Pinehurst Sets Eagle Eye On Expansion To Aberdeen

Fast food and railroad industries can be found along Highway 5 in Aberdeen. Residents will soon face a new industry, golf.

"You have a lot of people who like to play golf," says Aberdeen resident Willie Gillis. "Most of them do not have the money to play it, but they still try to get out there anyway."

The Pinehurst resort is about to undertake a huge expansion. With no room to grow on its current property, the resort is expanding to an 840-acre site in neighboring Aberdeen.

"We would rather extend the brand or credibility to something that is really going to be another destination in itself," says Pat Corso, president of the Pinehurst resort. "We can do that through the extension of golf."

Construction on Pinehurst No. 9 will start this fall with room for two more courses. A hotel, golf institute, exclusive shopping areas and 200 luxury homes will be part of the new village.

"Once this announcement was made, in our opinion, the property values in Aberdeen went up immediately," says town manager Tony Robertson.

Village developers have already asked the town to improve the look of Highway 5. For the residents, there is excitement mixed with apprehension.

"As soon as people get used to the Pinehurst rules, I think it will be better for all of the commerce," says Moore County resident Lynn Robinson.

Of the 9,000 people who live within the Pinehurst village, 6,000 of them belong to the golf resort.

Officials hope to have the first golf course and village completed when theU.S. Open comes in 2005.