Pinehurst Area Courses

Here is a list of my top 25 best courses around the Pinehurst area if anyone is ever planning a golf trip to the Sandhills of North Carolina. There are alot of great courses to choose from and all are unique in many ways. Everything outside of the top 10 is on golfnow and can be played for fairly cheap. Some of the courses in the top 10 are Private but if you can get on them you wont be disappointed! There are a ton of other courses about a 45 min drive away. Anderson Creek, Bayonet at Puppy Creek, Tillery Tradition and Chapel Ridge are a few of my favorites.

1.) Pinehurst Resort

2.) Dormie Club

3.) Country Club of North Carolina

4.) Forest Creek GC

5.) National GC

6.) Pinewild CC

7.) Pine Needles

8.) Mid South Club

9.) Mid Pines

10.) Legacy

11.) Seven Lakes CC

12.) The Elks Club

13.) Talamore

14.) Little River

15.) Foxfire

16.) Tobacco Road

17.) Woodlake CC

18.) Beacon Ridge

19.) Hyland Hills

20.) Longleaf

21.) Whispering Pines CC

22.) The Carolina

23.) Whispering Woods

24.) Deercroft

25.) The Bluff

headed to the US Open in June - thanks for the list

Just got back from Pinehurst last week. We ended up playing the following courses,

Longleaf

Talamore

Southern Pines

Mid South

Mid Pines

Longleaf was just ok. Nothing really special about the course.

Talamore was fun. The course was in great shape, the greens were good, and the course is just fun to play.

Southern Pines, a Donald Ross design. It's classic Donald, you better be on the right spot on the green or you are SCREWED!!!!! I ended up in spots that I was not meant to be in. Its a great course, with a lot of elevated tee grounds looking out over the scenic holes. Highly Recommended.

Mid Pines, Donald Ross design. This one was my favorite course we played. Just a wonderful course. Its challenging but not over bearing. Just fits the landscape wonderfully. Classic Donald Ross greens. Highly Recommended.

Mid South, an Arnold Palmer design. This course was tough. A lot of blind tee shots. You better ask the starter about were to hit your tee shots or you will find they might be in the water you didn't know was there. Example, hole 16 looks to be open for driver, but if you don't club down you will run through the fairway to the water that comes back into play for the 2nd shot to the green. You can't see it does that from the tee box. Great course, tough challenge, just wish there was less blind tee shots. I really enjoy looking out over the hole from the tee box more than hitting blind tee shots.

If I had to rank them,

9.5/10 Mid Pines

9.0/10 Southern Pines

8.0/10 Talamore

7.5/10 Mid South

6.0/10 Longleaf

Love the trip. Pinehurst is a great vacation spot. Hopefully I'll get to return there in a few years.

Any reviews of Tobacco Road ?

Tobacco Road is a bit too tricked up for my taste.  I've played it several times, and I've had some decent rounds out there, but in the end, there are just too many hazards and blind shots.  I would recommend that everyone give it a try though.  There aren't many courses like it.  Tot Hill Farm, which is up in the Asheboro area, is another Mike Strantz course.  It's tricked up a bit too, but is more open and much more playable, in my opinion.

I see a lot of questions on golf forums about Tobacco Road and I thought I would finally add my two cents. I have played it maybe six times and every time it gets a little easier and more fun. The first time I played I wanted to pull my hair out... by the end I was mentally exhausted. There are just so many blind shots and visual trickery that it can become frustrating very quickly. But as mentioned, the more you play and learn where to hit the ball, it becomes a lot of fun and an occasional favorite! Bring a GPS and/or buy a yardage book - you will need it.

I have found the conditions always good and the scenery (especially in fall) is amazing. In the summer, I could swear that the temperature on course is 10 degrees warmer due to all the exposed sand reflecting the heat... bring some water and cold towels.

Overall, no one should miss the opportunity to play this course at least once.

I'd second the comments on Tobacco Road.  I played it a number of years back and found it a little tricky as well.  With a GPS it would be a much better option.  The course itself was in great shape and I enjoyed my round there.  Would recommend it for a golf junket but probably not the course I'd pick to play on a regular basis.

I third the comments on Tobacco Road as well, its a little tricked out for me but i enjoy playing it once or twice a year. Its like one of those courses you always see promotions for kinda like a tourist trap course. The landscape is beautiful, there are no houses on the courses and it can be very scenic. There aren't any courses like it in the area besides its sister course Tot Hill Farm.  It can be a fun course to play once you are familiar with all the blind tee shots like this and crazy elevated greens.

I've played it a couple of times - you need to be a little more specific, that description could apply to several holes.

I play with a group that goes back to the Sand Hills every couple of years - Tobacco Road is always the most contentious to schedule as the guys I play with either love it or hate it.

We've kind of settled that argument by playing it on our travel day, where we will play there on our way to the Raleigh airport, if you don't want to play then you can schedule a much earlier flight.