"If you've ever made a golf trip to Pinehurst, chances are you're familiar with the Pine Crest."

And Ron Green Jr. filed a nice tribute to the venerable Pinehurst inn, which opened for business on November 1, 1913 and began its centennial celebration.

Thanks to reader Chip for this.

Step inside and it's not much different than it was 100 years ago when Mrs. E.C. Bliss of Edgewood, R.I., opened the Pine Crest. The ceilings are low, the floors are gently uneven in spots and the stairway to the second floor creaks.

The Pine Crest Inn is not ultra-modern or part of a chain or terribly expensive. Instead, it's comfortable like your own den. It's a place where people running the place know their guests names and they take pride in making them feel at ease.

Comments

[Viz]

Truly an iconic place...I enjoyed it very much years ago when I was there.

[Jeremy]

Most overrated pork chop ever.

[DTF]

100 years, awesome! Betcha Bill 3 could destroy it in less than five!!

[thebigdad]

Completely agree iconic. Completely disagree about the pork chop. Great place Carl behind the bar will remember your drink and hook you up about which courses are in the best shape, Peter, owner will host you and Payne Stewart signed that wall in the men's room to celebrate his win. Bob Drum has a stool at the bar and the porch post round is the place to hang. The two Linda's will get your reservations correct. This is always the place to stay when in Pinehurst.

[ol Harv]

Recently made a trip to Pinehurst and as always stopped in at Pine Crest for a few cold ones and to absorb the classic golf vibe. The Payne Stewart sig is still on the wall but getting lighter every time I visit, too bad there isn't a way to preserve it better. Totally disagree about the PorkChop as well. Although I did not order it recently, the gentleman next to me did and he agreed it was unreal. I hope the Barrett family never sells the place.

[taffy]

The Barretts are great people. Just ate at PC Inn two weeks ago. Yummy. I spent a fun filled Sat afternoon yrs ago with the Drummer at the bar. Classic. Go to the PineCrest on a Fri or Sat night when the bar is packed. What a place.

[No Longer Used to be Former Stack & Tilt Convert]

There is something special about the place, whether you like the pork chop or not. It feels friendlier than most places. Peter is the hero for not selling out to the resort.

[Nick Green]

Recently returned from The Pine Crest and felt compelled to shoot a picture of THE pork chop - it's that good. You can see said PC here - http://thegolfpurist.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-pure-round-in-pinehurst-nc.html

[johnnnycz]

One of the best places to eat/drink/sleep/play/repeat in the world of golf!

Random memories include first going there on a college golf team trip complete with goofball coach who let us get away with pretty much anything we wanted. Foggy memories include not being able to finish my $7.00 extra porterhouse steak on the 2nd night, drinking way too many long-poured crown&gingers and chasing them with 2-dollar budweisers. Going to the Cove to watch a band play Led Zep and Doors covers. Witnessing coach TRY to hit some chips at the fireplace but ended up ducking for cover as he shanked most of em towards the front desk. Our pothead/dead-head #2 player won a chipping contest with some fancy big wig and then went double or nothing and lost 100bucks in about 10 minutes...oh and having security/bellhop inform us that this was the last night our golf team would be welcome at the Pinecrest....he noted our college name from the team bags littering the room! Pretty sure seeing a Grateful Dead themed bong didn't help matters!

Ahh college memories.

I have since returned a few times and have loved every minute. And totally disagree with the post about the pork chop...most golf folks know that the 'Crest has the best food in the village....if it's not good enough for your palate, then there's the Golden Corral in Aberdeen.

[ol Harv]

Johnny, I resided in Pinehurst for a while and since college have visited 3 to 4 times a year. Where was the cove? I remember the old warehouse type building out on route 1 that in the 80's had disco, can't remember the name, maybe the "hanger"? Our college team also stayed at Pine Crest but no bong stories, although I remember Mr. Barrett working the front desk, he was a really cool guy. I think Bob Drum was at the bar every night we were there. We also hung out at the Pinehurst Hotel which at the time had a downstairs game room underneath the current Ryder Cup Lounge. Those were the days.

