Skratch's Pinehurst Golf Diary plays Nos. 4 and 10 and finds a caddie with his own tree

Skratch's latest Golf Diary is a two-day trip to Pinehurst Resort built around one question: is the "Pinehurst glow" real? Dan Rapaport and his Skratch partner Ben play courses No. 4 and No. 10, get a look at the unopened No. 11, enter the resort's Cradle Knockout and finish on the Thistle Dhu putting course. The 30-minute episode went up on Tuesday, October 28.

No. 4, first group out

They tee off No. 4 as the first group of the morning and set the pace at 3 hours and 38 minutes. Their caddies are Thomas, who has looped at Pinehurst since 2001, and a second caddie who has worked there since 2010. One of the caddies says No. 4 is probably the most picturesque course at the resort, and the pair note how much the tree clearing has opened the views. On one hole, they say, you can see 15 others. Even at the end of a hot summer the turf was in perfect shape.

Thomas has a tree on No. 4 named after him. He says the owner deemed it "the Thomas tree" because Thomas was the only caddie who could walk under it without ducking, and a plaque went up about four months after the course reopened. The comfort station on the course, The Nest, is a replica of an old 1900s clubhouse and pours a signature drink called the Woodpecker.

A caddie who played with Tiger

On day two the hosts bring up a photo they spotted in the resort's Hall of Champions: Thomas standing next to Tiger Woods. Thomas says he spent 36 holes with Woods about a week before practice rounds began in 2005, the year Pinehurst hosted the U.S. Open, and still has the two Nike balls Woods gave him. "The sound was unbelievable," he says of the strike.

No. 11 and the Cradle Knockout

On the No. 11 site, a guide tells them the Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design will open in spring 2027 as a par 72, with a shared first and 10th tee. It sits on the same property as No. 10. That evening they play the September Cradle Knockout on The Cradle short course. Entry is $10; half the pot goes to the winner and half to charity. Players have to hit the green in round one, land inside a 20-foot circle in round two, then go closest to the pin. Dan and Ben both reach the final round. The winner, Nick, also made a hole in one.

No. 10 at Sandmines

No. 10 looks nothing like No. 4. A caddie points out wide fairways, backboards around the greens and what he calls the biggest greens at Pinehurst. On a 360-yard par 4 the humps along the edges are spoils from the old sand-mining operation. A 585-yard par 5 is so long that, the caddie says, people on the tee ask which hole the players on the green are playing.

So, is the glow real

The trip ends with the Carolina Hotel shop, a lap of Thistle Dhu by the Putter Boy statue and dinner at Wiregrass. The verdict comes in the last minute. "Every single person comes back with that Pinehurst glow," one of the hosts says, adding that he expects to have it for a few days.

If you are planning a trip, the episode makes a decent itinerary. Play No. 2, then work through the courses you haven't played, sign up for a Cradle Knockout if your dates line up, and ask your caddie for his stories.