The Shag Bag: TPC takes to Toronto
Osprey Valley Golf, 30 miles northwest of Toronto, has joined the PGA Tour’s TPC network of clubs, becoming the first Canadian course in the chain of 33 properties.
Aside from a new name for the 54-hole public facility—it now will be known as TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley—the course previously called “Toot” has been relabeled as “North” as a nod to the property’s status as the most northern TPC course.
One of the criteria for becoming a TPC course is that it is suitable for playing host to a Tour-sponsored tournament. In July, the Toot/North course was the site of the inaugural Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada Osprey Valley Open. Although it does not meet the requirements to host the RBC Canadian Open, it has committed to the Mackenzie Tour for at least five more years and there are rumblings of a Champions Tour visit in the near future.
As part of the deal, Osprey’s owners plan to build two new clubhouses, an event center and on-site accommodations.
— John Gordon
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> Of Hoot, Toot and Heathlands
> Osprey Valley Golf (Toot Course)
Power plant evolves into microbrewery
The evolution of Pinehurst Resort will continue this fall with the opening of the Pinehurst Brewing Company, a 10-barrel microbrewery located in a former steam plant.
Lore has it that on New Year’s Eve in 1895, the steam produced by the Village Power House provided both heat and electricity — then considered luxury amenities — to The Holly Inn’s first guests.
The plant was shuttered in the 1990s and headed toward demolition. The plant, though, has received a full renovation by Pinehurst Resort. The new look, which maintains the original facade, will include an observation platform overlooking the brewhouse, a dining room and bar, a beer garden and an all-seasons patio.
“For almost a century, the steam plant provided power to the Village,” said Tom Pashley, Pinehurst president. “We hope this next incarnation of the building as the Pinehurst Brewing Company provides a surge of energy for the entire community,”
The brewery will have the feel of its early says, as parts of the brewhouse’s walls remain blackened from when it housed steam boilers. Also, being restored is the exterior brick corbeling, vintage arches and windows. Being rebuilt is the plant’s smokestack, which will feature its original base.
Beer will be brewed by Eric Mitchell, the former head brewer of Heist Brewery in Charlotte.
An artist rendering of the Pinehurst Brewing Company, which will open this fall at Pinehurst Resort.
The long and short
Tourism Ireland has announced that American Airlines will offer new non-stop Dallas-Fort Worth to Dublin, Ireland, summer service in June. ... The Greenbrier Sporting Club, located in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., opened its Ashford Short Course on Aug. 22. The course is a walking-only, nine-hole loop of par 3 holes, ranging from 56 to 112 yards in length. The course is available for members of The Greenbrier Sporting Club, and for limited use by guests at The Greenbrier.