On the course and even in the logo, Pinehurst No. 9 reopens to rave reviews

By Alex Podlogar

Pinehurst Country Club member Brian Thomas noticed something that might’ve been considered peculiar on a sweltering 98-degree August Wednesday last week.

Everyone around him was smiling.

And he immediately knew why.

They were on Pinehurst No. 9.

Following an 8-month renovation of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Design to replace all of the greens, update bunkering and conditions throughout and upgrade all of the irrigation, No. 9 reopened to a full tee sheet of – how else to say it? – mostly ecstatic Pinehurst Country Club members.

And that is no small feat.

“There’s nothing not to tell you about how good No. 9 is now,” Thomas says. “The things they’ve done to the course, I can’t say enough about how much they’ve improved the playability.”

Thomas wasn’t the only player impressed.

“I was like a kid in a candy store out there,” says Jim Hart. “I couldn’t wait to get to the next hole to see it. I just had a blast.

“I barely slept last night. I told my wife, ‘I could play this version of this course every day.’”

Hart has a kindred spirit in Thomas, who has been closely following the renovation from afar. Whether it was an updated social media post, a new photo or video, or a note to the membership from PCC Director Ben Bridgers, Thomas has been eagerly champing at the No. 9 bit.

“The anticipation of playing it, seeing it from a distance, ‘Oh, they’re doing this, and doing that,’ and then you start see photos and videos, it was like, ‘OK, let me see it,’” Thomas quipped. “Having played all of our courses, having traveled around and played all over, now finally and seeing what they’ve done with No. 9, all I can say is they’ve done it really, really, really good.”

 

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No. 9 closed in January as Pinehurst began work to renovate all aspects of the golf course. Primary in Pinehurst Golf Course Maintenance Manager Kevin Robinson’s mind was installing a new irrigation system, of which the original system had been in place since the course was originally built in 1986. Greens were converted from bentgrass to ultradwarf bemudagrass, and the bunkers were redone to improve playability and drainage.

What the players were seeing in a pristinely conditioned golf course was no mistake, says Robinson, and can certainly be the expectation going forward for members and resort guests alike.

“Just by itself, repairing and redoing the irrigation system is a huge facelift and basically makes everything else around the course better,” says Robinson. “Now that the superintendent and his assistants aren’t worried about fixing a water leak here and there, or needing to dig something up, they can rightly focus on the everything else about the golf course. That’s what I think players will come to see.”

In a year that has included a brutally hot and humid summer that has also had 30 fewer inches of rain than a year ago, No. 9’s new greens are receptive to those conditions rather than the bentgrass greens of before.

“Sodding these greens made all the difference in the world,” Hart says. “I tried to imagine what these greens would look like before if they had to go through the summer we’ve had this year; we probably would’ve been standing there and watching them die. But these greens putted perfectly, no seams in them whatsoever, and great, perfect speed. I’ve never seen a golf course outlined so well as far as its fairway and its rough. It’s just cut so perfectly right now.”

And so it was clear why players loved everything they were seeing around them.

Especially the new No. 9 logo – and its nod to Nicklaus, the Golden Bear.

The “9” is colored in Nicklaus’ traditional Golden Bear yellow, but forming the inside of the “9” is the outline of the bear itself. Pinehurst’s Senior Creative Services Manager Lauren Coffey designed the logo, which certainly caught the attention of many players.

“It was the first thing I told my wife when I came home,” Hart recalls. “I didn’t actually notice it until the fourth hole. When it hit me, I held the flag sideways and told the guys, ‘Look what they did!’ I can’t believe it; it is so cool. And the fact that we’ve finally paid tribute to Nicklaus in way that we’ve done with the yellow and the bear…whoever does this stuff is truly amazing. I always thought that what we did with the logo over at No. 8 was so cool, but this one is probably better. To see the head of the bear on there, and having always been a big fan of Nicklaus, I was so glad that we finally said, ‘Hey, this is a Nicklaus course, let’s really make it a Nicklaus course.’ Awesome stuff. Good job.”

“The logo is so good,” Bolding says. “So good – the tribute the Nicklaus with the bear and I love the colors. The golf tee is beautiful, the flags look great and the logo is just super cool. Pinehurst nailed the logo. I can’t wait to see it on apparel.”

“I loved that the bear could be there without it being immediately obvious,” says Coffey. “It adds a secondary layer of discovery, making this more than just a logo but into a conversation piece—something that makes you look twice! I really wanted to create a design that sparked curiosity and intrigue, and I think that’s exactly what it does. I could see it becoming another one of Pinehurst’s Hidden Gems.”

Just like the course itself.