Best of Golf: The Men’s Locker Room at Forest Creek Golf Club

The apex of golf course architecture is attained when a strategic course is built on land well suited for golf and the design reflects its natural surrounds. In that way the overall property is augmented with holes that blend with nature. The same standard applies to other structures built upon the property. An example of a man-made artifice that embodies the essence of a property is the men’s locker room at Forest Creek Golf Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina. As noted in the GolfClubAtlas.com profile of Forest Creek’s South Course, Charles Louis Meyer …

… purchased a Manor House in 1942 on 500 acres three miles from the village of Pinehurst. A guesthouse, small log cabin, and an eight stall barn were the only other structures on the rolling, forested property.  Horse riding, fox hunting and golf served as primary pastimes. Back then, quail hunting was a pastime in central North Carolina. Over time and by regularly purchasing land, Meyer impressively amassed a near 3,000 acre estate.

The property eventually fell debt free to his grandson’s Terry and Louis Brown and their cousin Heidi Hall-Jones in 1990, who opted to build a high-end private club for the better player. Play commenced from a trailer until a charming 4,000 square foot clubhouse was completed on a hill overlooking a lake that separates the ninth and eighteen holes. As the club prospered, a second Tom Fazio course was added and the space requirements out-stripped the original building.

What to do? In 2002, the club turned to the architectural firm of Chapman Coyle & Chapman to design a standalone men’s locker room. Shrewdly, the architects responded with a rectangular structure that resembled a horse stable and perfectly captured the rustic theme of the property.

The muted exterior woods and copper roof combined with intelligent landscaping allows the locker room to meld into its surrounds, despite the fact that the building is over 9,000 square feet.

The attention to detail is impressive, from the stacked slate to the stall doors. Yet, mercifully, no part of the structure screams for attention.

On entry, a horse motif greets the golfer. Warm tones and lack of bright lighting/glare are much appreciated, especially for the golfer seeking relief from a round in the sun.

372 lockers are discretely mewed – you guessed it – in stalls, of which there are fourteen. While the locker room’s square footage sounds excessive, the interior is actually quite intimate. The rough-hewn wood and plaid carpet lend a tasteful but relaxed ambience that male golfers both appreciate and find pleasantly familiar.

The vaulted ceiling soars 22 feet and creates a spacious feel. Stone, metal and wood are the dominate construction elements.

There are no close, cramped quarters with malodorous golfers milling about; the layout emphatically avoids such un-pleasantry. All crucial amenities are provided within this haven including the highest form of civilization – the 9 inch round shower head! In keeping with a countrified mentality, you have what you need and the room to work in without extraneous clutter.

Seating areas are scattered about with these plump leather chairs acting as sirens to weary golfers with aching backs. Hard to imagine wanting to be anywhere better after a round. It is also harder to get up out of these chairs than it is to plunk down!

The bar offers exactly what every golfer needs: ingredients to stimulate reasons why his score of 84 was nothing short of a work of art!

Think golf is old? The ancient game of chess began in India some 800 years before golf was played along the North Sea. An inveterate chess fan, the author has always been impressed by this set.

There you have it. Private clubs don’t flourish if golfers arrive, play golf and hurry off. Clubs need for the membership to enjoy being on the grounds. The locker room at Forest Creek provides one such example. From Locker Room Manager Lou Walker’s warm greeting to a cleansing ale in a low slung leather chair, the golfer has many reasons to strike a happy mood, amicably chatting with his fellow practitioners. Camaraderie abounds.

In the end, golf is all about decompression and the locker room at Forest Creek wonderfully aids that pursuit.

The End