Pinehurst No. 2 Now In Coore-Crenshaw Hands

Pinehurst has made official the hiring of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to oversee a restoration project to Course No. 2, a project that will be done gradually with a minimal impact on resort play.

The intention is to restore many of the natural aesthetic characteristics of the original Donald Ross design while bringing back many of the strategic elements of the course Ross considered his masterpiece.

That means expanding sandy waste areas off the fairways, restoring the native wiregrass in those areas, some bunker work and widening of some fairways while reducing the amount of manicured rough.

In short, it means bringing No. 2 back to its full and original glory. In Coore and Crenshaw, Pinehurst has found the ideal pair to handle a delicate but necessary project.

The gradual pace of the project is expected to allow the course to remain open until November.
“It is not our intent to radically change this golf course,” Coore said in a press release.

“We’re trying to uncover it, not recover it. We’re trying to take what Ross left and perhaps bring it back to the character and definition of what was once here. In short, we’ll bring the strategy back, and reinstate its character.”

Course No. 2 is scheduled to close Nov. 15 and remain closed until March 2 while significant work is done.

The project does not involve any work on No. 2's greens and there will be no significant lengthening to the course that will host the 2014 men's and women's U.S. Opens. There are plans to build a new tee on the par-4 seventh hole to enhance the dogleg.

“When you see it and feel Pinehurst, you know it’s something different,” said Crenshaw. “In Ross’ mind, it was the best way he believed a course should be played – his masterpiece. His courses are so beautifully balanced, intended to test every part of your game. This piece of ground was special to him. To contribute our ideas here is a high, high honor.”