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In a long-rumored move, the ownership group behind Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Mid Pines Inn & Club and Southern Pines Golf Club have completed the purchase of two other Pinehurst-area golf facilities: the Country Club of Whispering Pines and Foxfire Resort & Golf.
At a combined purchase price of just over $3.5 million - $1.633 million for Whispering Pines, $411,000 for some associated timeshare units and $1.512 million for Foxfire - the newly-formed Rolling Pines LLC goes from three to seven golf courses under its control: three Donald Ross designs and four latter-day courses with potential to attract significant interest from visiting golfers after future renovations and master-planning. In a destination that has come to be dominated by Pinehurst Resort and its soon-to-be-12 golf courses, Rolling Pines has stepped up its presence in a significant way.
This move comes on the heels of the announcement that Marine & Lawn Hotels has acquired the Inn at Mid Pines and the Pine Needles Lodge, which will lead to significant upgrades similar to what the brand has done to seven iconic links golf hotels overseas.
Rolling Pines consists of members of the Miller and McDowell families - descendants of area golf legend Peggy Kirk Bell, who bought Pine Needles in 1953 and added Mid Pines to her holdings in 1994 - as well as investor Haresh Tharani. "We have a deep commitment to the community and to the state," said Tharani in a release published at the Pine Needles website. "We believe in buying properties that have a great legacy and tradition, and both of these clubs fit that.”
While not as old as Rolling Pines' three Ross courses, Whispering Pines and Foxfire have decades of history behind them, with plenty of ups and downs.
Maples is well-known to Pinehurst golfers as the architect of Pinehurst No. 5 and Woodlake Country Club. His father, Frank, was part of Donald Ross' construction crew on numerous courses and also served as superintendent at Pinehurst Resort. Ellis worked on numerous Ross designs as well before establishing his own independent practice in the mid-1950s.
The River course at the Country Club of Whispering Pines opened in 1959 and the Pines course opened in 1965. The property sits between three lakes in a residential district six miles north of Pine Needles. Over the years, many GolfPass reviews of the two courses have expressed approval of their design but disappointment at uneven maintenance and overall management.
A similar story has enveloped the two courses at Foxfire, which sits about 12 miles west of Pine Needles. Its courses, Grey Fox (1968) and Red Fox (1969), were both laid out by architect Gene Hamm, who authored more than 60 designs throughout the Carolinas and Virginia during his design career, which began under Robert Trent Jones, Sr. GolfPass reviews of both courses note the appeal of their North Carolina Sandhills terrain, but express disappointment with their upkeep and the overall golf experience.
The setting of this course would make you think that it would be awesome but it was a little underwhelming...It's a shame because for a course located around Pinehurst it leaves much to be desired.
The initial release about the purchase of Whispering Pines and Foxfire hints at potential future renovations to both properties' golf courses. "[A]mong initiatives to come are having golf architect Kyle Franz, who has supervised major restorations of the Pine Needles, Mid Pines and Southern Pines courses in the last dozen years, tweak the courses and develop a master plan," it reads.
Franz has been responsible for recent renovation and restoration efforts at Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Southern Pines. His work at Southern Pines is especially striking, as he opened up corridors by removing hundreds of trees and amped up the drama on the greens, which are large and feature bold contours. Franz's admiration for Golden Age architects like Ross and George Thomas could be brought to bear in significantly improving Rolling Pines' 72 newly-acquired holes.
More golf course news and notes
NEW TPC COURSE NAMED - The Club at Pasadera, a private Jack Nicklaus design 25 minutes east of Pebble Beach, has been rechristened TPC Monterey at Pasadera, making it the 30th course to carry that distinction. [LINK: The Golf Wire]
GOLFERS VS. STARGAZERS - One would think these two groups could coexist on a course that houses an observatory, but alas... [LINK: Des Moines Register]
7 COURSES IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY?! - Richard Teder becomes the first Estonian to play in the Open Championship. [LINK: Associated Press]
OPEN WINDOW CLOSING? - R&A chief's latest comments make it seem less likely than ever that Turnberry will return to the Open rota, citing logistics hurdles. [LINK: The Guardian]
GOLF-ADJACENT - What pickleball is to tennis, "park golf" is to golf? It's big in Japan... [LINK: Inside Hook]
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