A quick look at the numbers from the first 2 months The Cradle was open
The Cradle opened in late September, and its first two months to finish the Fall season were remarkable. A few numbers from those initial months:
- More than 6,100 rounds were played on the new 9-hole, 789-yard short course.
- The busiest day had 174 golfers play, and the largest group was a 12-some.
- With a $50 greens fee that includes replay rounds that same day, the average time to play one round was just over an hour.
- In those first few weeks, more than 220 juniors under 17 played for free with a paid adult while Pinehurst Country Club members played 2,100 rounds and hosted 706 guests.
- Since opening, more than 30 holes-in-one have been recorded, with aces coming from players ages 8 to 84.
- In a unique event, Pinehurst teaching professional Kelly Mitchum played the short course from sunrise to sunset on the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year – and finished 26 complete rounds for a total of 234 holes. He shot 12 under par for the day.
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With holes ranging from 40 yards to 127 yards, The Cradle features native sandscape and wiregrass common to the original courses of Pinehurst. But it’s the sounds and sights emanating from the course daily that reveal what the course has meant to players in the opening months.
“I love seeing people sitting outside the clubhouse basking in this great scene. I feel like The Cradle reinforces the true golf spirit that is such a part of Pinehurst.”
Cradle designer Gil Hanse
“I love seeing people sitting outside the clubhouse basking in this great scene,” says Cradle designer Gil Hanse. “I feel like The Cradle reinforces the true golf spirit that is such a part of Pinehurst.”
Cradle plans for 2018 include a live segment on Golf Channel’s popular Morning Drive show in March, a day to bring your dog to the course, a concert series, Women’s Golf Day program, fundraisers, a spring break kids program and other unique ideas that are being dreamed up daily.