PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA | A half-century after the World Golf Hall of Fame opened just beyond the fourth green at Pinehurst No. 2, the hall is returning to the North Carolina sandhills.
The hall will become part of the new USGA campus being constructed at Pinehurst Resort, where thousands of visitors will have easy access to the new facility.
The hall relocated to St. Augustine, Florida, in 1998, sitting just off I-95. Its future had come into question in recent months as the original 25-year agreement with the PGA Tour was expiring.
“This is where the golfing world comes.”
Mike Whan
The shrine was not part of the USGA’s original plans when the organization announced it will construct two buildings in Pinehurst and become a second Golf House. Earlier this year, discussions intensified about adding the hall as another component and, with the help of local and state officials – the North Carolina General Assembly approved $7 million for the project – the plan came together quickly.
“This is where the golfing world comes,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said July 20 in a ceremony announcing the move.
The new hall will occupy approximately 9,000 square feet of one of the USGA’s new buildings (the existing building has about 70,000 square feet). The buildings are scheduled to be completed in late 2023, and the new hall will be open for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where the next class of inductees will be honored.
“It has come home, back to Pinehurst,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Among the items to be displayed at the hall:
The clubs and ball that Johnny Miller used in shooting a final-round 63 at Oakmont to win the 1973 U.S. Open;
The shirt that Annika Sörenstam wore in the first round of her appearance in the 2003 PGA Tour event at Colonial;
Gene Sarazen’s 1922 PGA Championship and 1935 Masters trophies when “The Squire” became the first player to complete the professional career Grand Slam.
“In the past, people have always viewed this as, ‘How is this thing going to make money?’ and the USGA is not worried about making money,” said Whan, who took over at the governing body last summer after 11½ years as LPGA commissioner. “We think this is one of the things we need to do for the sport and for the game. This is preserving history, and that’s in our bylaws. This is something we’re giving back to golfers.”
As for why Pinehurst, Whan said it goes back to the game itself.
“When you talk about halls of fame, hockey is in Toronto because everybody in the game at some point is in Toronto. We’re kind of following that model. Anyone that plays the sport, at some point, will make the pilgrimage to Pinehurst,” he said.
“Why don’t we make it where they’re going instead of somewhere they have to go? The golfer is already coming. We need to make it convenient, size it appropriately and not worry so much about what the bottom line is going to be.”
Ron Green Jr.
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