Landforms evocative of Irish links
Construction is set to get underway on Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s No. 11 course at the Pinehurst Resort.
Being built at the Sandmines – a 900-acre site four miles south of the main resort – Pinehurst’s 11th course, co-located with the Tom Doak-designed No. 10 course, is expected to open in the fall of 2027.
The Sandmines site is named for its decades-long history as a sand mining site.
Those past mining operations are still evident within Coore & Crenshaw’s routing. They are among the features that have drawn the pair to the area since their restoration of Donald Ross’s Pinehurst No. 2 about 15 years ago in preparation for the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open which were held just weeks apart.
Pinehurst No. 11 and No. 10 couldn’t be more different
Coore called the Sandmines “a wonderful site, just because of its inherent character.” He said he marveled at the mixture of native elements and man-made remnants, some of which still remain from when The Dan Maples-designed Pit Golf Links was open on the property.
“That character was essentially created, not all of it is natural, but it has all been reclaimed by nature. This is land left over from all that mining from the 1930s. The spoil piles are here, and Mother Nature provided the trees, and it’s all incredible. It’s not too often you get that kind of combination, and it creates a site that is extraordinarily interesting for golf.”
While Doak’s No. 10, which opened in the spring of 2024, commands attention for its elevation changes and expansive vistas, Coore & Crenshaw see something unique in No. 11. They envision a golf course that winds and twists while still being dramatic in shape and style, with jutting ridges and massive mounds to be played over and around.
We’re far, far from the sea, but we have these contours and features and landforms that remind you of spots in Ireland or Scotland. And yet here it is, in Pinehurst,” Coore said.
“The two courses really couldn’t be more different, and we love that,” said Tom Pashley, president of Pinehurst Resort. “The designs of No. 10 and No. 11 complement each other so well by contrasting so much.”
Coore: ‘This is going to be so intimate in scale’
For someone like Coore, who grew up in North Carolina and ventured to Pinehurst on numerous occasions in his youth to play the famed designs in this area, the landforms for No. 11 are unlike anything he has seen around Pinehurst.
“It’s this choppy, ridge-y ground,” says Coore. “It’s not as much elevation change, but it’s so quirky with the ridges and the piles and the trees and the angles. This is going to be so intimate in scale. You’re winding your way through trees and over old piles and across ridges.
In addition to No. 10, other elements of Sandmines are also coming together this summer. The 6,000-square-foot golf shop and locker room will open in June, and in August, the Sandmines’ restaurant and bar will be open for business.
Plans for lodging for guests staying on property are ongoing and could be in place by the end of 2027, the reort said.
Featured image of the site of Pinehurst No. 11 courtesy of the Pinehurst Resort
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