Pinehurst No. 10 is Making Extraordinary Progress…Tom Doak Explains Why

Pinehurst is home to some of the most sought-after golf experiences for players everywhere and with the development of the Resort’s 10th Course coming along a what is seemingly a record pace, Tom Doak, the project’s architect and designer, is explaining why.

For some color, Doak accepted the role of building the Pinehurst Resort’s 10th course in January. It is located just four miles south of the Main Resort Clubhouse, and is expected to open in late Spring 2024. The U.S. Open will be on Pinehurst’s No. 2 course around that time.

The No. 10 course features an interesting layout that Doak has noted as unique in its own way. “The site is topographically distinct and drastically different from anywhere in Pinehurst. It’s bigger, bolder, and more dramatic. There’s about 75 feet of elevation change, and we’ll work our way up to it around the mid-point of the layout. You’ll have expansive views from this apex over the rest of the course. It will be an unforgettable experience for golfers.”

It features rugged dunes and native sand and wiregrass, which are natural to the area and create a unique experience for golfers. “The number one thing that excited us about the project is working with the beautiful sand that’s native to this region,” Doak said.

“The sand, the wiregrass, the bluestem grass, and other native grasses that grow around the Sandhills create a fabulous texture for golf. It’s something most places just don’t have.”

Doak says the development of Pinehurst No. 10 has been swift because of its scheduling challenges with him and the contractors. They are only on-site for up to a week at a time, which has helped things move along. Shaping a green, developing a design, and building it will take a few days, but once it is finished, a sense of accomplishment helps chug the project along and the “grind” of developing the land for the course takes a backseat.

“I love what I do,” Doak said, “and this is what I do: come out on-site during construction and tinkering around and working on these things. It’s a lot of fun and it’s all really good. That’s kind of, you know, being here for six to eight months building a golf course, that gets to be a grind at some point. Coming in for a few days and having nothing there, and by the end of the day, you’ve got a green pretty much shaped, that’s really fun and that keeps the energy up.”