Transatlantic celebrations took place in the summer of 2005 as two of the world's most historic, public golf venues each host a major within a month of one another. In June 2005, Pinehurst, the revered golf venue in North Carolina, hosted the US Open, while in July St Andrews was again the venue for the Open Championship.

For Pinehurst, it was the second time it has hosted the Open while for St Andrews it will be the 27th. However, the return to Course No 2 at Pinehurst is the fastest return in the history of the US Open - only six years since it was first held there in 1999.

That championship also went down in the record books as the last victory of Payne Stewart, achieved with an outstanding 18ft putt, before his untimely death three months later.

The return of the Open Championship to St Andrews in 2005 makes the Old Course the most frequently used course for the Open. It was last here in 2000, when Tiger Woods' victory made him the youngest golfer to win all four majors - the Masters, the US Open, the USPGA and the Open Championship - and gave him the second leg of his legendary Grand Slam.

Open 2000 winner, Tiger Woods

An alliance between St Andrews and Pinehurst has grown over the years based on similarities between the venues. They share the same aspirations and ideals, striving to offer the highest quality of golfing experience. Both have a deep respect for history and tradition, which continue to be celebrated in various ways. A recent Pinehurst initiative was the Grand Slam Invitational Tournament in 2001 where over 100 clubs and venues, which had hosted the four major championships in the last 100 years, were invited to play at Pinehurst. The event is now being held on an annual basis.

Pinehurst's links to Scotland go back to its origins in the 1895, when Boston soda fountain magnate, James Walker Tufts, purchased 5,800 acres of North Carolina timberland to develop a health resort. Included in the range of activities was golf on a nine hole course which was created in 1898. Two years later, Donald Ross, a young Scottish golf professional recently emigrated to the USA, arrived in Pinehurst. It was the start of a relationship which lasted 48 years.

	Ross reworked the existing nine hole course transforming it into a full 18 holes and then created a second 18 hole course. Course No 2 opened in 1901 and is considered "the fairest test of championship golf" ever designed by Ross, in his own words. It is also in the top 10 in the USA, and the site of more championships than any other course in the country.
The 6th hole on Course No 2

Ross went on to design Courses No 3 and 4, and the latter was reworked by Tom Fazio in 2000 with new layouts, new pot bunkers totalling over 140 in number, and a new lake. Today Pinehurst has evolved in one of the world's foremost golfing resorts, with eight 18 hole courses, a range of award-winning accommodation and a clubhouse. Two more 18 holes courses are currently being built and its latest addition, a luxurious spa, opened in 2002.

While Pinehurst was starting out, great strides were also being made across the Atlantic at the Home of Golf. Golf enjoyed a boom in the 1890s and the Old Course was joined by two new courses - the New (1895) and Jubilee (1897). Around 100 years later in the 1990s, during a decade of significant investment into Links to improve the golf courses, the facilities and quality of service offered to golfers, there was another surge in demand increasing the pressure on the five 18 hole courses. By 1998 the Links Trust was investigating the possibility of creating a further golf course, with the purchase of land completed in 2002.

"Having so much in common with Pinehurst has helped to create a bond between the two venues. It is providing a platform for a useful exchange of ideas and expertise as we strive to offer an experience of the highest quality to our golfers and to improve continually." said Peter Mason, external relations manager at St Andrews Links Trust.

Find out more about the courses and facilities at Pinehurst by visiting www.pinehurst.com.