PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA | In the still of the night in the Pinehurst house that Donald Ross called home for so many years, I sense the presence of Mr. Ross.
Not in a spooky, ghostly way but in a golfer’s soul kind of way.
Ross lived in what is now called Dornoch Cottage from 1925 until his passing in 1948 and the house sits just a pitch shot away from the third green at Pinehurst No. 2, the course the great Scottish architect cultivated for decades.
One housekeeper claims to have sensed a spirit moving around the charming two-story house and maybe she’s right.
I believe in the spirit of Pinehurst the way I believe in the spirit of Santa Claus – they both exist – and if the ghost of Donald Ross is still hanging around 120 Midland Road in Pinehurst, he’s more than welcome to make himself at home again.
Dornoch Cottage is like a warm fire on a cold night, pulling you closer. It’s as comfortable as a favorite chair with an understated richness that runs through the property.
To call it a four-bedroom house is like calling No. 2 another 18-hole golf course.
Having belonged for years to Ross and his wife, Florence, the home was eventually sold to new owners before Pinehurst Resort recently purchased it. With four spacious bedrooms, a modern kitchen and Ross’s office still intact, Dornoch Cottage is made available to select guests and used as the site of parties and receptions.
It’s Pinehurst’s version of the Lincoln Bedroom.
Take a peek inside the signed guest book in the foyer and the hand-written testimonials are from some of the most influential people in the game, from famous names in the entertainment industry and from friends of the resort. The book is sprinkled with exclamation points.
The house is where course designer Gil Hanse stayed when he was renovating course No. 4 and creating the popular Cradle short course and Thistle Dhu, the putting course. He would work at times in the same office Ross used, the walls adorned with photos from the days when Ross called Pinehurst home.
Two old hats sit atop an antique bookcase near the desk and a small weathered bag holding a few wooden-shafted clubs leans in a corner. Find a quiet moment alone in the office and the silence feels warm, almost alive.
In the mornings, Hanse said he had the best commute in the world, making his way on foot across Pinehurst No. 2 to his job site a few hundred yards away. He’d study what Ross had created in the morning light and again late in the day.
Hanse would sit at the wooden desk in Ross’s small office and do his paperwork or just absorb the spirit. Ross never joined him, Hanse admitted.
During my visit to Dornoch Cottage, a blueprint of Hanse’s design at No. 4 was laid across the desk with Ross’s important papers stored at the archives in the library just down the road.
The little office looks out at Midland Road, a familiar thoroughfare to anyone who has visited Pinehurst, and the story goes that Ross chose to put it on the front side of the house and leave the light on so that anyone passing by on foot or on the trolley would think he was working on his next project.
The house itself was designed by Ross and his wife, who owned the original cottage on the property. Ross had been brought to Pinehurst in 1900 by James Walker Tufts as the first head golf professional and club manager. Seven years later, Ross brought his first design of No. 2 to life.
The Rosses were married in 1924 and after compromising on the design of the cottage – she favored old-style southern mansion look on the back, he leaned toward the Spanish-flavored design facing Midland Road – Ross lived there until he died in 1948.
From the master bedroom suite, which has two separate bathrooms, there’s an upstairs view through the pines toward the third green. As the day unfolds, group after group of golfers pass by, more than a century after Ross built the course.
The house itself has been updated with a new kitchen, a fourth bedroom added on one end and various other touches. But it remains in its bones the house the Rosses built. Stand in the den with its window looking toward where the third, fourth and fifth holes converge on course No. 2 and it’s easy to imagine Ross there, contemplating what many consider his masterpiece.
There’s even a photo of Donald and Florence sitting in the den, reading together.
From the master bedroom suite, which has two separate bathrooms, there’s an upstairs view through the pines toward the third green. As the day unfolds, group after group of golfers pass by, more than a century after Ross built the course.
The backyard is much the same as it was when Ross lived there, though a remote-controlled gas firepit encircled by white rocking chairs has been added, the better for overnight guests to share their spirits with the spirits.
When Ross called the place home, he had more than 40 varieties of roses in the backyard, which is framed with a red brick wall with a wrought-iron gate leading to the course. Over time, some of the rose bushes have been removed but if Ross returned (perhaps he does from time to time), chances are he’d immediately recognize his back yard.
At Pinehurst, the caretakers have done a masterful job of blending the old charms with contemporary touches. Music plays across the short course and drink holders are staked into spots around the putting course.
The revamped Manor Inn has a new bourbon bar, course No. 4 has been magnificently updated while being taken back to its roots and the slogan ‘It’s a beautiful day at Pinehurst’ has never been truer.
At Dornoch Cottage, the spirit of Pinehurst and the man who helped make it what it is lives on.
Sleep tight.