A reinvented World Golf Hall of Fame finally appears to thrive in Pinehurst’s return | Golf news and tourist information

PINEHURST, NC – Anxious but excited best describes the mood of those putting the finishing touches on the latest iteration of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Over the past few days, controlled chaos has been occurring at the 9,000-square-foot facility — a three-minute walk from Pinehurst Resort’s sprawling clubhouse and adjacent to the USGA’s newly constructed Pinehurst Golf House — as the final pieces come together up front. of the formal opening on Friday.

The Hall’s return to the sand hills of North Carolina is a source of pride for an area that calls itself “the birthplace of American golf,” with local and state government representatives included in the first group of official visitors. It’s also a kind of mulligan. It was 50 years ago that the resort opened the original World Golf Hall of Fame building just behind the fifth tee at Pinehurst No. 2. Honoring the game’s greats in an iconic golf venue made sense on paper, but financial issues after The decline of resort guests led to a reorganization in the 1980s that ultimately saw the World Golf Foundation take over operation of the Hall and move it to St. Augustine, Florida in 1998.

This time, however, it is not the resort that is in charge of the Hall, but rather the USGA, which has already helped provide the space for the WGHOF within its new administrative facilities. USGA officials recently revealed that the governing body will also take over day-to-day operations of the World Golf Hall of Fame from the World Golf Foundation in June.

“It’s only natural for the USGA to take control and really lead the World Golf Hall of Fame going forward,” says Mike Trostel, who will become director of the WGHOF. The USGA already operates the oldest sports museum in the United States at its headquarters in Liberty Corner, NJ. “So caring for artifacts and telling these kinds of stories is really in our DNA,” says Trostel.

Under the new structure, the USGA will manage the artifact collection, visitor experience and all activities related to future induction ceremonies. The Hall class of 2024 – Padraig Harrington, Johnny Farrell, Tom Weiskopf, Sandra Palmer, Beverly Hanson and the 13 founders of the LPGA – will be inducted in a ceremony at the new facility on June 11, three days before the opening round of the Open of the United States of 2024 is played in 2nd place.

While the USGA will assume operational responsibility, the Hall’s governance structure will remain the same. Current members of the WGF Board of Directors will also serve on a separate Hall of Fame board. Trostel will report directly to the board – which consists of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, USGA CEO Mike Whan, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, R&A CEO Martin Slumbers, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, Will Jones from the Masters and Rhett Evans from the GCSAA.

With Pinehurst hosting about 1.2 million golfers a year, Trostel believes the Hall has a stronger audience to attract visitors than ever before. “Now let’s go to where the golfers will be,” he says. “As people walk from the Carolina Hotel, the Holly Inn, more or less downtown, to The Cradle or to No.

As for the Hall of Fame’s induction criteria and selection process, that will remain under the board’s control. Currently, there are three categories in which people can be considered for induction: male contestant, female contestant, and contributor. Approximately every two years, a nominating committee presents a list of finalists, which a selection committee votes on, with anyone who receives a 75% approval rating gaining induction.

“We want to make sure we maintain impartiality in this,” Trostel says. “Likewise, the PGA Tour has been very involved with the World Golf Foundation and managed that before [in St. Augustine]we will do the same on this side.”

While the USGA won’t officially take over operations until June 11, museum staff have already played a significant behind-the-scenes role in the re-imagined Hall of Fame. “You know it’s really a mix of these two collections [USGA and WGHOF], and they are very complimentary,” says Hilary Cronheim, senior director of the USGA Golf Museum and Library. “We’ve kind of doubled down on the stories we can tell and really honed in on not just the professional stories related to these players, but the personal stuff as well. And it was cool to see that.”

On the building’s first floor is the USGA Experience, which takes visitors through several of the governing body’s key responsibilities, from holding championships to golf equipment testing, turf research and green development. Additionally, the space will display rotating exhibitions.

On the second floor is the Hall of Fame itself, with 170 cabinets containing a total of 3,000 artifacts that tell the stories of the various inductees. Each one is represented by their own closet, a legacy of Saint Augustine.

“In this film I fought hard for quality over quantity, without trying to overload the closets with things that had no meaning,” says Cronheim.

In some cases, scarcity sends its own message. The only thing in Betsy King’s closet is a Bible open to her favorite chapter of the Old Testament. In Carol Semple Thompson’s locker, a display of 118 USGA competitor pins highlights the fact that the career amateur played in more USGA championships than anyone else in golf history.

“I think what we can do in the Hall of Fame is delve into that personal side of things,” Trostel says. “There are still hundreds of bats, balls, t-shirts, shoes and shirts, but we also have those personal items, stuffed animals, Legos, footballs, a nail clipper in there, small and quirky [things]. So to get to know not only the timeline of how golf evolved and some of those important moments, but also the main characters and what their inspirations were growing up.

Instead of organizing the cabinets introduced by year, they are organized by era, helping to showcase the game’s development over time as well as highlighting player achievements.

Visitors can access additional information about each locker in an online app while visiting the location. And interactive multimedia kiosks on both floors provide an engaging way for visitors to spend as much time as necessary familiarizing themselves with the game’s story.

“The design intent of the exhibit was to recreate a locker room, but also make it feel like a museum worthy of these members,” says Cronheim. “I think we accomplished that and gave the members their due in how we present their lives and their legacy.”