Master Plan Research

“A golf course, being a living, breathing creature, grows old. It may age gracefully, looking better and playing better the older it gets, but after a time it begins to show its age. Its holes become too short. Its bunkers no longer seem menacing. Its greens lose character. One of three things must be done. The old course can be reconstructed, completely rebuilt from the ground up with scant homage paid to its original design; it can be restored, faithfully reproducing every nuance, no matter how antiquated, to reflect the original designer’s intent and philosophy; or it can be renovated, changing certain features of the course in order to accommodate modern play but maintaining the original framework. Reconstruct...restore...renovate.” Geoffrey Cornish, Golf Course Architect from the book ‘The Architects of Golf’.

I love the history of golf and have been fortunate to work at a couple of very old golf properties. I find it interesting to learn about the evolution of the golf course, especially here at Pinehurst.

As we embark on a new master plan for the club, it is important to understand the historical aspect of the land. It is understood that the property was once farm land and then developed into a golf course which opened in June of 1960. I wanted to learn more about the evolution of Pinehurst so I tracked down Colorado Aerial Photo Service here in Denver to view aerial photos of the club. Photos of the club range from 2005 back to 1937. If you are interested in aerial photographs, look no further. Satellite imagery has put an end to flying the Front Range, but they have aerials up to 2005. I find this fascinating. Since 1937 there are only two structures on the property that still stand today, the windmill and the barn. 

In the photo above is the 8th hole in 1961. As you can see today's maintenance area was spread out more to the south with some additional buildings for farming, ranching and/or for care taking purposes. As for the golf hole, the tee box was located to the south of the existing tee on the other side of the ash trees. Today that area still resembles a tee box.

Colorado Aerial Photo Service also provides a scanning stereoscope that allows you to view a photo in 3D which can depict topography changes throughout the property. This provides a good history of the watershed and soils.

Most of the dirt moved for the golf course took place between the clubhouse and the windmill. In fact there were once two ponds located where 17 green is located today. It is unclear the exact purpose of the windmill but most likely it was used to pump ground water or water from nearby ponds for use on another location on the property.  

So far we have been through 1975 noting any major changes with the club. The greens, tees and sand traps have all matured over time and we expect to see more of that in the 80's and beyond. You could probably count the number of trees on the property on two hands by the time the course opened for play. Massive tree plantings occurred in the mid-late 1960's. Most holes consisted of one tee box and many of the fairway sand traps would be considered obsolete with today's technology.