A different kind of ‘Ryder Cup’ at the Country Club of North Carolina

After a controversial Ryder Cup, a different scenario recently played out at The Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC). The focus for the American and European amateur golfers in the Sandhills of Pinehurst was instead on fun and friendship.

Two teams of twelve players played a Ryder Cup format match over three days at CCNC’s Dogwood and Cardinal Courses as part of the annual competition between The Country Club of North Carolina – one of the premier private clubs in an area known as the ‘Home of American Golf’ – and Royal Dornoch, the heralded Scottish club with a course that Number 2 in the Golf Digest rankings of courses outside the United States. The matches have been contested since 2011, home and away.

Opened in 1963, CCNC is the only club in the US with a reciprocal relationship with Royal Dornoch Golf Club, the birthplace and home of legendary golf architect Donald Ross, whose work is embraced by golfers throughout the Pinehurst region – from a handful of courses at the Pinehurst Resort to popular facilities such as Mid Pines and Pine Needles. Dick Urquhart, the founder and first club president of CCNC, named the land on which the club is located the Royal Dornoch Golf Village.

On the wall of CCNC’s Dornoch Grill, a prominently displayed framed scroll reads: “This message of greeting expresses our hope that Dornoch, Sutherland and Dornoch, North Carolina may continue to enjoy close and increasingly friendly relations for many years to come.” It was signed and sealed in 1971 by Royal Dornoch GC Captain WB Alford, and the annual match is a by-product of that enduring relationship.

CCNC General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Jim Sutton said the league is an important tradition that goes back to the vision of the club’s founders.

“The connection that Pinehurst and the area and CCNC have with Donald Ross and Dornoch Scotland means a lot,” said Sutton. “What’s fun every year is the camaraderie. It’s really just about golf. It’s been great to host these guys. The connection with Donald Ross who was born in Dornoch and then came here to the United States to work (and) do a lot of his best work at Pinehurst. There is a brotherly bond and, even though we are separated by a great distance, the spirit of the game lives on in both destinations.”

The highly anticipated match between CCNC and Royal Dornoch did not end with a final score as close as the sometimes contentious and contentious Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. The CCNC team won the competition prize on home court, the Roly Bluck Putter, with a score of 18.5 to 6.5.

Royal Dornoch captain Gary Bethune took the defeat with great sportsmanship.

“It’s played in the friendliest way you can imagine,” he said. “There’s a lot of banter. There’s some alcohol involved, which can fuel the banter. Every match just gets better and better. The camaraderie among the boys is wonderful.”

But he also laughingly offered some words of warning about next year’s match at Royal Dornoch: “They have a chance, but it’s small.”

The event is one of several across the US played in the spirit and format of the Ryder Cup – a team golf competition designed to promote rivalry and camaraderie.

But perhaps no one has ties as deep in the golf world as the CCNC-Royal Dornoch matches. Some connections are even tangential. Consider, for example, that the designer of CCNC’s Dogwood Course, prominent North Carolina golf architect Ellis Maples, is the son of Frank Maples, who served as Donald Ross’s golf course supervisor and was superintendent of Pinehurst No. 2.

The historic ties are why the Royal Dornoch team is not only keen to try to regain the title in Great Britain in 2026, but also return to the US and the Pinehurst region in 2027.

“It’s something we want to build on,” said Royal Dornoch managing director Neil Hampton. “We have so many players who want to be a part of it, not just to come to CCNC, which is one of the mainstays, but to come to Pinehurst itself and soak up the atmosphere here and see what golf means to everyone in America and what Donald Ross has given everyone in America. We are so happy to share Mr. Ross with everyone, and he left his legacy for us to come and enjoy as well.”