The Pit closed 9 years ago

[Steve Sayre]

Does Pinehurst Resort still own the property? And I think they do own a large contiguous parcel?


Now that there are two high profile, so tagged "must play" courses under Pinehurst management, is there room for a third? Would it make any financial sense from a supply side standpoint? Is the Aberdeen location a barrier?


Engage one of this era's exceptional architects who designs and builds something remarkable, then spend the marketing bucks, and you have a trio of courses that may draw more golf trippers and corporate groups and then keep from wandering off property to the other popular and well-regarded local courses.


Pinehurst Number 10  ----- there was some buzz about this years ago.  Any future in such a project? Or just a pipe dream?

[Pete_Pittock]

If memory serves correctly The Pit was shut down for environmental issues, illegal dumping of pollutants, etc. Would need a costly remediation.

[Steve Lang]

   Always had more love than hate for The Pit, the latter being reserved for playing out of a borrow pit line 90 degress...

[Tommy Williamsen]

I'm not sure they need another course. They have plenty. Adding another course doesn't do anything for them. If they should do anything they can make some changes to one or two of the other courses.

[John Blain]

If memory serves correctly The Pit was shut down for environmental issues, illegal dumping of pollutants, etc. Would need a costly remediation.

I don't believe that to be true. I dd a google search on The Pit and the only thing mentioned about it's closing was the course was struggling financially and the owners made a decision to close it.
-John

[Erik J. Barzeski]

I don't believe that to be true. I dd a google search on The Pit and the only thing mentioned about it's closing was the course was struggling financially and the owners made a decision to close it.

It's not proof at all, of course, but I'd heard the bit about the amelioration costs of something "toxic" or something like that too.

It may not have made the news because it may have been discovered when they were privately considering re-opening it; I don't think it's a reason why it closed or anything, so it may not have made the news.

[Pete_Pittock]

pesticides, near the sixth fairway. EPA superfund site.
https://www.thepilot.com/news/dark-hour-in-aberdeen-history/article_9e4deafe-d3fc-55ce-8a9d-dfa05224ad32.html

[Jay Mickle]

Prior to its closing a very good friend was GM and I played often. I almost felt it was my own private course as no one else was there. Play was down revenues were down and efforts to creatively increase rounds did not help. While many visitors raved about the course, it was not held in as high esteem by the locals. About 6 months prior to closing the GM was let go as overhead had to be cut. I never heard a word about pollution. Purchase by Pinehurst and a C&C routing would argue against pollution as the cause of the courses downfall.
Perhaps one should not expect success naming a course The Pit

[Hunter Rigsby]

My grandfather used to be an Assistant Pro at The Pit. I grew up playing there quite a bit. As I understand it, Dan Maples was still the owner of the course and lost it in bankruptcy proceedings in 2010.  His investor group tried to repurchase it but were continually outbid by Pinehurst Resort. 


The Pit lost a ton of revenue when Tobacco Road opened and "Outpitted The Pit", as some articles coined it.


We still go out there from time to time.  It looks like it is being maintained in some capacity (there aren't 9 year old pines in the fairways) but it's still a sad sight to see. 


It is also still owned by Pinehurst resort and a routing that utilized part of the land was drawn up by Coore and Crenshaw around when the #2 renovation happened.  Soon after, Pinehurst purchased National GC, re-badged it as Pinehurst #9, and the plans to build a new course on The Pit land was tabled.  I believe they also planned some sort of "golf village" adjacent to the new routing.  I also don't think the location would be an issue.  The location is actually a huge part of what made the Pit successful originally, and with the surrounding land owned and the golf village plan, it would make the property nearly contiguous with the existing Pinehurst Resort (and closer than a lot of the courses that don't play out of the main clubhouse).   

[Philip Hensley]

My grandfather used to be an Assistant Pro at The Pit. I grew up playing there quite a bit. As I understand it, Dan Maples was still the owner of the course and lost it in bankruptcy proceedings in 2010.  His investor group tried to repurchase it but were continually outbid by Pinehurst Resort. 


The Pit lost a ton of revenue when Tobacco Road opened and "Outpitted The Pit", as some articles coined it.


We still go out there from time to time.  It looks like it is being maintained in some capacity (there aren't 9 year old pines in the fairways) but it's still a sad sight to see. 


It is also still owned by Pinehurst resort and a routing that utilized part of the land was drawn up by Coore and Crenshaw around when the #2 renovation happened.  Soon after, Pinehurst purchased National GC, re-badged it as Pinehurst #9, and the plans to build a new course on The Pit land was tabled.  I believe they also planned some sort of "golf village" adjacent to the new routing.  I also don't think the location would be an issue.  The location is actually a huge part of what made the Pit successful originally, and with the surrounding land owned and the golf village plan, it would make the property nearly contiguous with the existing Pinehurst Resort (and closer than a lot of the courses that don't play out of the main clubhouse).

What about the existing little bit of housing on the road on the way in?


Isn't the former clubhouse still there? Is someone maintaining that?

[Hunter Rigsby]

What about the existing little bit of housing on the road on the way in?


Isn't the former clubhouse still there? Is someone maintaining that?

The townhomes are still occupied, but I'm unsure how the ownership of those works. 


There's an interesting article somewhere on the internet where Pinehurst used The Pit clubhouse to house volunteers (or some sort of personnel) for the U.S. Open.  It's not in great shape, however.  I want to say that the steps that led up from the cart storage area have fallen off, but I can't remember if that's accurate.  It's been about a year and a half since I've been out there.

[Ronald Montesano]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqZMcvd0yjo

[Ronald Montesano]

pesticides, near the sixth fairway. EPA superfund site.
https://www.thepilot.com/news/dark-hour-in-aberdeen-history/article_9e4deafe-d3fc-55ce-8a9d-dfa05224ad32.html

The facility was set up there. It never mentions the golf course as being polluted.

"Under EPA supervision, consultants hired by the companies developed a plan to treat the remaining pesticide-tainted soil with a process called thermal desorption - which is similar to incineration, but at lower temperatures - at a facility that setup near the Fairway Six site adjacent to the Pit golf course."

[Pete_Pittock]

Ronald, This is a link to the EPA website regarding the Aberdeen
https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0403099#Done


These are two sentences from mid-report. I have not enlarged them. I believe the Link Golf Course actually was The Pit Golf Course and this was an innocent error by the compiler.
From 1950 until 1971, wastes from the formulation operations at the FC Area were disposed of at the F6 Area. The F6 Area was part of the Link Golf Course, however, this golf course recently closed. The F6 Area is currently a vacant field.

[Hunter Rigsby]

A link to the article I teased: https://www.golfdom.com/this-place-is-the-pit/


Another article of interest: http://spearsongolf.com/?p=4696