Pinehurst Did Not Get A Post-Open Spike In Play

Michael Buteau looks at the business side of Pinehurst No. 2's restoration and, well, so much for the post 2005 U.S. Open play boost according to Robert Dedman:

“Our hope is to attract more and more golfers to the resort,” Dedman, 53, said in a telephone interview. “We didn’t do this very lightly.”

The number of golfers who visited the course -- where about 35,000 rounds are played annually -- dropped by about 5,000 from 2005 to 2009. Over the same period, rounds played at public courses in the U.S. fell 2.7 percent, according to the National Golf Foundation.