[KLG]

johnnnycz: Are you sure you're not my age and attended the University of Georgia in the 1970s? That was back in the day when such carrying on got you in trouble only if you were caught directing traffic across from The Arch while nekkid, and even then the first reaction of the UGA cop would be to ask if anyone in the crowd knew this jackass, and could you take him home and put him to bed. Those were the days...and all the party bands could almost make you believe that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were on stage. Almost, but after paying $5 to get in and then having all the diluted Jim Beam you could slurp down for no additional charge, almost was enough. Life. Was. Good. Sunday mornings could be difficult though.

[johnnnycz]

ahhh....some southern gentleman reminiscing about college/life in the south.

KLG: I attend "The Abbey" in Belmont NC from 92-96 (D'oh, my cover is blown). This wild golf team gone crazy at the 'Crest must have been in 92 I believe, around a month after the Tour Championship at #2. We played Pinewild Magnolia, The Pit, and...darn, can't remember the last track...yup those were good nights. The campus cops basically let you do whatever you wanted on campus (aside from noisy RA's who report one from 150 yards away!!!). My last 2 years they lost the budget for a full sized car and resorted to a golf cart...of which I already had spare keys on my key-chain from various golf course jobs up till that point....so i "borrowed" it once in awhile when the night shift cop was taking his regular nap. It was easy to tee er up and get 'er going 35mph-ish. It made the late nite stumble-walk to the Circle-K all the more enjoyable and expedient....especially with a co-ed.

Another flashback: One the 1st day on the last hole at Pinewild, I was in the group in front with 2 other idiots/teammates. We were playing against the group behind us for some bucks. The token Yankee/Jersey-Shore type player (Coach always liked to have ONE on the team for some reason...??) on my team gagged the last chance we had for birdie on the 18th hole...we immediately hear a semi cheer, some slapping noises, turn around to see the aforementioned pothead #2 player mooning us while slapping his butt...loudly. This was also in plain view of the clubhouse and the 2 cart rats who were waiting for us...we were among the last groups on the course.

All I can say is thank god digital photo technology was not readily available in those days ;-))

Old Harv: Hmm...maybe the bar was called "The Coves"...but the letters C O V E were in the name...I'm (99.9% sure of it). It was "up" the hill from the 'Crest...the 1st or 2nd block of businesses and then you walked down a flight of stairs to the pub which sat below street level. It was dark, with stone and wood finishing...perfect place to sip scotch if that's your thing. The live band might've been a Friday/Saturday affair only...hope that helps.


It may sound excessive, but I'm sure our group wasn't the worst the folks in Pinehurst came across in their lives....including the streaking, which will forever remain locked in my memory hole/vault. In any case, The Pinehurst area is my dream spot in which to retire, you can't beat the place with a stick in terms of quality golf, hotel, food, fun, atmosphere, and southern hospitality. If you haven't been there, then you will never know my friends. And we haven't even mentioned Miss Peggy at PineNeedles and Mid Pines...when the 'Crest is full, I go to see Peggy although she doesn't really recognize me anymore since I'm there maybe once every 5-7 years these days....but when our team played a tourney, she remembered all of us the next year. Great lady and Pat McGowan was usually around and would invite us to sit down at his table for breakfast.

Thanks for the memory flashback with this thread Geoff, and please don't judge, I'm just a golfer at heart.

[ol Harv]

Johnny, Same conference in college, but a few before you. The downstairs bar back then must have been the present day Dugans downstairs. Don't know of any others that I can recall. Story at Pinewild was hilarious. While it's not funny and someone could have been badly hurt I remember a college trip at Easter in Pinehurst that involved flipping a cart at Hyland Hills on a sandy cart path and one of my teammates jumping into a pool that wasn't open yet and was full of leaves and water that probably smelled like sewage. Cops came and we had to put him to bed.

[DTF]

Good stuff johnny! And the rest of you too!!

johnny, I'd be surprised if I don't know your #2 player, or at a bare minimum someone closely related to him. Pun intended ;)

[ol Harv]

KLG, My older brother attended UGA in the late 70's, early 80's. What a cool town to visit, especially with Herschel Walker running crazy. The golf course is incredible as well for students, even with the vending machines, which were more than acceptable at the time.

[digsouth]

@3n's &'Ol Harv All good stuff! Johnnny, amazing recall for such events! Better copy this- you may not have such detail in 20 years!

I LOLed a lot at the jumping in an empty pool-man I'm glad he didn't get (too) hurt.

[ol Harv]

Dig, It wasn't empty, just wasn't open yet so had untreated 7 month old water full of leaves and probably dead snakes and frogs and rats. Dude was not right in the head.......but it was a dare and in college that meant he had to go.

