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PINEHURST, N.C. – I won’t bother writing that you should play golf in Pinehurst. You already know that. The Sandhills region of North Carolina is dubbed the Home of American Golf for a reason.
No. 1 in North Carolina: Pinehurst No. 2
This is the grandaddy of Pinehurst, the layout even non-golfing spouses are most likely to have heard of. It’s the site of three past U.S. Opens with five more on the schedule, including in 2024.
No. 2 in North Carolina: Pinehurst No. 4
While No. 2 was restored to its Ross roots a decade ago, architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner more recently went another direction with No. 4, but with a similar aesthetic in mind.
No. 3 in North Carolina: Mid Pines
As courses age, they usually need more than a nip and tuck to retain the playing characteristics established by the original designer. Greens shrink, bunkers shift and playing corridors are altered. The entire flavor of a course changes even without conscious intent by the operators.
No. 4 in North Carolina: Pine Needles
Across the street from Mid Pines is its sister course, Pine Needles. As with Mid Pines, Pine Needles is a Ross layout that was restored by Kyle Franz, with work wrapping up in 2018.
No. 6 in North Carolina: Tobacco Road
And now for something completely different. That’s a good thing, because Tobacco Road in nearby Sanford has carved out a position as one of the most interesting – if sometimes polarizing – golf courses in the country.
No. 7 in North Carolina: Pinehurst No. 8
Architect Tom Fazio’s layout opened in 1996 to commemorate the famed resort’s 100th anniversary, and he incorporated multiple touches as a nod to Pinehurst No. 2, with several false fronts and occasionally severe runoffs on greens.
Players Card
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Our Story
Built on land tended by the weather-worn hands of tobacco farmers, later crafted and molded by an artist’s imagination and the revolutionary eye of the late Mike Strantz.
