PINEHURST — The name of one Richmond County golf enthusiast and his creative thinking will be forever stitched into the legend and lore that is Pinehurst Resort.
Noah Jordan, a 2020 graduate of Richmond Senior High School, has worked at Pinehurst as a golf pro intermediate since March 2021 during summer breaks and on the weekends.
The junior UNC Chapel Hill student has spent his time there checking in guests, booking tee times and helping with golf and sales relations.
Finding his knack within the golf community, Jordan was recognized earlier this month for a winning hat design he created during a competition amongst resort employees.
One of five winning designs chosen, Jordan’s ode to Pinehurst No. 2 was selected as the winner of the “limited edition” category. The four other designs were for men’s, women’s, children’s and unisex hats.
Initially not going to enter the contest, Jordan got a nudge from a fellow co-worker.
“Anyone who worked at the resort could enter the contest and there were around 250 entries,” Jordan explained. “I wasn’t going to enter, but a friend of mine, Heather Shaffer, told me I was really creative and she encouraged me to try.
“And ironically it was Heather who called me and told me that my design had won,” Jordan laughed. “I thought she was messing with me and I was genuinely shocked. I’m glad I entered and it’s really cool to have been a part of this experience.”
Jordan said before his design came to fruition, he met with representatives with Pukka Inc., the custom headwear retailer that would make the hats. Choosing from an assortment of styles, Jordan said he went for a design that he thought could be a bestseller.
Before heading back to school in Aug. 2021, Jordan submitted a design that he said was simple but unique.
“I’m a fan of minimalistic and simplistic hat designs, but ones that are also bold in a creative way,” Jordan said. “I like neutral colors and I really like the color scheme of burgundy and dark green that’s associated with No. 2.
“When I was making my design, I wanted something sleek that was accented with a pop of color and uniqueness,” he added.
His winning design featured a white base with a simple design of “No. 2” embroidered on the front in the iconic dark green color. On the back, Jordan went with the Pinehurst putter boy logo, also accented in green.
The part of the design that Jordan believes put it over the top was the underside of the brim — a detailed creation of the entire course’s layout, complete with specks of blue and tan.
“I wanted the underside of the brim to be the thing that set my hat apart from any other design,” Jordan said. “I hadn’t seen a hat with the whole layout on it, but I also didn’t want it on the top of the hat and take away from a simple design.
“When I came up with this idea, I really thought it made the hat robust and not too busy or loud. It was the perfect touch to make everything look unified.”
On the inside of the hat, Jordan’s name is stitched along with the phrase “limited edition.”
Describing himself as a recreational golfer, Jordan said his design sold out within a week of hitting shelves at the pro shop.
Also congratulating him was director of retail Lauren Robinson, as well as Pinehurst’s executive vice president Matt Massei.
“It’s really surreal to see my design on a hat at such a great resort,” Jordan said. “I love everyone at the resort and it’s cool I was able to apply my skills and creativity to something as unique as this.”
While he doesn’t intend to go pro on the links, Jordan does have an interest in perhaps working in the professional sports industry in the future.
An exercise sports science major, and working toward a minor in sports medicine, Jordan is on a pre-physical therapy track in Chapel Hill. Upon graduation, he’d like to pursue a career in physical therapy and incorporate recovery nutrition with his patients.
This semester, Jordan is working at UNC’s Applied Physiology Lab to better learn about the connection between a person’s nutritional health while recovering from an injury. He said it’s “an aspect in this field we don’t account for as much” and wants to “make it more relevant.”
Jordan’s other plans include returning to work at Pinehurst during his summer break and he is already thinking about another hopeful winning hat design.
