Travel STAY WHERE THE PROS STAYED


choice to rent houses during their stay. Players often have extended family and friends with them during major championships and having a house to go back home to after a long day at the golf course works out better for a large group. The Saint Andrews house, owned by Britannia


W


Golf, gives golfers visiting the Home of American Golf, that same opportunity. “For a group of guys, or couples, it’s just perfect,”


says Jason Scarth, the owner of Britannia Golf Travel, a company that arranges customized golf trips all over the world. “There’s plenty of room, plenty of sitting areas and tv’s, and the location is ideal for getting around the area.” The five bedroom, four bath home includes an upstairs and downstairs kitchen, two-sitting areas with large flat-screen televisions, a card table, pool table, and ample sized deck for grilling steaks or hanging out and enjoying a cold beverage while rehashing golf shots hit during the day. Scarth has worked hard to give the home a real


Mid-Pines GC hosted the 2002 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.


Stewart’s pose is displayed outside the club- house. For millions of golf fans worldwide, it was an introduction to the Home of American Golf. That moment may have been key in exposing Pinehurst to a greater audience, but the truth is that tournament golf in Pinehurst had been going on for a long, long time before the 1999 U.S. Open. The first tournament hosted by the Pinehurst


Resort was the North & South Amateur in 1901. The prestigious invitational has been played 113 consecutive years and has produced winners like Francis Ouimet, Curtis Strange and Jack Nick- laus. The women’s North & South, established just one year later, boasts winners like Babe Zaharias, Morgan Pressel and Yani Tseng. In 1902, the North & South Open Champion- ship became a regular stop on the professional golf tour in the days prior to the current PGA Tour. Winners of that event included Donald Ross, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. It ran until 1951. The first major that was played on No.2 was


the PGA Championship of 1936 which was won by Denny Shute. Fifteen years later, in 1951, the Ryder Cup came to town. The Americans won handily behind the play of Hogan, Snead, Jimmy Demaret and Jackie Burke. Other professional tournaments played at Pinehurst include the World Golf Hall of Fame Classic, which ran from 1973 until 1982, the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship in 1991 and


24 Virginia Golf Report • Spring 2015 • virginiagolfreport.com


1992, and the U.S. Senior Open in 1994. Pinehurst has also hosted two U.S. Amateur Championships, in 1962 and 2008, as well as a U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1989. While Pinehurst has certainly led the way in bringing exposure to the area, it’s amazing how many other area golf courses have hosted big- time tournaments. Pine Needles, a Donald Ross beauty owned by legendary golf figure Peggy Kirk Bell, was awarded its first U.S. Women’s Open in 1996, followed by two more in 2001 and 2007. Pine Needles also hosted the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 1989 and its sister course, Mid-Pines GC, which is located directly across the street, was home to the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in 2002. Legacy Golf Links, a Jack Nicklaus II designed


track that is located about ten minutes outside of town, hosted the 2000 U.S. Women’s Ama- teur Public Links Championship. One of the most exclusive private clubs in the area, Country Club of North Carolina, was the host site of the 1980 U.S. Amateur, won by Hal Sutton. The 36-hole facility also hosted the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior and numerous Southern Amateur Championships. Pinewild GC, another exclusive community, once was home to an LPGA tournament in the early 1990’s and has been used as a qualifying site for both the U.S. Open and PGA Tour Qualifying School. In 2005, another organization realized the logistical capabilities and growth opportunities


Continued pg. 25


golf theme by adding local photos and art. “Pinehurst is a great place,” said Scarth. “We want


golfers staying in the Saint Andrews house to really get the whole experience here.” The house was rented during both U.S. Opens.


A corporate group stayed there during the men’s championship while several women professionals who were in the field for the U.S. Womens Open oc- cupied the house the second week. “I thought that was neat,” said Scarth. “They were


great to deal with and were so respectful of the property that they even checked with me to make sure it was okay for them to have a little get together with other players during the week.” Scarth enjoyed tracking their progress during the


week and said he now finds himself following their results on the LPGA Tour. Britannia Golf Travel has been in the customized


golf trip business since 1995, and while they have always had clients who traveled to the Pinehurst area, they never had the ability to offer these types of ac- commodations in the past. “Pinehurst has really grown in popularity,” says


Scarth. “The back-to-back U.S. Opens last year has obviously brought more attention to the area and that’s great. It’s a special place. The majority of people who visit the Pinehurst area are anxious to go back.”


Britannia Golf Travel is capable of booking tee times to just about every golf course in the area including some of the private clubs.


For more information on Britannia Golf Travel or the Saint Andrews House go to: www.BritanniaGolf.com or www.SaintAndrewshome.com


hen Pinehurst hosted the U.S. Opens in 2014, many men and women professionals made the


Photo courtesy of MidPines


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