Tom, can you talk about the eighth in detail here? I got directed to a few sites regarding the hole, including your Instagram (if not your official one, apologies).
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqbv9yZN0YM/
Why did "all the crew [lobby]" to keep it? Did YOU consider keeping it originally? Was it thought too radical or hindering early on to preserve/feature?
Do you have a feel as to how the hole will be played? Do you think the planned/planted iteration will last (I believe you mentioned its quirkiness in another thread)?
Do you have two adjectives to describe #10? Does Angela Moser have her own two adjectives?
Thanks, Peter.
Hi Peter:
I'd rather NOT talk about every detail of every hole of every course we are building, before they are open. Some of my clients are more hungry for the publicity than others, but I think it is fair to guess that a lot of people will get to Pinehursr in 2024 to form their own opinions, and I'd rather have their honest reactions than try to put words into their mouths!
I would not have built the hole if I didn't think it was going to remain. My initial skepticism was for just that reason: I thought the resort might be too conservative to let the mound stay. They had expressed the desire for the course to be cool, but they were wary of appearing that they were trying to mimic Tobacco Road, and they didn't really want something that wild.
However, when Bob Denman came out for his second site visit and I found him wandering around the 8th hole, he was genuinely excited about it and asked a lot of questions about how we were going to finish it and about the playability. And if Mr. Dedman likes it, then Pinehurst likes it. So the mound made the final cut.
At present, the visibility of the mound distracts attention from the WILD contours of the fairway, which I think will be the unique and possibly controversial feature of the 8th hole. As Adam testifies, it is definitely not like the other holes out there right now, although I believe that if and when they build a second 18 holes on that property, it will have been a good foreshadowing of what is to come.