Pinehurst: Home of American Golf: The Evolution of a Legend

In celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the venerable Pinehurst No. 2 course comes the release of the definitive history of North Carolina Sandhills golf, Pinehurst ~ Home of American Golf (The Evolution of a Legend) written by veteran golf course architect Richard Mandell. It is a story of dumb luck, ingenuity, and grand visions... Pinehurst ~ Home of American Golf is the untold story of one of the three most popular golfing destinations in the world: Pinehurst ~ Home of American Golf (The Evolution of a Legend). This 384-page, four-color history is more than just a coffee table book. It is a detailed account of the evolution of the playing fields of the Sandhills area of North Carolina and how it directly affected the game of golf in America. The book chronologically reviews the history of golf course development in the Sandhills and how it mirrored the growth, and often directed the evolution of golf architecture and development in the United States. Few authors have written books about Pinehurst. None of those writers has ever completed such a detailed review of an iconic landmark of the game of golf in the United States. Pinehurst ~ Home of American Golf reveals design, construction, and maintenance trends throughout the history of golf development. The book provides insight into the ingenuity and creativity of design and construction techniques of the past and how they relate to decisions made today. Articles from newspapers of the times will reveal the public s exposure to trends of the design industry whose details are not explored in most books written about golf architecture today. Reprinted letters from the major players (Donald Ross, Albert Tillinghast, Tufts family members, Herb Graffis, etc.)in the area give the reader a fly on the wall understanding of day to day operations and challenges. The design evolution of Sandhills golf courses is documented from pre-design site decisions to renovation projects throughout their history, to how these events have defined each golf course as it lays today. Specific design topics such as strategy, golf course features, rhythm of the holes, etc. will all be discussed. The reader will hear directly from the architect about design choices and challenges as well as construction tales which make each golf course s history different. Inside these pages is the story of The Pinehurst Resort, Pine Needles, Mid Pines Golf Club, Southern Pines Country Club, The Country Club of North Carolina, Tobacco Road, and countless other golf courses of the sandhills. Rare, never-before-seen photographs of the early days of sandhills golf include construction scenes of one of the most famous golf courses in the world as well as the only known construction drawings of Pinehurst No. 2. Another feature of Pinehurst ~ Home of American Golf (The Evolution of a Legend) is Mr. Mandell s detailed overlays of historic golf course routings of Pinehurst on top of an aerial photograph from today, allowing the reader access to history only an archaeologist can uncover. The reader can clearly see where features of the past would sit in the present day. Pinehurst ~ Home of American Golf is the definitive encyclopedia of Sandhills golf course history and teaches the reader about golf course architecture as it applies to these golf courses. It is written from my perspective as one of the few practicing golf course architects to have ever based my business in Pinehurst.

Richard Mandell is a practicing golf course architect who has worked on more than forty golf course projects (ranging from preliminary master planning to complete golf course architectural services) in his seventeen-year career, including golf course restoration work on five Donald Ross golf courses. He grew up in Rye, New York where his love of golf course design began as a junior golfer playing on some of the greatest golf courses in the world, including classic designs such as Westchester Country Club and Winged Foot Golf Club. He graduated from Rye High School in 1986. He first moved to Pinehurst after graduating from The University of Georgia with a degree in Landscape Architecture to work for golf architect Dan Maples, whose father Ellis learned directly from Donald Ross. Richard then moved to Atlanta, Georgia to work for another golf architecture firm named Denis Griffiths & Associates. In 1992, he began a multi-disciplinary golf course design firm called Whole In One Design Group with three Maryland-based partners. Upon returning to Pinehurst in 2000, Richard began his own golf course design firm called Richard Mandell Golf Architecture. Richard is one of only a few candidates nationwide to pass the complete landscape registration exam in his first attempt (success rate is less than ten percent). He is a licensed Landscape Architect in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Richard Mandell’s versatility is shown in the variety of his project experience. He has designed small budget golf courses as well as high-end championship caliber layouts. He has also served both public and private clients. His past public and corporate clients have included the United States Army, The Dupont Corporation, The City of Erie, Pennsylvania, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, and the Cities of Monroe and Gastonia, North Carolina. Richard Mandell has worked on private country club projects such as The Country Club of North Carolina and Army Navy Country Club, yet he has also created the most accessible facilities which have been enjoyed by beginners and experts alike. Richard Mandell Golf Architecture has created tournament courses, executive courses, and practice facilities. Richard’s work has been nationally recognized for his Creekside Golf & Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia with a nomination in 2000 for Best New Course in both Golf Digest Magazine and Georgia Golf News. His expansion of Seaford Golf & Country Club won the 1996 DuPont North America Safety, Health, and Environmental Excellence Award. Blue Heron Golf Course in Stevensville, Maryland was named one of the Top Ten Short Courses in America by Golf Range Magazine in 2006. A noted golf architecture historian, Richard Mandell has appeared in and written articles on design for national publications such as Golf Illustrated and Links Magazine. He has provided chapters in two books on Golf Architecture entitled Golf Architecture: A Worldwide Perspective (vols. 1 & 2). The chapters are Meaningful Selection and Placement of Hazards and The Evolution of Strategy. The biggest names in the profession have been asked to contribute, yet few have been asked to contribute twice. Richard was also chosen to contribute an essay for a book called Favourite Holes By Design: The Architect’s Choice. His first solo book, Pinehurst ~ Home of American Golf (The Evolution of a Legend) has been well-received in just a few months’ time. Richard teaches the only fully accredited, professionally-taught class on golf course architecture at North Carolina State University. He is also past Member of The Year of the Pinehurst Business Guild. With well-rounded experience, knowledge of the profession, and ability to communicate so documented, Richard Mandell is well qualified for any golf course design project set forth.