Dripping with history, Pinehurst provides subject matter a plenty. Its story is a protracted one, twelve decades in all and can be told in many ways. One could regurgitate vintage black and white photos or recount the heroic tales of Hogan and Snead. As compelling as that might be, it’s been done. Lee Pace’s
The Golden Age of Pinehurst – The Story of the Rebirth of No.2 puts a fresh, welcoming face on today’s Pinehurst. Released in December 2012, the hard-cover, coffee-table book talks about the restored Pinehurst No.2 from a current perspective. Lee’s tightly written narrative is handsomely augmented with dazzling photographs and high production standards.
Between February 2010 when the endeavor began and the spring of 2012 when he wrapped up the book’s production, Lee made upwards of 40 trips to Pinehurst from his home in Chapel Hill. That constituted approximately 120 days in the greater Pinehurst area doing research and interviewing 200+ people in connection with the project. As he notes in the Feature Interview, “Any time either of them ( Bill Coore or Ben Crenshaw) was in town over the next 18 months, I was there for at least a day.”
Only twenty years ago a platform like this for a golf architect to express himself was unheard of. There was the occasional article on Pete Dye or someone who had tweaked a major venue that produced a few quotes but little more. Happily, that’s changed in recent times and Lee’s tome captures the intent of Coore & Crenshaw and their team in detail and in their own words. As a local, I can tell you firsthand about the gnashing of the teeth when C&C’s work began. The refrain ‘why are you pulling up perfectly good grass’
was a regular one and a painful reminder of just how far Pinehurst had strayed from its sandy origins. Bill and Ben’s descriptions of No.2 (linear lines, green grass everywhere) are unfiltered and their vision for restoring it to how it looked and played in its glory days is now well documented, thanks to Lee.
It is always a pleasure to talk about a course that we can all play and one that will be featured on TV in just ~16 months. Ever since the announcement of the back-to-back Opens in 2014, tongues have been wagging about whether the course will hold up. The best explanation I have read to date behind the USGA’s quiet confidence comes from Lee:
I asked that question of Mike Davis, and he said he doesn’t have any concerns about the course being in championship condition for two straight weeks. The speed of the greens will be the same both weeks, roughly a 12 on the Stimpmeter. The greens will be quite firm; Davis wants well-struck shots from the fairway to get something along the lines of a “bounce, bounce, stop” action into the green. Since women can’t spin the ball as much as men, the greens will be a little softer for them in order to get that same action. He said it’s less problematic to soften greens for the second week than to harden them.Nothing beats getting information straight from the horse’s mouth and that’s what Lee has accomplished. He gained unfettered access to every living person that has helped Pinehurst get to where it is today. While Lee provides a highly informative insider’s view, older quotes are also liberally sprinkled throughout the book. Most importantly, it is Lee’s thorough research and the brand new material it generated that makes the book a valued addition to any golf library.
During a round at Southern Pines CC in 2011, Lee and I chatted about the merit of the Sand Hills of Moore County. We clearly share a similar passion for the region. Finally, I turned to him and asked why he didn’t live here. He replied, ‘Because I wouldn’t have it as a place that I look forward to traveling to – and I would hate that!’ His enthusiasm is both genuine and infectious and shines brightly throughout “The Golden Age”, a most timely update on the Grand Dame that is Pinehurst.
Best,