As the United States Golf Association prepares for the fourth U.S. Open in 25 years at Pinehurst next year, the group is more focused on teeing up a premium spectator experience than achieving peak attendance.
The 2005 championship at Pinehurst No. 2 had record attendance for any Open, with 325,000 spectators for the week. “The energy, the crowds were certainly amazing. But I’m not sure it was necessarily the best experience for our fans,” says Reg Jones, the USGA’s managing director of Open Championships.
Fewer people will attend next year, he says. “But that’s a conscious decision on our part because we want to make sure that we’re delivering the best possible experience for our fans. We don’t feel like quantity is the right measurement of success for us.”
Nothing may be more comfortable for well-heeled fans than the USGA’s new VIP area in the grandstand overlooking No. 2’s 18th green. The enclosed, temperature-controlled 1895 Club will offer 400 tickets at $2,500 per day from Wednesday through Sunday of tournament week.
It’s a unique structure in the golf world, Jones says. “We were trying to create a different level of experience that still allows us to accommodate our general fans and provide that excitement and energy, but also provide a world-class hospitality experience.”
The 1895 Club will include valet parking and food and beverage services. “You’ve got the best seat in the house and air conditioning, which can be critical in June,” says Raleigh Leahy, the USGA’s senior director of hospitality. “It’s going to be pretty spectacular. We don’t think people are going to want to leave.”
Because the Open moves to a different site annually, the governing body takes varying approaches to its crowds. About 22,000 daily tickets were sold at this year’s Open in Los Angeles.
The 18th hole grandstand at No. 2’s last U.S. Open in 2014 held about 4,000 people. The new configuration calls for more than 3,000. The USGA will also move other hospitality areas away from the Pinehurst driving range, known as “Maniac Hill,” to different structures in more viewer-friendly locales around the course.
“Corporate clients were more interested in wanting to view golf,” says Brian Miranda, the USGA’s managing director of partnerships in hospitality. The new suites will have tiered seating in front of the food and beverage area, similar to arena suites. “We’ve shifted what the structures are from previous years here, and then we’ve actually moved them out onto the golf course, viewing competition.”
The USGA is establishing a second home in Pinehurst, called Golf House Pinehurst, to complement its New Jersey home. The 6-acre campus is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year and will include an equipment-testing facility, innovation hub, museum and visitor center, and offices housing 60 USGA staff members.
Next year’s tournament will be one of five U.S. Open Championships in Moore County by 2047, including another back-to-back men’s and women’s U.S. Open at No. 2 in 2029.
The state’s corporate support is a key reason the USGA made Pinehurst its first anchor site. “When you look at the economic impact numbers of hosting the last four U.S. Opens with four to come, that is a significant impact to the state of North Carolina. It’s over a billion dollars,” Jones says.” ■
