Pinehurst

Pinehurst, N.C. Golfers rejoice in Pinehurst
Population: 12,000 % over 50: 57% Typical 3-bedroom home: $300,000 Housing prices down: 27% State income tax: 7.75%* Most Americans know this town as the home of Pinehurst Resort, which contains one of the country's oldest and most prestigious golf courses. Yet it's also a friendly year-round community with a bustling downtown, first-rate regional hospital, and mild weather.

Granted, at $300,000, the typical home in Pinehurst isn't rock-bottom cheap. But all residents are eligible for membership in the resort, which boasts eight golf courses, 24 tennis courts, three pools, and a 200-acre lake with a beach. If you buy a home from someone who already has a membership, you can pay $12,000 to join vs. $40,000 normally.

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Before I moved to the Pinehurst area, I read an article in which Pinehurst was described as "a quaint New England village set among gardens and surrounded by golf courses". Now that I'm lucky enough to live here, I know how true that is! "Here, the pace slows to allow for all the great and small pleasures of life. There's gracious time for tea time and tee times", according to William Mangum, the famous painter who also fell in love with Pinehurst and has used Pinehurst landmarks as the subject for many of his most famous paintings.

Pinehurst was founded in 1895 by the Tufts family from Boston, hence the wonderful New England style of architecture of which most of the original buildings in Old Town Pinehurst are so proud. My husband and I consider ourselves unbelievably fortunate to own the Casino Building, a historic landmark which was the second building built in Pinehurst in 1896. Coming to work every morning, the sight of this lovely old building with its deep porches and balconies sheltered by majestic old oak trees never fails to lift my heart and spirits.

The Village of Pinehurst's original footprint remains unchanged and many of Mangums's lovely paintings capture the essence of Pinehurst's green spaces, nostalgic shops, winding walkways and world-renowned fairways. The landscape architect responsible for the design of Pinehurst was Frederick Law Olmsted, considered at the time America's first landscape architect. Olmsted designed New York's Central Park, as well as the gardens at Biltmore Estate. Even today, a stroll through the Village of Pinehurst feels like going back in time.

Visitors to Pinehurst are invariably charmed by the number of beautiful old buildings such as the famous Carolina Hotel, built in 1901 and considered the very heart of Pinehurst with it's deep porches and rocking chairs, elegant lobby and spacious rooms. My son was married in the Village Chapel, a building of such simplicity and grace with it's soaring steeple. The lovely sound of the Chapel bells is heard frequently throughout the Village and it always brings me a smile and memories of that special day. There are so many others - the quaint and historic 200 year old log cabin that houses the Women's Exchange which was created in 1922 to sell local crafts made by women in the region, the Theater Building with it's wonderful shops, the Old Pinehurst Department store, now a collection of unique shops, the stately Given Library and the famous Pinehurst Deli - a true Pinehurst experience not to be missed!

Pinehurst is known as the premiere golf destination on the East Coast offering many beautiful golf courses, including the famous Pinehurst #2 course, home of the 1999 and 2005 US Open Championships. Pinehurst will host the US Open Championship again in 2014. If you're a golfer, Pinehurst is absolute heaven. If you're not a golfer, I think you'll still find it's pretty close!