<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2OnKQc_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2OnKQc_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="600" ></figure>Finding Home in Moore County: From pitmasters and distillers to entrepreneurs and artists, Moore County draws talented individuals to its towns and communities, inviting them to find their place and passion in the Sandhills.Every year, in the same week of the same month, Peter Grant takes the same road trip. He leaves his home in Fairfax, Virginia, and travels down I-85 to North Carolina. “I’ve been doing this for 37 years, and when I see that red, white, and blue sign that says Welcome to North Carolina, I know I’m close. I know I’m going to be seeing my oldest and closest friends.” Before long, he’s an hour out from Pine Crest Inn. “That’s when it gets exciting,” he says.For Grant and his classmates from St. John’s College High School in Washington D.C., their decades-old reunion started as a Thanksgiving-morning game of football. Their pick-up game was a lot of fun — and lasted a good 15 years. “But it got to the point where we were beating each other up,” Grant laughs. “We just couldn’t do it anymore.”One of their crew, Gary Knutson, had an idea. “He said, ‘how about we turn this football thing into a golf thing,’” Grant remembers.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=00h7UN_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=00h7UN_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="760" ><figcaption>Step inside Pine Crest Inn and discover timeless hospitality in its comfortable guest rooms, lively dining room, and welcoming bar.</figcaption></figure>So, in 1990, eight of them booked a trip for a weekend of golf. They reserved the basement of Pine Crest Inn, a hotel built in 1913 and owned, then and now, by the local Barrett family.Tucked into the pines and azaleas on Dogwood Road, the historic 32-room inn feels more like a rambling family home than a hotel. A gracious front porch stretches the length of the building, its tin roof shading plenty of seating filled with hotel guests and locals.“The place was rocking. You had Clarence playing the piano in the lobby — he could play anything and would take requests — and you had people knocking a golf ball into the fireplace,” Grant remembers. “It was standing room only while people waited for a table at the restaurant.”The next year, Peter Barrett, who owns the inn with his brother, Bobby, offered to host Grant and his friends in the Barrett House, the inn-owned home across the street. “He said if we could grow our party to 12, we could have the whole house, which sleeps 16,” Grant says. “We’ve been staying in the Barrett House since 1991.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4N9NIf_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4N9NIf_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="760" ><figcaption>A monument, photos, and traditions throughout the property commemorate former inn owner and celebrated golf architect Donald Ross.</figcaption></figure><h2>The Family Behind the Inn</h2>Andy Hofmann, the general manager of Pine Crest Inn, has been married to Bobby Barrett for more than 40 years. She’s told their family’s story more times than she can count.“Bobby’s father, Bob, was the newspaper editor for the Erie Times, and they were visiting from Pennsylvania on vacation — Bobby was 9, Peter was 5,” she says. “They passed by Pine Crest Inn and saw the owner out front. Bob said, ‘Hey, if you ever want to sell this place, let me know.’ He had no experience at all doing anything other than writing. That was 1961. Bobby and Peter have really been here their whole lives.”After living in D.C., Hofmann returned to North Carolina in her early 20s. “My dad had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and I went home and stayed a year.” She started playing golf and looking for a slower pace. She found herself drawn to Pinehurst.Hofmann got a job at Pine Crest Inn and eventually started helping Bob with his correspondence. “As a former editor, he wrote his own personal letters to people,” she remembers. “He liked to type, but keeping up with correspondence and planning guests’ golf trips was overwhelming. I started securing the tee times for guests. Forty-five years later, I’m still here.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3aCsR7_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3aCsR7_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="760" ><figcaption>Tucked beneath a leafy canopy, Barrett House provides a peaceful, private retreat.</figcaption></figure><h2>A Welcome Homecoming</h2>When the Pine Crest Inn opened in 1913, its first-ever ad read “The Inn Like A Home.” It’s felt that way ever since. Grant and his friends, now in their 70s, are among many who view annual vacations at the Pine Crest Inn as a homecoming of sorts.“This has always been the case,” Hofmann says. “You can look out in the lobby, and just by who’s there, you can tell what month of the year it is.”Every St. John’s reunion starts the same way: Grant and his friends catch up on the Barrett House’s front porch — “every year, our stories get a little better, a little more embellished,” he laughs — and then head across the street to Pine Crest Inn for dinner.Their vacation usually starts on a Wednesday, when Pine Crest Inn is a little quieter. They kick things off with “Opening Ceremonies,” Grant explains, “where we have games and charts, pairings, and we pick numbers for the week.