Video: Pinehurst No. 2 Five Years Later

Lee Pace walked Pinehurst No. 2 with Bill Coore five years after the restoration that transformed the resort back to its architectural roots. While Donald Trump and a few were turned off by No. 2's presentation, the Donald Ross course has returned to prominence thanks to the work.

I found this about the rugged look of the course interesting. It's always amazing how folks equate a rustic look with more maintenance than a maintained look.

Indeed, there were plenty of cynics early on. Members and resort guests in 2010 in the backwash of the 2008 financial collapse simply thought Pinehurst didn’t have the money to maintain the course. Some in the design and maintenance business said you might get an interesting look out of the gate, but the vintage aesthetics would be difficult to maintain. All were wrong.

“Five years is a long time,” Coore says, gazing at the jagged bunker outlines up near the ninth green. “Look at those bunker edges, some people said they wouldn’t hold up. I’d say they’ve held up pretty well. The biggest fear we had was it would not be maintainable. Some people said the bunkers would fall in, you can’t maintain them. I guess it worked. They’re still there.

 The video: