Widely known as the cradle of American golf, Pinehurst has served as host to more single golf championships that any other site in America, with events including the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup Matches, PGA Tour's TOUR Championship, U.S. Women's Open and many others. Set in one of America's only Historic Landmark Districts, Pinehurst Resort originally was originally established by James Walker Tufts as a health retreat amid the towering pines and mild Southern breeze. The firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape designer acclaimed for creating New York City's Central Park, prepared the physical plan for the Village of Pinehurst.
Pinehurst No. 2, the centerpiece of Pinehurst Resort, remains one of the world's most celebrated golf courses. It has served as the site of more single golf championships than any course in America and, in 2014, made history again, becoming the first to serve as host to the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open Championships in consecutive weeks. Opened in 1907, No. 2 was designed by Donald Ross, who called it "the fairest test of championship golf I have ever designed." Ross was associated with the course for nearly a half-century, improving the course continually until his death in 1948. No. 2 is best known for its crowned, undulating greens, which are some of the most complex and widely hailed in the world. In March 2011, No. 2 reopened following a yearlong, $2.5 million restoration by the design firm of Coore & Crenshaw that restored the course's natural and historic character.