mdaugherty24

I've heard nothing but good things about the course, sounds like a good track. Let me know how it goes.

I'm gonna be staying in Cherry Grove in July and wanted to play a good track close by. Over the years I have played most of the good courses in the Myrtle Beach area. True Blue, Caledonia, The Reserve, Barefoot resort and all the courses up near Calabash NC. I heard Tidewater was a good course, just wanted everybody's opinion?

Definitely play #8. Like Dave said, #8 and #2 have very similar greens. Both are the new Championship Bermuda and are very fast and firm. Go buy a yardage book in the Pro Shop for both #8 and #2, it will be the best $8 you have ever spent. It will help you with the slopes of the greens tremendously. Just a few tips: 1.) On approach shots, don't play to the yardage of the flag. These greens are firm as shit and you wont be able to hold many shots on the greens. Play each approach 5 to 7 yards short of the flag. 2.) Spent most of your practice time chipping off tight lies and like Dave said putting from off the greens too. You will have those shots all day lol. 3.) Get use to the speed of the greens and practice lag putting the greens roll for days. Good luck and enjoy!

I play over at Pinehurst Resort every weekend. Here is a list if I had to rank them best to worst. #8, #2, #7, #4, #9, #6, #5, #1, #3. Go play Dormie Club just outside Pinehurst, its one of the best courses in the area!

Hands down one of the best courses in the Pinehurst area. Core and Crenshaw did one hell of a job with this track. I play here often and it never disappoints.

I wouldn't mind seeing Chesson Hadley win the Shell Houston Open and "SNAP" his way into the Masters! He's a solid player not many people know about and has been playing some good golf the last month.

Driving Distance - 275 Driving Accuracy - 57% Greens in Reg - 35% Putts per Round - 32.4 Putts per GIR - 1.8 Scrambling - 43% Handicap - 5.6

As a 5 handicap, I traded my AP2's for the AP1's last year and I have no regrets AT ALL!!!

Personally, I prefer hybrids over fairway woods. When it comes to course management, I find hybrids to be more versatile for my game. I feel more confident standing over a hybrid whether its off the tee, off the deck or out of the rough. The control, higher trajectory and forgiveness out weighs the little bit of distance of roll out I lose compared to fairway woods. Hybrids just make more since for the type of courses I play. Its way easier to hoist a hybrid high up and land it soft rather than try to get a fairway wood to bite on a Pinehurst elevated dome shaped green!!!!!

Driver- Titleist 913 D3 10.5 degree Hybrids- Titleist 910 17 and 21 degree Irons- 4-GW Titleist 2008 AP1's Wedges- Titleist Vokey SM4 54 and 58 degree Putter- Scotty Cameron Del Mar California

The Red Fox (West) and The Grey Fox (East) are both hard courses. The Red is the hardest but thats my favorite by a slight margin.

To be honest, Whispering Pines CC and Carolina Trace are very similar. Both have 2 courses and if I had to choose, I would give the advantage to Carolina Trace. The greens are way better at Carolina Trace, tiny but firm and fast. Both courses have decent layouts but I would rate them middle of the pack in terms of rankings in the Sandhills area. I would recommend Foxfire Golf Courses over those 2. They also have 2 course and both are awesome layouts! They have similar rates and Foxfire is the sister resort to Whispering Pines CC.

I played on the Golf Weekly AM Tour which is basically the same as the Golf Channel AM tour. We had a 16 tournament schedule for my region and it cost around $75 per tournament. The courses were all of great caliber with a few private courses on the list as well. Most courses were local for me around the Pinehurst, NC area but some were just over an hour drive. The tour was a flighted format (Championship flight 0-4 handicap, A flight 4.5-8 handicap, B flight 8.5-12 handicap, C flight 12.5-16 handicap and D flight 16.5 and up handicap). After 2 tournaments your handicap fluctuates depending on how well you play to prevent sandbagging. So if u lie on your handicap coming in, it wont take long before you are automatically moved up or down. We had 4 majors on the schedule which were bigger fields and tougher course conditions. There was also a point system awarded for each tournament and was just like the Fedex Cup point system. At the end of the season if you finished in the top 5 in points for your flight, you were eligible to go play in a national 3 round event at Hilton Head Island SC. Players came from all over the country from other tours just like ours. Money was also awarded every tournament for top 3 finishers in every flight which made it much more funner. Basically, its a way for us weekend golfers to play just like the pros do but with people of the same skill level. We played normal USGA rules and played in a foursome with 3 other players from the same flight. Overall, most guys were just like me and loved to play competitive golf. Some would drink all round and some would be all serious in the zone like Tiger LOL. Competitive golf is a different beast, its fun to get nervous and really test your game in that atmosphere.

