Course No. 2!!

Our golfers awoke bright and early on Monday morning in eager anticipation for the round they had all been waiting for...a chance to play the famed Pinehurst No.2.

They had good reason to be excited!

The best in the world have played Pinehurst: Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Glenna Collett Vare, Babe Zaharias, Patty Berg, and Louise Suggs. Snead once proclaimed Pinehurst No. 2 “as my number one course.”

It has greeted and challenged golfers from throughout the world, as the site of the 1936 PGA Championship, the 1951 Ryder Cup Matches, the 1962 and 2008 U.S. Amateur Championships; the 1989 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, the 1991 and 1992 TOUR Championships, the 1994 U.S. Senior Open, and the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open Championship, the first of which was won with a famous 15-foot putt by Payne Stewart.

On June 15, 2009, The United States Golf Association made an unprecedented step in its championship history: it has selected Pinehurst to host both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships in successive weeks in 2014.

The announcement makes history on several fronts. It's the first time in Pinehurst’s 114-year history to serve as the site of the U.S. Women’s Open Championship. It is the only site in USGA history to host all five of its major championships. And it is a new chapter in the USGA book of traditions: never before has one site hosted both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships in the same year, on the same course.

Payne Stewart sunk a 15 foot putt to win the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. He died tragically in a plane crash just four months later and Pinehurst erected this statue on No. 2 in his honour.

The main clubhouse.

The sun was shining, the skies were clear and the temperatures were HOT! Let's hope that our participants' golf games were as well.

Hitting the practice range to warm up.

No carts are permitted on No. 2. The best way to experience the course is with a caddie.

We were fortunate enough to have Willie McRae caddie for one of our guests (far right). McRae is 77, and is the second of four generations that have heightened the Pinehurst experience. McRae's father was a caddie, his son Paul is a teaching professional, and his grandson, Darick, is also a caddie on staff. In 2003, he was inducted into the Professional Caddie Association Hall of Fame.

A big thank you to John Barnett and RBH Inc. for providing the caddie experience on No. 2 for our guests.

Sheila and Jake Thompson.

Neil Balbirnie is all warmed up and ready to get started.

Off they go!

Trying not to interfere, we took some shots of the round from a distance.

Derek Guile must have been happy with that one!

A round on the No. 2 is not complete without a photo beside the Payne Stewart tribute.

After their round, our golfers enjoyed a respite from the heat on the outdoor patio of the clubhouse and enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch.

While others chose to take a brief siesta before their second round in the afternoon sun.