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THE SITE OF THE OLD PIT COURSE is a busy place these days. Located 4 miles from the main clubhouse at the Pinehurst Resort, The Pit property is buzzing again after being closed for over a decade. But with Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw having a full schedule, architect Tom Doak (R) got the call to build the tenth course at Pinehurst.

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy or connect on LinkedIN and Facebook.

Angela Moser is Tom Doak’s lead associate on the Pinehurst #10 project.

THE OLD PIT COURSE IS BUZZING.

Who would have thought that. After years of the golf course being closed. Fairways, greens and bunkers now grown over.

IT’s BEEN a decade since the Pinehurst Resort brought in golf architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, to walk the land and give the resort a new routing for the property.

SINCE the presentation of the routing, the Pit golf course has just sat there, waiting for something to happen. For years Coore and Crenshaw have been tugging at the sleeve of Pinehurst owner Bob Dedman Jr. and Pinehurst Resort President Tom Pashley, to get the project rolling.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic growing the demand for golf, Pinehurst finally decided it was ready to build the 10th course. So last year Pinehurst reached out Coore and Crenshaw and said “let’s go”. But the problem was that Coore and Crenshaw weren’t ready to go. Because like many top golf architecture firms these days, they are busy. Really busy.

The tree removal phase is well underway on the land of the former Pit Course, in addition to adjoining land now owned by the Pinehurst Resort.

So with a reputation of playing well in the sand, top course designer Tom Doak got the call from Pinehurst.

Much to the relief of Pinehurst, Doak had a window to do the project. But Doak made it clear, he needed the permits and all in place to start by early 2023.

So when everything was in place, work got started.

Doak sent his top associate designer for the project Angela Moser out on site with a crew to get the clearing started. Doak himself arrived right after the Super Bowl wrapped up. So now, it’s full speed ahead.

Bulldozer’s and other heavy equipment are hard at work, clearing and shaping the ground of the new course routing.

Pinehurst gave Doak the option to take any land he needed at the site, even if it crossed paths with what Coore and Crenshaw had previously staked out. But for the most part, Doak liked land not already chosen by Coore and Crenshaw. So for now, it appears there will be little, or no cross-over between the two routings.

PARTS OF the former Pit Course now still remain, but are being cleared away for the new routing by Doak.

But there is good news for fans of Coore and Crenshaw courses. The Doak course will not be the only course on this site. Because once Coore and Crenshaw have time on their schedule, the next 18 holes gets built (time table-TBD). Along with villas for overnight stays, and likely another large putting green and possible par-3 course.

So Pinehurst will now create another separate area for golf and more, a short distance from where the main resort stands. Which could fully remain open for play and stay. Even during times the resort is hosting a major USGA championship, like a U.S. Open.

The Old Pit Course clubhouse still stands-for now (L). (R) From the site of a proposed tee box, the elevation change back to a previous hole stands out. The tenth course has places where elevation change can be as much as 65 feet, according to Doak.

When golfers who played the original golf course return to the site, they will likely enjoy what has evolved from a course once called “The Pit”. The site of the tenth course has unlimited potential. So it will be interesting to see what becomes of it. Pinehurst is hoping the Doak Course will be open and ready for play by the time the 2024 U.S. Open comes to town. Doak and his team feel they can make the deadline, Pinehurst expects that they will.

Follow the progress of the building of the “Tenth Course at Pinehurst” both here, and at Pinehurst.com. Pinehurst will host the U.S. Open in June of 2024.