a taste of tHe CarolInas
> C L I C K H E R E T O L E A R N M O R E A B O U T D E S E R T P I N E S G O L F C L U B
C
ouldn't make it to
Pinehurst Resort, a
cradle of American
golf that hosted its third
men's U.S. Open Champi-
onship and first women's
U.S. Open this summer?
Don't fret. Though located
2,300 miles from the North
Carolina sandhills and its
world-famous No. 2
course, Desert Pines
Golf Club offers the
next-best thing — and
at a cost that's just a
fraction of the $390
weekend green fee.
From its gently rolling ter-
rain, undulating greens,
mounding on the sides of
fairways and fairway
bunkers and, of course, the
more than 4,000 mature pine
trees that line the course,
Desert Pines is a place that
isn't just reminiscent of Pine-
hurst: It was created to an
extent to resemble it.
"From its inception, this
course wanted to come as
close to duplicating that kind
of experience outside of
North Carolina," Walters
Golf Vice President of Golf
Operations Joe Kelly said.
"The original builders im-
ported all those pine trees to
emulate Pinehurst's look."
The similarities don't stop
with the piney foliage.
The course's rolling terrain
means there is a lot of motion
in the fairways, and you'll ex-
perience many different
kinds of lies, meaning you're
constantly challenged by the
position of the ball.
Additionally, the greens
have a lot of motion due to
their undulation, so depend-
ing on the pin placement,
they can be very tricky.
"The thought from day one
was that this wasn't going to
be just another desert
course," Kelly said. "It was
meant to be something new
and different for the area, and
the thought was to have the
closest feeling of playing in
the North Carolina sandhills
without actually being there."
sWeet CarolIna
desert Pines offers a challenge reminiscent of Pinehurst no. 2, site of this year's u.s. open
YOU OUGHTA KNOW
DESERT PINES
BY THE NUMBERS
4,000
Number of pine trees
on the golf course.
15
Minutes from The Strip.
1997
Year course opened.
180
Number of days in ad-
vance you can book a
tee time.
4
Number of lakes
on the golf course.
6,810
Length, in yards, of
the golf course from the
back tees.
467
Distance, in yards, from
the back tees on the
No. 1 handicap ninth
hole.
Thousands of pines line the course.
CLICK
HERE FOR A
HOLE'BY'HOLE
TOUR OF DESERT
PINES
BooK
a
tee
tIMe