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1lt0GX_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1lt0GX_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="760" ><figcaption>Once home to Pinehurst’s telephone operators, Pine Crest Inn’s Telephone Cottage now opens its doors to overnight guests.</figcaption></figure>Knutson, the one who suggested the group’s first golf trip, died at 55, and the friends honored him with an upside-down shot glass on the mantel of the Barrett House. Today, that shot glass rests alongside five more. “We toast to those six guys we no longer have with us. But they’re there with us in spirit, and we hug each other, shed a few tears, and carry on,” Grant says.Ultimately, it’s never really been about the golf. Just like it was never really about the Thanksgiving game of football. “It’s a very important time of our lives because it’s a time for camaraderie. It’s a time for reflection,” Grant says. “Even if it’s only four or five days a year, having a place for our brotherhood to gather keeps us all a little bit younger.”<h2>More Storied Stays</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3budTc_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3budTc_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="760" ><figcaption>From wood-framed vaulted ceilings to a cozy upstairs loft, The Old Church of Pinehurst blends preserved architectural details with modern comforts.</figcaption></figure>The Old Church of PinehurstBuilt in 1919 as Sacred Heart Catholic Church, this Gothic-style building tucked behind the Carolina Hotel once filled its pews with the workers who kept the resort village running. Today it rents as a five-bedroom house that sleeps 14. Golf groups can rack up a game of pool beneath the sanctuary’s stained glass.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Zpt1i_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Zpt1i_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="760" ><figcaption>From the open living areas and spacious porches, guests can take in rolling fairway views at The Cottages at No. 8.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>The Cottages at No. 8Pinehurst Resort’s cottages sit among the same pines that once surrounded Annie Oakley’s Pinehurst Gun Club. The four- and eight-bedroom homes sleep up to 16. After the round, guests share firepits, a pavilion, and a putting green.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Enl9G_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Enl9G_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="600" ><figcaption>Settle into a warm, inviting suite at Tanglewood Farm.</figcaption></figure>Tanglewood FarmOn this 10-acre working horse farm a few minutes from downtown Southern Pines, guests are greeted by a flock of free-range chickens. Reserve one of three private suites (the Fox Den, the Tally Ho, and the Horse &amp; Hound).<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0qLvGy_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0qLvGy_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="600" ><figcaption>The Magnolia Inn offers quaint, boutique accommodations in the heart of the Village of Pinehurst.</figcaption></figure>The Magnolia InnWhen it opened in 1896, the Magnolia housed the servants, doctors, and family members who followed Pinehurst’s first wealthy visitors south. Now owned by Pinehurst Resort, it boasts eight rooms and Villaggio Ristorante, just a short walk up Magnolia Road from Pine Crest Inn.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3LCMNr_1H21mgEE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3LCMNr_1H21mgEE00" width="1140" height="760" ><figcaption>Host catered events and celebrations framed by Duncraig Manor’s picturesque English backdrop.</figcaption></figure>Duncraig ManorThe storybook setting of the circa-1928, Tudor-style estate brings timeless elegance to Southern Pines. The manor is open for group bookings and stays that coincide with on-site events or full estate buyouts, which can accommodate 14 to 20 guests.Ready to plan a homecoming of your own? Click here to learn more about the hotels, inns, B&amp;Bs, and short-term rentals that await in the Sandhills.</div></body>

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Finding Home in Moore County: From pitmasters and distillers to entrepreneurs and artists, Moore County draws talented individuals to its towns and communities, inviting them to find their place and passion in the Sandhills. Every year, in the same week of the same month, Peter Grant takes the same road...

Homecoming at Pine Crest Inn

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Finding Home in Moore County: From pitmasters and distillers to entrepreneurs and artists, Moore County draws talented individuals to its towns and communi

Homecoming at Pine Crest Inn

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