Pinehurst, North Carolina

Pinehurst, known formally as The Village of Pinehurst, is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 17,581. Pinehurst refers to both the village, and the Pinehurst Resort, a Golf resort, which has hosted multiple United States Open Championships in the sport. A large portion of the central village, including the resort complexes, is a National Historic Landmark District, designated in 1996 for its landscape design by Frederick Law Olmsted and its significance in the history of golf in the United States. Pinehurst has been designated as the "Home of American Golf" by the United States Golf Association and by the State of North Carolina. The surrounding area is known for its strong equestrian community, including the former Stoneybrook Steeplechase, and the current Pinehurst Harness Track. Fox hunting is also a common sport in the area.

The Pinehurst Resort is one of three designated anchor sites for the men's US Open in Golf. Since 1999, the resort has hosted the event four times, most recently in 2024. The US Open will return to Pinehurst in 2029, 2035, 2041, and 2047.

Golf House Pinehurst, which opened in 2024, hosts the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In addition to the Pinehurst Resort, the village is home to The Country Club of North Carolina. In the immediate area surrounding Pinehurst, there are more than 40 other golf courses, including the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in the adjacent town of Southern Pines, which itself has hosted the U.S. Open tournament in Women's Golf an additional four times.

For several years in the late 2010's-early 2020's, the Pinehurst-Southern Pines area was continuously ranked by POLICOM as the best micropolitan area to live in North Carolina, and a top ten micropolitan area nationwide. Contributing factors included the quality of local amenities, as well as the strong medical and golf tourism industries. As of July 2023, Pinehurst and Southern Pines were re-designated as the Pinehurst-Southern Pines Metropolitan Statistical Area by the Office of Management and Budget, with a combined population that had reached above 50,000 residents.

History
In 1895, James Walker Tufts purchased 500 acres (200 ha), and eventually purchased an additional 5,500 acres (2,200 ha), of land for approximately $1.25 per acre in the North Carolina Sandhills, with the vision of building a "health resort for people of modest means". Tufts retained Frederick Law Olmsted to design the village, which features curving lanes and a picturesque central green.

Originally a health retreat titled Tuftstown and also Pinealia during construction stages in 1895, it expanded and was renamed the village of Pinehurst by December of that year. The name was suggested in a public contest to name a new development in Martha's Vineyard; as it was not selected, Tufts decided to re-appropriate the name for use at his new development in the South. The village saw its first guests in January 1896.

The first golf course at Pinehurst Resort was laid out in 1897–1898. The first championship held at Pinehurst was the United North and South Amateur Championship of 1901. The best known course, Pinehurst No. 2, was designed by Donald Ross and completed in 1907. Pinehurst Race Track was established in 1915. In 1980, the village became a municipality. The resort now has ten golf courses, three hotels, a health spa, and extensive sports and leisure facilities.

In 1999, National Public Radio reported that many local business owners in Pinehurst were upset because the Pinehurst Resort was using lawsuits to prevent local businesses from using the term "Pinehurst" in the names of their businesses. The village council sought a written guarantee from the Pinehurst Resort that it would not force any business in the village to remove the name "Pinehurst" from its name unless the business is a direct competitor. The request came a week later in a local newspaper. The village also sued the resort over control of the name shared between the resort and village. In the quarter century of growth since, the relationship between the Village and the Resort has been amicable and mutually beneficial. As the village and resort are geographically intertwined, it is permissible to operate a registered golf cart on public roads throughout the village.

The Lloyd-Howe House, Pinehurst Historic District and Pinehurst Race Track are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography
The village has a total area of 17.2 square miles (44.5 km$2$), of which 16.6 square miles (43 km$2$) is land and 0.6 square mile (1.5 km$2$) (3.37%) is water.

Three streams, Aberdeen Creek, Horse Creek, and Joes Fork, have their headwaters in the Pinehurst area.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,581 people, 7,301 households, and 4,991 families residing in the village. The median income for a household in the village was $92,342, and the median income for a family was $108,433. About 2.2% of families were below the poverty line.

Points of interest

 * Pinehurst Resort
 * The Country Club of North Carolina
 * Sandhills Horticultural Gardens
 * Mystic Cottage
 * World Golf Hall of Fame at Golf House Pinehurst
 * General George Catlett Marshall Park

Education

 * The O'Neal School
 * Sandhills Community College
 * Pinecrest High School
 * Episcopal Day School
 * Pinehurst Elementary School
 * Sandhills Classical Christian School

Transportation

 * Moore County Airport

Notable people

 * Donna Andrews, professional LPGA golfer, six-time tournament winner including the Nabisco Dinah Shore
 * Rick Azar, former television sports anchor (WKBW-TV) and former radio play-by-play announcer of the Buffalo Bills
 * Brian Bass, MLB pitcher
 * Bill Beutel, news reporter and anchor for ABC News and WABC-TV in New York City, resided in Pinehurst following his retirement from broadcast journalism
 * Charles E. Brady Jr., former physician, captain in the U.S. Navy, and NASA astronaut
 * Del Cameron, Hall of Fame harness racing driver and trainer
 * Seth Maness, professional baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals
 * George C. Marshall, U.S. Army chief of staff, secretary of state, and secretary of defense
 * Vince McMahon, professional wrestling promoter and owner of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
 * William H. McRaven, U.S. Navy admiral
 * Fred Pickler, actor, author and former deputy
 * Carson Abel Roberts, U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general
 * Tony Terry, R&B singer