskirts of Moore County, like Sanford, also have available lodging. It’s a scenario that is com- parable to The Masters, held in Augusta, Georgia every spring. Many of the attending patrons stay in surrounding cities like Columbia, South Carolina or Athens, Georgia. For those lucky enough to find lodging in the immediate area during the
U.S. Opens, a dramatically improved restaurant scene was available. Pine- hurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen, relatively small in size, can hang with many larger cities when it comes to both options available and quality.
THE START OF TOURNAMENT TOWN As Payne Stewart and Phil Mickelson teed off on the 18th hole in 1999, the scene was almost mystical. A light fog was present along with a misty rain, and in the background chimes from the carillon in the Village Chapel were playing Amazing Grace. Stewart would go on to sink a 15-foot par putt and capture what many golf historians call the greatest U.S. Open ever. The putt and ensuing fist-pump is known as “A moment in time” and a statue of
Continued pg. 24 Virginia Golf Report • Spring 2015 •
virginiagolfreport.com 23
Photo courtesy of PineNeedles Resort
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