Aberdeen Town Manager Tony Robertson has something to tell his grandchildren.

Last week, Robertson hit the first official drive on Pinehurst No. 9 in the golf village being built on N.C. 5 in Aberdeen.

It was the par three, eighth hole. Robertson’s second iron shot flew straight and true over the water hazard and into the golf lore of the planned golf community.

“That’s definitely something to tell my grandchildren,” Robertson said. “When this is all completed and we’re driving by, I can say I hit the very first golf ball on this course.”

With the preliminary land clearing for No. 9 completed, the construction of the planned golf community is on schedule for its targeted completion date of the spring of 2003 — in time for the return of the U.S. Open to Pinehurst in 2005.

The golf village is a joint project of The Pinehurst Co. — formerly ClubCorp Resorts, a subsidiary of ClubCorp — and Charlotte-based developer Celebration Associates. When completed, the golf-themed community will include 200 home sites, an 80- to 100-bed resort, upscale retail stores and restaurants, a golf institute, the No. 9 course and, eventually, the No. 10 golf course.

Aberdeen must still approve a number of permits before more construction is done, but the project is definitely coming along nicely, said development director Tom Sunnarborg.

“I’ve heard that some folks were concerned that there hasn’t been a lot of activity on the site recently, which they perceive as us not going forward with the project,” Sunnarborg said. “This is just to let everyone know that everything is on schedule and we just have to get the necessary permit approvals to move forward with the next phase of the development.”

And that permit approval should move forward without a snag, Robertson said.

“I don’t foresee any problems,” Robertson said. “The people representing this project have been a delight to work with. I’m extremely excited with how this project is moving froward.”

When completed, No. 9 will have more than 7,200 yards of greens and fairways — making it one of the longer golf courses on The Pinehurst Co.’s roster.

In receiving approval for the land clearing, the project had to meet stringent environmental requirements, the most notable being an ongoing water inspection.

This is necessary because the development is being built adjacent to one of several abandoned pesticide waste dumps that were cleaned up several years ago. The developers have installed two checkpoints to monitor the water, said golf course superintendent Brian Clodfelter.

“They are checked every six months by someone from the state,” Clodfelter said. “The most recent inspection was just a week ago and everything checked out fine.”

The golf community is being built uphill from the previously contaminated soil, preventing any possible leaching into the water table, Sunnarborg stressed.

Also, the golf community is a participating in the Safe Harbor program for the endangered red cockaded woodpecker. Under guidelines of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program, holes have been bored into longleaf pine trees to provide habitats for the threatened birds.

After a four-wheel drive tour of the land, Sunnarborg happily points out the lack of damage to the many remaining trees in the clearing process.