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ABERDEEN, N.C. - It's not in Pinehurst, but it's still Pinehurst.
Having received an appetite-whetting guided tour in October 2023, I played the brand-new, Tom Doak-designed Pinehurst No. 10, open since April, on a warm and pleasant day in early May. In short, it was excellent, and represents the first 18 paragraphs in a new chapter in the resort's history.
No. 10 is the first step in the development of the 900-acre Pinehurst Sandmines property five miles south of the resort's century-old nerve center. It's located not in the village of Pinehurst but in the town of Aberdeen (how Scottish!).
The Sandmines property is pure North Carolina, and its name is plain in explanation. It was originally mined for sand.
Golf is not new to the property. A course called The Pit Golf Links operated for 25 years before closing permanently in late 2010. By most accounts, it was a like-it-or-hate-it layout with many narrow, tree-lined holes and a few with forced carries over lakes left over from the mining operations. A sliver of its tract ended up being repurposed during the construction of No. 10.
Pinehurst No. 10 twists up, down and over more than 100 vertical feet of broad, sandy, piney ridges, exploring and revealing the western third of the Sandmines tract. At the midway point, the routing loops back on itself, with holes 9 and 15 sharing a tee complex and heading in different directions from the high banks of a large pond. Doak and his team of associates led by Angela Moser understood exactly what the topography could yield in terms of awe-inspiring interior golf vistas, clearing out corridors that span more than 75 yards on most holes.
The tall, dense pines that define many of No. 10's playing spaces often give the sense of traversing immense hallways - a feeling I have had most strongly at Yale University's own epic golf course. In the right light, the views from tee boxes at two of No. 10's par 5s - the 3rd and 10th holes - echo landscape works from "sublime" painters like J.M.W. Turner and John Martin. While Turner and Martin dealt in oils and watercolors with subject matter like stormy seas to Biblical battles, Doak and Moser work their own media - grass, sand, sky - to impressive effect.
Pinehurst No. 10 gives and takes constantly throughout the round. Wide, firm fairways promise to add extra yards to drives, but that same bounciness makes approach shots tricky, especially into greens like the first and 15th, which slope away from the landing area. The course stretches to a seemingly middling 7,020 yards (at least by today's new-course standards) from the tips, but plays longer due to its par of 70 - three par 5s against five par 3s.
Eye candy abounds, but none of it is gratuitous. Many of the bunkers have a rustic look with spots of native grasses embedded in their faces. The texturing of off-fairway areas - a melange of stabilizing centipede and wire grasses, wildflowers and even blueberry bushes - was fine-tuned by Moser over several months as part of the finishing process. It will take years for it to fully bed in, aided by dense, nutrient-rich soils that will help stabilize all that fast-draining sand. In time, No. 10 will have its own distinctive form of "rough," just as Pinehurst No. 2 has since Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw restored Donald Ross' masterpiece in 2010.
Much clubhouse debate will focus on the penultimate hole of each nine. The fairway of the par-4 8th is a craze of leftover mining mounds that Doak & Co. grassed over without much manipulation. Moser and other associates were determined to preserve the largest of all of them: a 25-footer that sits barely 100 yards off the tee and stares every golfer in the face. One can veer left of it and leave a blind approach over more moguls, or play over or slightly right of it to open up a view of a burbling semi-punchbowl green. Some may snicker that it's severe or out of character or derivative of other wild golf holes, but those people are probably the last ones to offer to buy beers on a buddies trip anyway.
Those same naysayers could bray about the par-3 17th and its large, multi-decked green beyond a pond with a pernicious panhandle just large enough to accommodate a terrifying front-right hole location.
My favorite holes at Pinehurst No. 10 are the long par fours, especially the 6th and 16th. Number 6 plays 489 yards from the tips and swings right and downhill over broken ground (including a gas pipeline easement the course crosses five times in the first eight holes) to a perfectly sited green where proper approaches will bound forward and roll right. The 477-yard 16th glides downhill as well, with a front-to-back sloping green that requires a bit of planning and shotmaking from the player (and walking caddie, typically) to avoid going long. Two bruising uphill two-shotters - the 9th and 13th - anchor the course's superb middle stretch.
To that point, Pinehurst No. 10 is walking-only, and its terrain makes it a decent hike compared with the mild and more compact No. 2. Though push-carts are available, the resort's excellent caddies are getting to know it well, and will guide your journey while taking a load off of your shoulders. My caddie, a local named Brent (a.k.a. "Sunshine"), was one of the best I have walked with anywhere, a faultless green reader.
Pinehurst No. 10 currently plays out of a temporary clubhouse, but the Sandmines project is chugging along, with a halfway house nearly finished and clubhouse construction getting underway. For now, the resort's Maniac Grill food truck is a frequent visitor to the site. A short course, lodging and presumptive Pinehurst No. 11 course are likely future additions. Heading into its 14th decade, Pinehurst Resort is exploring new paths while keeping to its traditional ways. Same as it ever was.
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Tom Doak's latest golfing marvel showcases his architectural genius with a grandeur unseen in North Carolina's Sandhills. This new course promises an unparalleled experience, weaving seamlessly into the natural landscape while offering an epic scale of challenge and beauty. Doak's mastery transforms the property, elevating it to a destination for golf enthusiasts worldwide. His design philosophy, coupled with the unique features of the Sandhills, ensures an unforgettable journey for players. From strategic bunkering to breathtaking vistas, each hole tells a story of craftsmanship and innovation. Golf aficionados are in for a treat, as they embark on this remarkable golfing odyssey. <a href="https://zlineproducts.com/ ">Bunker Golf Course</a>