Our Story
Drum & Quill is Dedicated to All Golf Writers and How Golf Writer, Bob Drum, & Arnold Palmer Created Golf’s Professional Grand Slam! Voted Areas "Best Authentic Pub."
Hidden among the tall pines of Pinehurst is a storied authentic American Tavern - Drum & Quill
The "Drum" in our name represents famous golf writer Bob Drum - my father.
The "Quill" represents the golf writers' secret weapon - the pen.
The pen writes the words that turn stories into legends, like the pen Bob used to memorialize Arnold Palmer as they founded Golf's Pro Grand Slam in 1960.
Bob wrote a series of stories in 1960 about how Arnold Palmer would win the top four majors and that, Bob declared, that would be the professional version of what Bobby Jones did - "Golf's Pro Grand Slam," and the rest is golf history!!
To this day, PGA Professionals pursue the legendary “Pro Grand Slam" created by golf legend Arnold Palmer and immortalized by our namesake – Bob Drum.
In honor of our family's namesake, Drum & Quill was built on the old Irish tradition of a Public House. A cozy place to gather, drink, eat, talk, debate, sing, laugh and tell stories. And maybe even make a new friend or two.
The bar at Drum & Quill is housed in a 130-year-old magistrate judge's chamber and boasts over 150 spirits (the largest in the area) and an extensive beer list to wet your whistle. Whether you enjoy classic cocktails, sipping on Irish Whiskey neat, or a pint or two, we got you covered.
Kevin Drum, Proprietor
Cead Mile Failte (a hundred thousand welcomes)
Drum’s Early Life
Raised in Brooklyn, Bob was recruited by Alabama while shooting hoops on the playground in New York City. His basketball career was cut short by being sent off to North Africa as a soldier in the U.S. Air Force, but not before becoming an All-American at Alabama. Bob arrived home from the war only to find basketball was no longer an option, so with the help of his stepfather, he landed a job as a feature writer for the Pittsburgh Press. In the 40s, he first spotted a 14-year-old Palmer at the West Pennsylvania Junior championship.
“Arnold didn’t even make it to match play for that junior tournament,” Kevin Drum said. “But my dad saw something and told the world, ‘This kid from Latrobe will be the best golfer in the world.’ Arnold had swagger even then that made him stand out.”
Drum and His Quill Pen
Drum’s prediction, penned when Palmer was just 14, later came true when a young Arnold Palmer won the recently formed 1958 Masters. And so began Drum’s work in recording the career records of one of golf’s most illustrious players, from Arnie’s Army to driving the Par 4 first hole at Cherry Hills. Drum was there for every swing. During his time with the Pittsburgh Press, Drum traveled to Pinehurst with fellow golf writers to cover golfer Ben Hogan in the Ryder Cup and watch Palmer play in the North & South Championship.
Throughout 1960, Drum wrote a series of stories on Palmer, projecting that he would accomplish something similar to what fellow golfer Bobby Jones had done, except only professional events. In 1930, Jones won the US and British Amateur and the US and British Opens; that feat was considered then to be Golf’s Grand Slam — a term borrowed from the card game Bridge. Golf was changing, and Drum knew it; it was now a game of professionals. The Grand Slam that Bobby Jones had accomplished with two amateurs would never happen again. He and Palmer felt the Grand Slam had to include four professional tournaments of equal stature so today’s pro golfers could pursue a Pro Grand Slam. But which ones?
Drum’s Grand Slam
In 1960, Drum and Palmer decided Palmer’s win at the still-relatively-new Masters and his first-place trophy at the 1960 U.S. Open would be the first two legs of the new Professional Golf Grand Slam. The final two, they decided, would be The Open Championship at St. Andrews and the PGA Championship, probably because Arnold’s dad “Deke” was a PGA Professional.
Arnold didn’t win those last two events. However, he came close enough in 1960 that PGA professionals today still pursue those four tournaments in the hope of completing what Palmer, with the help of Drum, immortalized as the “Professional Grand Slam.”
Drum and the U.S. Open
In 1971, Drum moved his family to Pinehurst to help Pinehurst Resort manage the World Open. He was also gently nudging the USGA to bring the U.S. Open to his new hometown. With the help of local fellow golf writers Dick Taylor, Charles Price, and John Derr, he kept asking the same question to the USGA: “Why don’t you bring the US Open to Pinehurst?”
“I was hearing the USGA officials saying to my dad in the Press Room, ‘it would never happen, it’s too small a town and can’t handle the traffic,’ Kevin Drum said. “But my dad and his golf writer friends kept pushing. It didn’t pay off until 20 years later.”
With a dynamic Bob Dedman taking the helm at Pinehurst, Don Padgett turning the wheels behind the scene, and the USGA winds changing to the country’s great courses, his dreams were finally realized. It was announced in the 1990s that the 1999 US Open would be played at Pinehurst for the first time. Drum got his wish, but he didn’t live to see it. Just as he knew Palmer would be the greatest and golf needed a “Professional Grand Slam,” he knew a US Open should be at Pinehurst.
“My dad would also be proud that I served on the Village Council that brought the USGA to Pinehurst,” Kevin Drum said. “My dad was a founding director of the World Golf Hall of Fame and he would be proud it is returning to its rightful home — Pinehurst.”
CBS Sports
With his “curmudgeon” comedic perspective, CBS thought Bob Drum was made for TV. Drum was given a weekly feature spot on CBS Golf broadcasts called “The Drummer’s Beat.” His funny stories were the first non-golf features on telecasts, designed to entertain, something that is routine today. He was named the Andy Rooney of Golf and was nominated for an Emmy Award for this groundbreaking entertainment-style feature.
Memorialized by Jack
Jack Nicklaus long acknowledged Bob and Arnold’s creation of Golf’s Pro Grand Slam and honored Bob Drum posthumously, the same year they honored Ben Hogan.
“I attended the Memorial Tournament to receive the award and was fortunate enough to escort Valerie Hogan at that event,” says Kevin Drum. “Barbara Nicklaus mailed the Waterford Crystal Award to MJ (my mom) with a note that she cherished.”
Drum & Quill
“In 2014, I saw a bankrupt building across from my consulting firm and decided to create the Drum & Quill. I named it to honor my dad and his Irish heritage and remind people of the impact he had on the game of golf and Pinehurst,” Kevin Drum said.
“The ‘Drum’ represents my dad, and the ‘Quill’ represents his pen used by golf writers to tell the stories that are now legendary. I wanted to add to Pinehurst’s rich golf texture by creating the country’s first golf-writer-themed tavern in the world where it should be — Pinehurst.”
At Drum & Quill, you’ll find an authentic tavern where locals or visitors alike can share stories over a pint, classic cocktails, or casual dining, served up seven days a week.