Pinehurst Unveils Course No. 11 As Golf’s Biggest Resort Grows Again

The biggest golf resort in the U.S. is growing yet again, with the iconic Pinehurst Resort in the sand hills of North Carolina unveiling plans for its 11^th 18-hole course.

Designed by the accomplished team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Pinehurst No. 11 will sit adjacent to Pinehurst No. 10, which debuted last year on the site of a former sand mine that sat unused for more than a decade. Construction will begin later this year, with No. 11 expected to open for play in Fall of 2027.

“I don’t think I have ever seen two more physically different sites that are contiguous, literally touching each other than the sites for No. 10 and No. 11,” said Coore, who grew up in North Carolina and has been playing courses in the Pinehurst area since his youth. “They’re monumentally different in terms of their character. And the two courses will (also) be massively different in terms of their characteristics, just because of the landforms.”

The routing for the new course is situated at Pinehurst Sandmines, a 900-acre property that Pinehurst President Tom Pashley has called the resort’s “Field of Dreams” – an area that could realize the evolving demands of destination golf in a modern way. Once Tom Doak and Angela Moser were enlisted to build No. 10 on the site, expectations were that it would eventually include two championship courses, a short course, a putting course, a new clubhouse, pro shop, and golf lodging for guests.

Golf’s Travel Boom

After sitting on the land from 2011 to 2023, the opportunity is ripe for Pinehurst to pursue continued growth. There have not only been a record number of rounds of golf played in recent years, but the number of U.S. golf travelers has topped 12 million in each of the past three years, the highest levels on record, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Coore and Crenshaw, who were responsible for the major restoration of Pinehurst’s flagship No. 2 course in 2011, had done a routing in 2012 for a course on the property that is now Sandmines.

But Pashley has said he’s grateful it wasn’t pursued at the time because the resort has learned much more about the look and feel of the “future of golf.”

After the restoration of No. 2, Pinehurst introduced its nearly two-acre Thistle Dhu putting course in 2012 and opened its hugely popular Cradle par-3 course just outside the main clubhouse in 2017. Architect Gil Hanse, who built the Cradle, was celebrated in 2018 for his redesign of Pinehurst No. 4. Pinehurst No. 8 also underwent a facelift, but the construction of No. 10 – along with the branding of Pinehurst Sandmines – represented the resort’s first new 18-hole course project in nearly three decades.

Complement and Contrast

While No. 11 will sit next to its predecessor, the terrain for the two courses is very different. As a result, the designs will complement each other by contrasting with one another.

“The two courses really couldn’t be more different, and we love that,” says Pashley. “Golf in the North Carolina Sandhills can be an experience unlike any other, and we believe the golf at Pinehurst Sandmines will be a great representation of that.”

While Pinehurst No. 10 has elevation changes and expansive vistas that are noteworthy for the area, No. 11 will play over and around jutting ridges and massive mounds of material left over from long-time mining operations. The dunes aren’t natural, but these so-called spoils are deposits left by miners who decades ago were stripping sand and other material.

“We expected sand here,” said Coore. “What we didn’t expect were these created landforms that have now matured into a very natural appearance and condition. We have sand, interesting landforms, (and) trees. It’s pretty good.”

Coore says there’s a more intimate scale to the land, which he describes with terms like quirky, choppy and ridgey.

“You’re winding your way through trees and over old piles and across ridges,” added Coore. “We’re far, far from the sea, but we have these contours and features and landforms that remind you of spots in Ireland or Scotland. And yet here it is, in Pinehurst.”

Continued Growth

As far as Pinehurst’s continued growth, the 6,000-square-foot pro shop and locker room for Sandmines will open this June, with a restaurant and bar to follow in August.

Plans for guests to stay on the property, which is about four miles south of the resort’s main clubhouse, are ongoing and could be in place by the end of 2027.

“We want Pinehurst Sandmines to be a special place not just in Pinehurst, but in the game of golf that will stand the test of time and enhance the soul of American golf,” says Bob Dedman Jr., the owner and CEO of Pinehurst Resort.

“The vision Coore and Crenshaw have for No. 11 coupled with what Tom Doak has already done at No. 10 makes that hope more of a possibility, and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store.”

When No. 11 opens, it will give Pinehurst 207 holes in total, further solidifying the resort’s standing as the largest in the world of destination golf. The only other public resorts with more than 100 holes are Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia (126), Bandon Dunes in Oregon (122) and Gull Lake View in Michigan (108).