A Donald Ross Course At Fort Bragg

Hidden on land acquired by Fort Bragg for training purposes is a Donald Ross course, originally said to be superior to the legendary Pinehurst #2.

For most of the last century, Overhills was a deliberately low-profile enigma. It began as would-be resort, a projected rival to Pinehurst, 25 miles west. Ross, a Scot considered the dean of American golf architects, was given an unlimited budget for the Overhills course and 3,500 acres of ideal rolling, sand-based terrain from which to select the 200 or so acres he would need. Construction wrapped up in 1913, six years after the opening of Ross’s now-more-famous Pinehurst No. 2 course, which next summer will host both the men’s and women’s U.S. Opens. James WalkerTufts, Pinehurst’s founder, was also one of the original principals behind Overhills.

Early reviews of the course, a par-74 stretching to 6,545 yards, declared it superior to anything at Pinehurst.