Pinehurst's No. 1 and No. 3: Often Overlooked Donald Ross Designs That Are No Less Impressive

Two of Pinehurst Resort's oldest courses are likely not going to be hosting championships like its No. 2 brethren, but they still pose a fun challenge.

Donald Ross is one of golf’s greatest architects, yet two of his creations at Pinehurst, “The Home of American Golf,” are largely overlooked by visiting players.

In fact, Pinehurst Nos. 1 and 3 get some of the least play of the resort’s nine courses, according to a resort spokesman.

The reason, in a word, is length — or more precisely their lack thereof.

In the case of No. 3, which opened in 1910, its 5,155 yards and par of 68 seem puny compared to the 7,588-yard length of iconic No. 2. And No. 1, which opened in 1898, is only marginally longer, measuring just 6,089 yards from the tips.

Yet, if you look beyond the yardage, there are plenty of reasons to play two of Donald Ross’s earliest works. No one knows that maybe more than Pinehurst Director of Agronomy Bob Farren who, with the exception of two years in the early 1980s, has been with Pinehurst for 40 years.

The two nines of what would become No. 1 were designed by two other men, but a year after he signed on at Pinehurst in 1900, Ross reshaped and unified them into a single course. No. 1 has some of the same design elements as No. 2, including bunkers placed a few yards short of the green, and fairway bunkers on the side of the fairway with the favored approach angle. But today’s iteration lacks the sandy areas and punitive domed greens and false fronts that make No. 2 so vexing.

Because No. 1 was constructed without the aid of heavy machinery, very little earth was moved, so it adheres closely to the natural flow of the terrain, with more rolling fairways than No. 2. It’s a good example of how Ross “found” holes in the terrain rather than creating them.

Nowadays, No. 1 is a parkland course with turf to the tree line, a condition that the owners in the latter 20th century allowed to make it more playable. During Ross’ tenure, however, by virtue of its abundance of sandy waste areas, No. 1 “was very similar in presentation, not nearly the golf course now compared to No. 2,” Farren says.

A 1981 renovation tamed No. 1’s greens to make them easier — less domed, flatter; but Pinehurst has resisted the temptation to restore No. 1 to its original state — as Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw did to No. 2 in 2010-2011.

“If we were to go back — and we wouldn't do this — but if we were to go back and try to completely restore No. 1, there would be a portion of our membership, a fairly large portion of our membership, that would not be pleased with that because it would become too difficult.”

No. 1, far and away the favorite of Pinehurst’s members, is as close as you’ll get to a pleasant walk in the park as any of the resort’s 18-hole courses. It has only two par 5s and those, holes four and 18, are just 466 and 426 yards long, respectively. The result is a course that’s a more forgiving test than any other at Pinehurst, not counting the resort’s nine-hole short course, “The Cradle”; it’s easily walked; it has wide fairways and fewer bunkers; and cart riders can pretty much drive anywhere there’s turf except on tees and greens.

The 8th hole on the No. 3 course, which represents the next phase of Donald Ross' design evolution.  / Pinehurst Resort

No. 3 is a different story entirely. It’s short in the same way a coiled rattlesnake is short. Despite its lack of length, it plays tough on and around its tiny greens, which have a boatload of break for their size — so much so that after a partial restoration in 2017 using aerial photos from the 1930s and 1940s, Pinehurst’s members complained they had been made too difficult.

While No. 1, Ross’s first effort at Pinehurst, might be called “Donald Ross Light,” No. 3 represents the next phase of his work, when he started layering difficulty into his designs. In fact, Farren refers to No. 3 as “a miniature experience of course No. 2.” Indeed, after a recent round on it, one local member said, “If you can putt these greens, you might be ready for No. 2.”

No. 3 lost some acreage in 2017 when “The Cradle” was built on what used to be its first hole. By splitting and shortening other holes and reducing their pars, the course lost about 500 yards in length, and par was reduced from 71 to 68.

“If you're playing into a 90-yard par three or 80-yard par three, like the second hole on No. 3, then I think it's fair to expect the golfer to get it done, to get it on the green,” Farren says. “If you hit the green, you're within 20 feet of the hole because they're really small greens.” Their average size is just over two-thirds of those of No. 2.

Players who sniff at No. 3’s lack of yardage but have weak short games can come away dazed, as missing the green often comes with a heavy price. And not all the holes are short. Two long par 3s — No. 12 at 196 yards and No. 14 at 191 yards — plus a tough uphill, 386-yard well-bunkered 18th hole demand respect.

This fall, as you’re looking at golf getaways, one way to experience Pinehurst — and to play No. 2 — is through what the resort calls its Donald Ross Package: two nights and three rounds for $1,508 per person, double occupancy, plus tax and a resort charge. There’s a $195 premium if you include a round on No. 2. Only resort guests can get tee times at Nos. 2, 4 or 8, the most popular of the resort’s nine courses.

Should you find yourself shut out of your first choices or you’d like to add an extra afternoon round, Nos. 1 and 3 await, offering a chance to see what the legendary golf architect had in mind during his earliest days at Pinehurst.