Imagine building 26 golf courses at the height of the golf development bubble, with nine figures in public pension money — in an effort that now loses money year after year. Welcome to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
In theory, 12-hole designs should be cheaper to play, build, and maintain. But in the staid industry of golf course development, there’s been no rush to test the theory. The minds behind Sweetens Cove are ready to change that.
In a summer caught somewhere between a pandemic and life as usual, a return trip to Pinehurst brought the chance to live — rightly or wrongly — as though things were back to normal.
“We knew we’re never going to do this again — to kind of go off the grid for 50 days and play golf and be on our own at this beautiful resort that is typically bustling with people.“
“I’m very aggressive, and I play with a lot of emotion. I simply want to beat anybody that I’m playing with. I’m very competitive. … In match play, the whole time I’m just trying to beat that other person. And I like my chances when I just have to beat one person.”
As the Golf Course Maintenance Manager at Pinehurst Resort, Kevin Robinson oversees 10 golf courses (10!), the two most prestigious of which — No. 2 and No. 4 — are soon to host the U.S. Amateur.