The following article was originally published in The Pinehurst Outlook on Oct. 19, 1956.

Tucked away under the general heading of "News in Brief," the following items appear in the Feb. 11, 1898, issue of the "Pinehurst Outlook."

"The fine golf links covering the 60-acre field adjoining the deer park will be ready for players next week. The work has been done entirely under the direction of Dr. D. LeRoy Culver of New York, whose fame as an expert golfer extends over America and Scotland."

From this humble beginning golf was started at Pinehurst.

Naturally the first thought of the present-day resident of Pinehurst will be: "But what did the people of Pinehurst do before February 1898?" Well, it is a good question. Apparently they got along very well, for the same issue of the "Outlook" reports some of the following activities.

They rode and drove ($4 per day for horse and buggy with driver). They walked (distance around the Village Green three-fifths of a mile by the footpath). They danced (Virginia reel, quadrille and Portland fancy at the Village Hall Saturday night until 10:30 p.m.). They wrote poetry ("Fair Pinehurst the Gem of the South"). They visited Carthage ($1 round trip via the Carthage Railway). They painted (in the studio of Miss Sarah D. Gilbert). They read, played billiards, smoked, took baths and had their hair cut (in the Pinehurst Casino, now the General Office). And it is also assumed that they played tennis, croquet and roque, provisions for all of which were known to be in existence here at that time. No wonder there was so little time left for golf!

But with the advent of the Royal and Ancient pastime, all that was changed. Pinehurst over the years became principally a golfing resort. But how did it happen?

In the season following the one in which Dr. Culver brought Pinehurst golf into the world, professional John Dunn Tucker was employed to nurse the growing infant into maturity. Apparently John knew how to feed the new baby, because in the fall of 1899 Pinehurst was able to boast that it now had an 18-hole course, which, at 5,175 yards, provided a long and grueling test of the game.

In the fall of 1900 Pinehurst golf came into its own with the arrival, virtually off the boat from Scotland, of Donald J. Ross.

As the years rolled on, the popularity of golf and of Pinehurst both grew and expanded together. One by one, new courses were added to fill the demand until in the fall of 1919 there were four full 18-hole courses. This is the present quota, but it has not remained steadily so — for it rose in the late ’20s to four 18s and one nine, and then dropped back to three 18s during the gloomy ’30s.

But how did this growth come about? As usual, it is the story of the accomplishment of a few individuals. The first of these to take an active part in the promotion of Pinehurst golf was Frank Presbrey, whose advertising firm handled the Pinehurst account. Presbrey was for many years prominent in golf around New York City and was very active in the formation of the United States Seniors Golf Association. Presbrey took over the Pinehurst advertising for the season of 1901-02 and was a frequent Pinehurst visitor and closely identified with the development of the resort for many years thereafter.

It was Presbrey’s idea that golf tournaments would provide a favorable publicity for Pinehurst as well as attract golfers to Pinehurst.

Tournaments appealed to the golfers of those days; they loved competition, and nothing meant more to the neophyte than to bring home a trophy, even if it were only for the consolation of the 17th flight! For many years tournaments of all kinds flourished at Pinehurst, and a new champion was crowned almost every week.

After Presbrey, Donald J. Ross should be given much of the credit for the establishment of golf at Pinehurst on a sound basis. This popular professional arrived in Pinehurst on Dec. 5, 1900, and immediately made himself at home by going out early the next day and playing a round in the remarkable score of 80. From that day until his death here in April 1948, Pinehurst was Donald’s home.

In the early days Donald Ross served Pinehurst as its golf professional, assisted for years by his brother Alex. During the summer he occupied a similar position at various clubs in the north. As the Pinehurst golf plant grew and expanded to meet the demands created by Presbrey’s sound promotion, Donald Ross gradually became active in the construction work on the new golf courses. From this start it was an easy step for him to meet the demands of the growing game by serving as architectural consultant for new golf courses all over the country, with the result that Donald J. Ross had soon established himself as a leading golf course architect.

From his Scottish background the rising architect was well grounded in the traditions of the game; through experience he had a thorough knowledge of golf, and being a man of highest principle he was the ideal person to establish the game in Pinehurst on a healthy and sound footing.

Golf could never have been developed at Pinehurst unless played under favorable conditions.

When the Pinehurst courses were started there was very little information on the care of turf in the sandy soil of the Mid-South. For a number of years the best fairways were produced by rolling the sandy soil smooth with a heavy roller, and grass was considered to be of doubtful value. Sand green provided the best known putting surface for the first 40 years of Pinehurst golf.

Frank Maples — whose son, Henson Maples, is the present golf course superintendent — was largely responsible for the development of all modern knowledge on the maintenance and care of the Pinehurst courses. Like Ross, Maples also grew up with Pinehurst golf, starting in the early days as a workman on the courses.

Not only did he learn how to grow grass at Pinehurst, but as foreman for the construction work of the new courses he also had a large influence on the development of Pinehurst golf.

Many others have shared actively in the development of golf in Pinehurst. However, these can be considered as the triumvirate who have had the greatest part in its history.

And so, as the "Outlook" celebrates its 60th year, it is wholly fitting that we should recognize the part that these pioneers have had in the development of the game of golf in Pinehurst.