[digsouth]

Harv-

For the sake of no broken bones, thank goodnss for the 7m. old water--but for the scare factor- I would have been RUNNING out of the water on top of the dead leaves!

Speaking of good ole boys and dares, bad water, and general men/big boy fun stuff, it is hard to top ''Duck Dynasty'' on A&E. You have to get past ''is this stupid'' and realize these are smart guys who live a juvenile life in an outdoor paradise. Si, the uncle, is a trip all by himself.

[KLG]

Harv: I was still there during the Herschel Ascendancy. Great times. I remember the entire Vandy defense once having the angle on him. He just went to afterburners and no one got within 15 yards of him. Of course, I was also there before and after Herschel. The locals seem to think that 1980-82 was somehow "normal" and everything since has been lousy. Not so. I remember more than a few "Dump Dooley" bumper stickers over the years, and in this age he would have been sent back to Mobile several times over. Which would have been unjust, but it would have happened. As for the golf course, DLIII recently redid several green complexes and changed it to a very stout par-71. Better service now, but the course was always most important. RTJ design, gratis, because he was a friend of OC Aderhold, UGA president at the time, or that's the legend. Course was built by UGA physical plant personnel and paid for by a $1 student activities surcharge (all before my time). Later learned to play the game there from ~1987-1995. In my group it was get (reasonably) good or play with the scrubs. Won some money, lost some money, had a great time, always.

[johnnnycz]

Thanks Digs...will do as you say...amazing all the stories/adventured golf leads to.

Speaking of jumping into a pool foolhardily...been there, done that, and received 5 UGLY stitches on the top of my head from to a doctor blessed with Rambo-esque touch using big silk at a public hospital somewhere down in GA (Harbor Club GC) as a souvenir...The cat scan/Xrays weren't really necessary in my mind...since I could move all my appendages....but I had insurance so they went to town on me.

This was the night before my last round as a collegian. Doctor said no way I should play...whatever...it was only 90deg at 8am, what's a few fresh stitches on the noggin when one has lots of Advil? That plan worked wonders early on (-2 on the front 9...a spot at the NCAAdiv2 finals in my pocket...up by like 5 or 6)....until....I crashed with a +6 on the back and watched a skinny hyperactive kid knock in a 30 footer on 18 to snatch the one individual spot up for grabs.

[digsouth]

Hung over, stitches, sweat stinging , headache and general pain all over and you missed by one stroke. Something to be ashamed to be proud of, or proud to be ashamed of, depending on whom you are telling the story to!

Set me straight J. Where do you live now? I am one confused Texan.

[KLG]

@Digs: The Czech Republic. There are YouTube videos to prove it.

[digsouth]

10-4 on the Czech Republic... I even jak se mas'ed ole 3 n's after seeing the video, but sort of forgot. Thanks.

[Double Secret Probation]

I've been to Pinehurst to play dozens of times, but being within a 1.5 hour drive, I've never been able to 'hang around'. I'm not sure I've even driven by the place.

[johnnnycz]

Hey boys:...yup...Digs, felt a little of everything. Remember most the pain when teeing it and picking it out of the hole, if my eyes were looking down it felt like a spike being driven through my cranium. It was a good fight and the kid who grabbed the only ind berth at least played well in OK at the windblown national D-II championships.


John golf bio: Born in Western Can to Czech emmigrant/defectors/refugees/etc. Lived in NC from 92 till 98/99ish playing college golf and couch surfed when I turned pro in fall 96, got a "real" job in Calgary 2000/01doin IT geek/helpdesk stuff specializing in Hotel and Oil&Gas desktop support. That paid better than chasing the dream but was kinda miserable...decided teaching golf/helping others was more fulfilling in late-2006 when I started feeling like I wanted to hurt a CEO who couldn't/wouldn't change his password. This "small" thing happened over and over. It locked them out of the encrypted email system for a day while I/we had to rebuild their entire email lives in Lotus Notes dirty laundry and all (now THAT was funny when I got to bust an exec with questionable content on company servers)...anyways...been here in CZ/Golf Klondike for almost 6 full years and no regrets really.



Somehow I backed into a winter job here: gicp.cz Checkitout...small but decent indoor place. Putting green is kinda crazy but they didn't hire me before the guy laid down the cement...way too hilly! Kids like it though!