Here are some articles for the other courses on your list. Pretty interesting reads on the history and layouts. Might help some of your buddies get to know what they are getting into haha! http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/pine-needles/ http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/mid-pines/ http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/tobacco-road-nc-usa/

Left-Golfer Thought you might enjoy this article on one of my favorite Donald Ross Courses in the Pinehurst area. So many people overlook this course when they come play golf here. I grew up playing this track and still call it The Elks Club even though its now The Southern Pines Golf Club. Just my way of trying to convince you not to play Tobacco Road http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/southern-pines-golf-club-nc-usa/

I bought my 2008 Titlesit AP1's off ebay last year for $125 used (the older versions are just as good as the new ones). And I sold my new 914 AP2's (the ones the pro's use) to play these instead. I'm a 4 handicap and i will never go back to the AP2's or MB's ever again, its like cheating how easy to hit and work these irons. If you want solid irons for the next few years like you said, consider the AP1's or AP2's you wont be disappointed.

Give the Titleist AP1 irons a try bud. Personally, I think they are one of the best irons ever made. Yea the newer models are nice! But i'm still playing the 2008 AP1's and i cant tell the difference other than looks. I have played the AP2's and MB's (similar to the Nike Pro Combos) which both are great if you are a perfect ball striker consistently. For your handicap i would recommend staying away from combo and blade style irons. Stick with something forgiving like the AP1's and get fitted before buy!!!!

Left-Golfer, Pinehurst local here. Thats a pretty nice line up you have there, should be a fun trip for you guys. The Magnolia course at Pinewild is a must play if you can get your group on, they host US Open qualifiers and many other events there yearly. The Holly course is more a members type track, still a good one but not of the same caliber as the Magnolia. Personally i would take Tobacco Road off that list, its such a tourist trap lol. Maybe consider...National like you said or any other of the Pinehurst resort tracks. Mid South, Legacy and The Elks club are solid courses. And go eat at Maxies in the village some of the best food in town and great atmosphere!!!

I played this set up all of golf season last year and it worked great for me. 10.5 Titleist 913 Driver with 17* and 21* 910 hybrids instead of the fairway woods. With the 17 degree hybrid, I put the loft on 16.25* and put a heavier/longer 90g shaft to make it feel more like a fairway wood off the tee. I also was able to hit it off the deck better than any 3 wood which made it more of a versatile club for me. I lost about 10 yds off the tee compared to my 3 wood but I use it waaaaaaay more through out the round than just off the tee. Plus hybrids are so much easier to hit!

Thanks for all the post and suggestions! I defiantly have a lot of information to get me started

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'm 31 years old, 6'1" tall and 220 lbs. After a recent Doctors visit, my blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels were all well above normal but not dangerously high. A combination of my diet, fitness and smoking are all the main contributors. I have got to start making some serious life changes, any help or advice would be much appreciated. To start, I have quit smoking and started walking 30 minutes twice a day. Does anyone have any suggestions on better routines, exercises or overall fitness regiments that would benefit my current health situation? Obviously the one round a week and range sessions aren't enough exercise! As far as diet goes, any suggestions on certain foods that will help me keep my weight and levels down to normal? or just any other advice on dieting would be helpful, Thanks!

My home course in Foxfire Village, North Carolina http://www.foxfireresortandgolf.com/

Boogielicious- I've lived in Pinehurst my whole life, played every course in the area many of times. Two of my favorites are the elks club and pine needles, I like the Donald Ross designs the most. So many great courses it's hard to pick.

Great post! Very helpful!