Since 1915, the Pinehurst Harness Track has served as a winter training center for Standardbred horses. This connection adds another historical dimension to Pinehurst’s golf history. Village planning, historic buildings and outdoor spaces each offer their own focus. When planning a trip, you can explore golf history, a guided village tour, nature trails and culinary tastings as distinct experiences.
The Village and Its History
James Walker Tufts envisioned Pinehurst as a New England-style village designed around a health-conscious lifestyle close to nature. That planning is itself part of the area’s history. The Pinehurst Fair Barn is the oldest surviving fair exhibition hall in North Carolina. The Pinehurst National Historic Landmark District was designated in 1996 for its outstanding role in the development of golf and resort communities, as well as its association with golfer and golf course designer Donald Ross.
The Tufts Archives preserve original maps of Donald Ross’s golf course designs, as well as photographs from the early years of Pinehurst Village. The maps and images add concrete insights into early village planning and golf course design to the architectural history. Looking at the area’s history, you can distinguish between different topics: the development of the Village, its surviving buildings and the golf course designs associated with Ross.
Golf Courses, Championships and Collections
Pinehurst No. 2 is defined by its design and major golf championships. In 2014, the course hosted consecutive U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships; the U.S. Open was held there in 2024. Its distinctive features include crowned Turtleback greens, wide fairways, native wiregrass and sand. These details give the course a distinctive character, while the tournament dates place its role in golf history in context.
The USGA Experience and World Golf Hall of Fame are located on the USGA Campus Golf House Pinehurst, between the Carolina Hotel and Pinehurst Resort’s Main Clubhouse. In addition to the golf course designs in the Tufts Archives, the village itinerary can include attractions with a direct connection to golf. The Pinehurst Harness Track offers a different historical focus: it has served as a winter training center for Standardbred horses since 1915.
Guided Tour and Green Spaces
The guided Historic Walking Tour through the historic Village of Pinehurst is about two miles long and passes, among other places, the Holly Inn and the Theatre Building. Its approximate length and named stops give the tour a clear historical focus. The Village Arboretum offers a different perspective: its 35-acre grounds include natural trails and bridges, gardens, a meadow and an outdoor pavilion. The guided tour through the historic Village and the Arboretum’s nature and garden areas therefore offer distinct experiences.
The parks and greenway trails in the Village of Pinehurst also offer a range of activities, including soccer and baseball fields, picnic shelters, an inline hockey rink, a disc golf course and many miles of greenway trails. West Pinehurst Park has its own 18-hole disc golf course and also hosts archery classes. These specific activities add a sporting focus to a visit that can also include village and golf history.
Tastings on the Culinary Walking Tour
The Culinary Walking Tour in Pinehurst includes tastings of pastrami sliders, hand-cut potato chips, chicken tempura wraps, and shrimp and grits. This adds a culinary perspective to the area’s historical and sporting themes. The specific selection may change. If you are interested in the tour because of a particular tasting, check the current details of the food offerings in advance.
Discover more destinations: Seven Lakes, Whispering Pines, Southern Pines, Foxfire, Pinebluff.
See the overview of destinations in the wider area: Moore County.
