The First Day of Spring celebrates a new dawn And at Pinehurst, that feels like it happens every day

By Alex Podlogar

Every day at Pinehurst is like the first day of Spring.

Coore & Crenshaw’s breathtaking restoration of Pinehurst No. 2 set into motion a burst of evolution at Pinehurst that has been unparalleled in even its long history. The list is long, and while we’ve shared it before in detail, even putting it as succinctly as possible still reads as a run that someone might think impossible to achieve in 50 years, let alone 15.

No. 2 restoration. Back-to-back U.S. Opens. The Deuce. The Cradle. No. 4’s redesign. Pinehurst Brewing Co. The Manor’s full renovation. The North & South Bar. The U.S. Amateur. The Anchor Site of the U.S. Open. Renovation of The Carolina Hotel. The Magnolia and Villaggio Ristorante. World Golf Hall of Fame. Golf House Pinehurst. Carolina Vista Lounge. Resort Clubhouse renovation. The U.S. Open. Pinehurst No. 10. Pinehurst Sandmines. Station 21. Cottages at No. 8. Titleist Shop at Pinehurst.

And back to Coore & Crenshaw, diligently working on Pinehurst No. 11.

New beginnings happen often at Pinehurst. But so do lasting traditions. The sons playing No. 2 in memory of their father, who first brought them here. The father and his son returning to Pinehurst for the boy’s last spring break of high school, them playing Thistle Dhu as a rainbow appears on the horizon. Before the father can open his phone to record the scene, he looks over and his son is already doing it, and tears wet both sets of eyes.

March, sometimes, can be a difficult month. And while Pinehurst indeed had a short hiccup of mid-week morning freezes, temperatures are soaring again today as a new, official First Day of Spring dawns long after what has warmly felt like an early arrival.

Grass is greening. Tulips have shot out of the pinestraw around the Resort, replacing the already bloomed daffodils, Bradford Pears and cherry blossoms. Dogwoods and azaleas are no doubt next, expected any day now.

The pin flags on The Cradle sport the beloved Cradle Spring Logo, which greets guests riding or strolling up Carolina Vista on banners above them, signaling a new year of golf. The Masters is mere weeks away, but we’re celebrating crisp tee shots and made putts already here. The seasonal cocktail is in a special keepsake cup, the tees are pink, white and green and will soon be in short supply. Those sounds you hear in the morning distance are the mowers and the sprinklers. Because they are needed again.

Yeah, OK, there’s pollen. But much of it, it seems, has descended already. Perhaps that cycle will finish earlier than normal, too. What a nice gesture that would be from the towering pines that gave this place its first charms.

Larry Goins stands at the bag drop at the ready with a wave, a smile, a conversation, or all three. We remember Frolin Hatcher when he was by Larry’s side, his first day out of winter retirement always coinciding with this day. The memory of hearing that voice slice through the March breeze and the chuckle that came with it live on like so many of the other moments that define Pinehurst and its people.

Spring marks renewal, and if there’s one thing that has been happening at Pinehurst almost every day of the last 15 years, it’s that something new is in progress. Wiregrass, the new, warm and inviting farm-to-table restaurant that will serve dinner in the Clubhouse, is in its final days of construction before its opening in April. Bill Coore will return in a few days to check on things at No. 11. Bob Dedman Jr. will have another idea.

It’s, as we say on the phone, a beautiful day in Pinehurst.

It’s also always the First Day of Spring.