Pinehurst golf course came into existence back in 1895 when a gentleman by the name of James Walker Tufts purchased 6,000 acres of sandy, clear-cut land in an area called the 'Sandhills' located in Moore County, North Carolina.

The 'Sandhills' is a strip of ancient sand dunes that is evidence of where the ocean coast used to be.

Tufts had a background as a talented entrepreneur, who made his fortune patenting soda fountain machines in addition to being the founder of American Soda Fountain Company. After purchasing the acreage in North Carolina, Tufts hired the Olmstead firm, which was the country's most prominent landscape architect and design firm, to plan the resort village. The Olmstead firm accepted the offer and for a contract price of $300 began the design of the golf course. The village design was typically New England with curving, twisting roads leading from a central village green. Architects from Boston designed the hotels, boarding houses and cottages and on December 31, 1895, the Holly Inn opened its doors.