Feature Interview on Pinehurst with Rich Mandell is posted

[Ran Morrissett]

Two weeks hence and the Sandhills of North Carolina should have seen more than its fair share of excitement. Firstly and foremost of course, Southern Pines CC will be a media hot spot where lads coming in from Pittsburgh, Chicago and England will experience what it’s like firsthand to lose to someone playing with clubs that are 75 plus years old. The other media hot spot will be seven miles away, centering on one of those numbered Pinehurst courses and guys playing with juiced up equipment.

The common denominators between the two events are that 1) people will wonder why I am playing in one and not the other   2) a relatively dry (ask Bobby Jones!) Scot designed the two courses, both of which have seen a fair amount of change since his death and 3) they are both going to be profiled in architect Rich Mandell’s upcoming book on Pinehurst, tentatively titled Golf Courses Of The Sandhills: Their History and Evolution.

I have had the pleasure of reading the first ten chapters, slightly over 140 pages in text. Without doubt, this book is without precedent in terms of capturing the Sandhills from an architectural perspective and tracing its evolution into a golfing mecca.

Importantly, it will focus on both the good AND the bad. The good will be on TV in short order (both in ten days time and in 2007 when the Women’s U. S. Open returns to Pine Needles). The bad is the lost opportunity regarding the area’s most abundant natural resource – sandy soil. Courses like Sand Hills and Mike Keiser’s three along the Oregon coast have highlighted in recent times that sandy soil is THE key to greatness (in case some didn’t get the Pine Valley/St. Andrews/Royal Melbourne message).

Hopefully, the future in course design in this area will take better advantage of the sandy soil. A course like Wild Horse (affordable with fast through the green playing conditions that is easy to walk) would be a HUGE breath of fresh air.

Rich has mined the wealth of information found within the Tufts Archives like no one to date. Just as his Feature Interview is heavy with facts and interesting/fresh information, so too will be his book, due out hopefully in the later part of 2006.

Cheers,

[RJ_Daley]

Ran, Those are a couple of very funny paragraphs you wrote (most likely after a long 19th hole at SP)

I really like what Mr Mandell has to say, particularly answers to items 9 and 18.  I agree, affordable and back to the future, and take advantage of the sandy sites.  Carthage ought to be somewhere in that discussion...

[Richard_Mandell]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the support and I think a lot of the details in the book will surprise people.

[T_MacWood]

A fascinating interview....I look forward to Rich's book. I'd always wondered what had happened to the spectacular flashed bunkers at #2. And the top dressing story never made sense to me either.

Rich
From what I understand Ross designed two courses for Southern Pines CC, what happened to the second course?

[George Pazin]

Thanks for taking the time to provide such wonderfully thoughtful answers to Ran's always good questions. I especially liked the parts on the myths and the missed opportunities.

I'm looking forward to rereading the part about #2's greens a few times to digest it more fully.

It seems unfortunate that another Ross course with different bunkers was brought back to the norm. What is especially frustrating is that it will likely be celebrated for doing so.

While I eagerly await the completion and publication of the book, I am even more pleased that you are busy enough pursuing your passions, so that you won't be able to finish it too quickly (hope that made sense, that is one awful sentence).

[Richard_Mandell]

Tom:

In reference to your questions about Southern Pines CC, of all the clubs I am researching for my book, no course is as vague about its history as SPCC.  There are no records or drawings of SPCC with Ross' name attached, so there is no concrete evidence that he did design 36 holes on the site at one point (if you can point me in a direction, I would appreciate it).  He definitely designed the priamry 18 that exists today, and most likely the third nine that is hanging on by a thread as we speak.  All 27 holes were in place by 1926.

The fascinating item about SPCC is that in 1926, Irving Johnson laid out an additional 18 holes as well as a "mini" 18 with plans to expand and relocate the clubhouse.  More land was coming from the northwest of the existing property.  This came from a Pilot article of 1926 with no mention of Donald Ross at all.

George:

Thank you for the comments and your last sentence made perfect sense to me, I don't know about anyone else.  You can rest assured that I won't be finishing this thing "too quickly".

[Paul_Daley]

Rich: nice going with the interview; you know this golfing region and its history inside out. Thank you for being frank with your assessment of how the advantageous golfing terrain has been utilised/squanded over the years. Your book should sell well; please put me down for a signed, dated and personalised copy.

[T_MacWood]

Rich
From the looks of the current monstrosity (clubhouse) at Southern Pines that looks like it was built to withstand an automic bomb...I'd guess the original (handsome) clubhouse burned down...and with it, all the records.

The first clue I found about the 36 holes at SPCC was the small pamphlet Ross put out listing his designs (circa 1930-31)--he listed SP having 36. There is also a small volume called the The Golfers Yearbook 1930, that lists SPCC as 36 holes. Course #1 6307 yds par-71; Course #2 6120 yds par-71. The course record at #2 was 69 at the time.

By the early 50's SPCC was 27 holes, with #2 being listed at 2980 yards. I wonder if the second course (or at least nine of it) was a casualty of the Depression.

[Chris_Clouser]

Richard,

The truth always surprises people.  Even this well-informed, at times, group suffers from hearing years of myth, legend and conventional wisdom and believing those items to be the "truth".  

[SPNC_Chris]

Rich,

There's a rendering of a layout of 36 holes at SP hanging in one of the back rooms where all the alleged "back room" meetings go on there. As I recall, it was done by Tom Jackson's firm. I don't know if he came up with the additional nine or if he might have had access to something thought to be lost. Have you gone in that direction to find anything?

[SPNC_Chris]

Tom,

The original clubhouse at SP burned down in the 70's. Not being old enough to remember it, I cannot speak to it's quality, but most people I have talked to say it was probably a good thing that it burned.

[Mike_Cirba]

Richard,

A wonderful job on the interview and I'm looking forward to the book!

It's amazing how the standard idea of a Ross bunker has been incorrectly stereotyped and perpetuated over the years.

I wonder if Golf Digest will recall their June issue, after your findings seriously refuting their contention of the amazing, rising greens that bear little resemblance to what The Donald intended?    

[T_MacWood]

An artists rendering of the original clubhouse. Architect: Aymar Embury (the same fellow who designed Ran's house...err former house)


A view on the enterance.

There is no comparison between this clubhouse and the current clubhouse, which may be the ugliest in golf.

[SPNC_Chris]

Certainly the architecture of the old one was nicer. I was speaking to the condition of the place. As far as the architecture goes, the "new" clubhouse seems to me to have been designed by the same person who did CCNC.

Besides Mid-Pines and the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst, pretty much every old wooden hotel or clubhouse around here burned down.

You should have seen the "new" Elks club back in it's day. The courses and other facilities were in great condition and the place was packed thanks to archaic liquor laws and the illegal slot machines in the members lounge!

[Richard_Mandell]

Tom and Chris:

Thanks for the leads on SPCC.  As soon as the Open passes and a few deadlines as well, I will get right on more research as I am at a critical point in the book regarding SPCC.

Regarding the clubhouse, it was a great looking building before it burned down.  The Pinehurst CC building was great looking as well back in the thirties.  You should also see the original Pine Needles clubhouse which is still standing.  It is an old rock structure that looks fantastic.

[SPNC_Chris]

Rich,

It was nice meeting you at the Elk's bar on Tuesday. I hope that access you'll be getting to some of the "secret files" turns up some helpful info for your research on SPGC. There are plenty of old codgers kicking around the club. Hopefully somebody knows something.

BTW, my wife says she knows you from her work or Chamber events. She works at National GC.