Pinehurst No. 4 has been open for less than three months. And yet already Gil Hanse’s redesign is earning the highest praise.
Last month, Golf.com revealed that it has named No. 4 the “Best New Course You Can Play in 2018.”
“This year, Hanse, partner Jim Wagner and their team collected a few more trophies, none more richly deserved than what they earned for their extreme makeover of Pinehurst No. 4,” write the editors of Golf Magazine. “Whether this is a redesign, as Hanse’s working plans state, or a brand new course, as Hanse himself asserts, it’s a remarkable piece of work.”
While No. 4 has been through a number of iterations since it was first built by Donald Ross in 1919, Hanse’s version is the most stunning. With the most interesting topography on the entire Pinehurst property, a shimmering lake as a centerpiece and natural ridgelines defining corridors, golfers are treated to a brazen blend of sand, native wire grasses and shimmering water.
It was all of that – and the fun factor – that swayed Golf.com.
“No. 4 may never reach the tournament stature of its fabled No. 2 sibling, but for strategy, visuals and enjoyment, it’s in a class by itself.”