Pinehurst Resort opened its highly anticipated No. 10 course on April 3. Designed by Tom Doak, with Angela Moser serving as lead associate, No. 10 is the first new Pinehurst Resort course to be built in nearly three decades, since Tom Fazio’s No. 8 debuted on the site of the old Pinehurst Gun Club.
Located three miles south of the main resort clubhouse in Aberdeen, the new 18-hole No. 10 layout is draped atop ground that had once housed a Dan Maples-designed course called The Pit, which existed from 1985 until 2010. With natural ridgelines, intriguing landforms, towering longleaf pines, streams and ponds, Doak designed a course that complements the resort’s other courses through its contrasts.
"The site is topographically distinct and drastically different from anywhere in Pinehurst," Doak said. "It’s bigger, bolder and more dramatic. There’s about 75 feet of elevation change, and we worked our way up to it around the mid-point of the layout. You have expansive views from this apex over the rest of the course. It’s an unforgettable experience for golfers."
The new course incorporates rugged dunes that were mined at the location at the turn of the 20th century and feature the native sand and wiregrass that are characteristic to the area. Part of a 900-acre plot that the resort has branded, "Pinehurst Sandmines," Doak’s No. 10 is expected to be the first of several courses to grace the parcel.
"Tom Doak builds incredible golf courses on sand and we’re thrilled with what he created on No. 10," Pinehurst Resort president Tom Pashley said. "We’ve worked with some amazing golf architects who’ve embraced our natural aesthetic and Tom has exceeded our very high expectations."
"The number one thing that excited us about the project is working with the beautiful sand that’s native to this region,” Doak said at the onset, 16 months ago. “The sand, the wiregrass, the bluestem grass, and other native grasses that grow around the Sandhills create a fabulous texture for golf. It’s something most places just don’t have.”
DYE NAME SYNONYMOUS WITH SOUTH CAROLINA
When you think of oceanside golf in South Carolina, it’s no surprise that an architect named Dye is involved. Thus, it makes perfect sense that Cynthia Dye of Dye Designs Group is leading a refurbishment of Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort’s Ocean Point course. Located on a barrier island in the Atlantic, 19 miles from Beaufort, Fripp Island has long enjoyed two championship layouts, Ocean Point, a 1964 George Cobb creation and Ocean Creek, a Love Golf Design effort that dates to 1995. Cobb’s layout embraces deer, birds and alligators, plus a handful of holes that play alongside of or within sight of the Atlantic. Still, it was time for a refresh.
Cynthia Dye, Pete’s niece, will run the renovation in tandem with her son Matthew McGarey. “With five holes of unobstructed oceanfront views, Ocean Point Golf Course is undoubtedly an architect’s playground,” Dye told golfcoursearchitecture.net. “The premier course location coupled with the natural Lowcountry elements provide a solid foundation for our design team to elevate. We’re excited to bring our modern course vision to life while preserving historic elements inspired by Cobb’s original design.”
Plans include transforming 200,000 square feet of grass into sandy natural areas that better reflect the site’s seaside setting. Dye will also rework bunkers, renovate teeing grounds and eliminate cement cart paths in favor of crushed limestone. Construction will begin in June 2024.
GOING SOCIAL
Things are rolling at the new course for Bama! pic.twitter.com/t99IGn4PZf
— Love Golf Design (@Love3GolfDesign) April 2, 2024
CAPE ROYALE TURNS TO TY BUTLER
Architect Ty Butler has signed on to revive the fallow Cape Royale Golf Course in Coldspring, Texas. Principal Designer for Kansas-based Brio Golf, Butler spent twenty years in the employ of Robert Trent Jones II, where his talents contributed to acclaimed layouts such as the Kaluhyat at New York’s Turning Stone Resort and Sunday River in Maine. He will summon a different skill set for his latest project, which will be to resurrect a defunct course and transform it.
The course once known as Cape Royale was a Bruce Littell design that debuted with nine holes in 1972, in the small town of Coldspring, roughly an hour north of Houston and 30 miles southeast of Huntsville. Nine additional holes appeared in the following years, but the course shuttered in 2016, over the objections of homeowners. Recognizing a handsome property, one that incorporated mature trees, rolling terrain and Lake Livingston vistas, the Trinity River Authority has stepped in and engaged in bringing the course back to life.
Butler will team with Landscapes Unlimited to resuscitate Cape Royale. “Landscapes Unlimited adds tremendous value to this project,” said Kevin Ward, General Manager of the Trinity River Authority. “It is leveraging decades of expertise to help us mitigate potential miscues and produce an amazing golf course that will make our community proud.”
“Think tank sessions with the Trinity River Authority team continue to be extremely productive,” said Clay Fetherbay, Senior Program Manager of Landscapes Unlimited’s Project Development Group. “We assembled a highly experienced and talented team to reimagine the golf course on time and on budget.”
The course will be renamed TRA Lake Livingston Regional Public Golf Course. TRA — the Trinity River Authority — is a conservation and reclamation agency that provides water resource management within the nearly 18,000-square-mile Trinity River Basin. Lake Livingston is the state’s second largest reservoir. Scheduled to reopen in spring or summer of 2026, the course will be accessible to the public, and situated next to a private, gated residential community.
