They’re the perfect couple. One is old yet timeless and lives by the North Sea. The other, much younger partner resides across the Atlantic Ocean in the green Sandhills of North Carolina. They amuse each other with their distinctive accents and their contrasting tastes in matters large and small. But this isn’t merely a case of opposites attracting: Pinehurst in the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina, and the golf courses of St. Andrews in Scotland have found so much in common that they’ve become irresistible to each other.

The links between the links have been plain for most of a century. Pinehurst, the original American golf resort, operates eight courses, while the six tracks owned and run by the city of St. Andrews form the first golf resort in the world. Both locations host the biggest competitions in golf, and the smallest: Visiting foursomes of friends keep them both financially healthy. With their similar histories, facilities, and philosophies, it seemed inevitable that the relationship would deepen.

It has. Since 1999, the two venerable golf destinations have exchanged staff, shared logos, and generally explored the benefits of cross-pollination.

"I’d never eaten pigeon before," recalls Kevin Phenegar, Pinehurst’s assistant director of food and beverage, who taught a bit and learned a lot at the Dunhill Cup at St. Andrews in October 2004. "It was delicious."

Phenegar traveled to St. Andrews with Pinehurst executive chef Scott Rowe. Both were intrigued by the subtle differences they observed in service, sauce, and entrées. "Genuine, effortless hospitality," Phenegar says. "And remember the night we went out, and we ordered our wine, appetizers, and dinner while we waited for our table? That was interesting." Rowe nods, then recalls vivid memories of the dark, sweet, fruit-based sauces his new Scottish friends poured, and what they poured it on. "Game," Rowe says. "They eat a lot more game than we do."

Rowe took center stage on Friday night during the tournament week, when the Links Trust — the government body that administers the St. Andrews golf courses — hosted an American night. The 41-year-old chef introduced the different courses and the California wines that were served with each change of plate.

"It was a great personal experience for Kevin and me and, I think, a wonderful experience for the food and beverage people from the Links Trust who have come to visit us," Rowe says. "What we always hear from the Scots is amazement at the size of our operations. It’s really eye-opening for them to observe one of our production kitchens.

"But what I really like about this program is what it does for someone like Daniel. You could see the confidence, the little extra spring in his step when he came back from Scotland."

Daniel — Daniel J. Hartshorn, that is — is 22, a graduate of Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, and the manager of the Donald Ross Grill at Pinehurst. He spent three months at St. Andrews in the summer of 2004, getting used to beer that wasn’t quite cold and night breezes off the sea that were. He lived in a flat above the Links clubhouse his first month in town, which was a short walk to work but a long walk home from his favorite pub, Aikman’s, and the lassies there who were enchanted by the way he talked. ("I may have played the accent to my advantage," he admits.) His second two months, he lived in town, and his distance problems were reversed.

Although Hartshorn did a little of everything in the food and beverage service at the main clubhouse and Eden clubhouses — the Eden is one of the six St. Andrews golf courses — for the most part he supervised a waitstaff of about 30. He served his share of venison, but, since about half the golfers in a St. Andrews summer are Americans, burgers and chips (French fries) were the most popular choice for lunch.

"They let us play the golf courses as much as we wanted, for free, but I just play golf for fun," Hartshorn says. "I spent more time on the beach, and touring castles and the countryside in the Land Rover they loaned us. The whole thing was a wonderful adventure. I think exchanging staff has really strengthened the relationship between the two properties."

A summer in St. Andrews literally changed the life of Pinehurst golf professional Michael Bulger. While traveling the country by rail on his days off — he played golf only once or twice a week, the same as he would back home — he looked out the window and thought deeply about what he’d been learning. "Their organization is a lot different from ours," says the assistant professional at the main Pinehurst golf shop. "Since the administration of their golf courses is a charitable trust, and all the money they make goes back into the golf course, they’re less involved in thinking about and talking about budgets and revenues. Their whole thing is protecting the integrity of the people’s land.

"It’s a culture that’s so much more laid back. We’re always work, work, work. I’ve adopted their attitude and found that I actually get more done."

Where once Bulger took files home at the end of the day, now he’s doing his best not to blur the line between job and private life. He just comes into work early if he needs to.

Peter Mason, marketing manager of the Links Trust, shares anecdotes about the immediate benefits of the regular staff visits to Pinehurst — ideas about a new irrigation system, for example, and refining the services provided by golf course rangers. But Mason makes it clear that the ties binding St. Andrews and Pinehurst are more profound than these stories suggest. "Whilst obviously theirs is more a commercial organization than ours, we both host major golf tournaments, we both depend on visiting and local players, and we both have multiple golf courses. We have a basic understanding of one another, and share the same golfing values. They’re the Home of American Golf. We’re the Home of Golf. It’s wonderful to connect with them."

Stephen Boyd, Mason’s counterpart in North Carolina, says a variety of things are "spinning off" from the basic first steps of communicating with each other. Merchandise with dual logos will symbolize the bond between his resort and theirs; and, possibly, discounted airfares between one and the other may be arranged. They’re further steps in the deepening relationship between two old friends.

Author and writer Curt Sampson’s newest book is The Lost Masters, a re-creation of the scorecard scandal at Augusta in 1968 (Simon and Schuster, February 2005).

THE BOOK ON PINEHURST
Nowhere else can you hear more extraordinary golf stories than at Pinehurst. Thus, it is not surprising that, during the year of the U.S. Open Championship, several authors have gathered these tales, along with some of their own, in book form.

THE SPIRIT OF PINEHURST
North Carolina writer Lee Pace compiled The Spirit of Pinehurst as an anthology to share the literary wealth that surrounds Pinehurst. The list of contributors to the book includes a who’s who of time gone by, including Charles Price, Dick Taylor, and Herbert Warren Wind. Combine those with some of today’s most noted golf writers, including Lorne Rubenstein, James Dodson, Jim Moriarty, Jaime Diaz, and Bill Fields and the U.S. Golf Association executive director David Fay, and the book will be a must on every collector’s wish list.

TALES FROM PINEHURST
Author Robert Hartman grew up playing junior golf at the Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus-designed Wabeek Country Club and he knows that golf is more than a game. It is a way of life and it provides a sense of place to its backdrop. He decided the best way to learn about Pinehurst was to dig into the roots of the sandy soil of America’s golf mecca. In Tales From Pinehurst, he offers historical tales and lore from those who have witnessed the growth of one of golf’s most endearing and revered playing fields. The book is an inside look at one of the most popular cities in the United States when it comes to championship golf. He shows Pinehurst as a place with history and personality. The stories are vibrant with enthusiasm and reflect a slice of the American culture through sports.

FAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
To the setting of Pinehurst, fiction writer Roberta Isleib has added murder, suspense, and golf. What more do you need? The plot of Fairway to Heaven focuses on the tri-tour golf tournament at the legendary resort — and the book’s heroine Cassie Burdette. But her team, which consists of her formerly estranged father and her grumpy boyfriend, is driving her nuts. Adding to her stress is a friend’s upcoming wedding for which she’s agreed to be maid of honor. Then the bride’s father disappears … and the action starts.