Play the Championship Courses of Pinehurst

Across the Sandhills, an extraordinary collection of golf courses has hosted championships conducted by the United States Golf Association. Some are among the most famous courses in America. Others are considerably less celebrated — and considerably easier to access. Together, they offer visiting golfers a chance to build an entire trip around courses where USGA champions have been crowned.

Naturally, the journey begins at Pinehurst No. 2.

But the USGA history here extends well beyond the Opens. No. 2 hosted the 1962 and 2008 U.S. Amateurs, the 1989 U.S. Women’s Amateur, the 1994 U.S. Senior Open and portions of the 2017 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and 2019 U.S. Amateur.

More are coming. The 2027 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 2038 U.S. Amateur are scheduled for No. 2, along with an extensive future USGA championship calendar stretching well into the 2040s.

What makes No. 2 particularly compelling for visitors is that the golf course they play is recognizably the one they watch during a U.S. Open. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s restoration, completed in 2011, removed acres of rough and returned sandy native areas, wiregrass and natural contours to Ross’ design.

And then there are the greens.

No. 2’s famous crowned putting surfaces make the approach game unlike almost anything most recreational golfers encounter at home. Shots that appear perfectly acceptable can trickle off into closely mown collection areas, leaving the same assortment of pitches, putts and bump-and-runs that torment the best players in the world.

Playing it requires planning. Pinehurst reserves advance tee times on No. 2 for members and overnight resort guests, making a Pinehurst golf package the surest route onto the course. Current resort packages allow guests to build No. 2 into a multi-round stay, generally with an additional course premium.

The course is a wonderful complement to No. 2. Both are Ross designs rooted in Sandhills terrain, but Pine Needles has its own rhythm and personality, rolling naturally across the property with elevation changes, strategic angles and greens that reward thoughtful approaches.

Kyle Franz completed an acclaimed restoration of Pine Needles in 2017, drawing upon Ross’ original plans and aerial photographs to restore bunkering, sandy native areas and strategic width.

Unlike many famous championship courses, Pine Needles remains wonderfully accessible to golf travelers. The resort offers seasonal stay-and-play packages that can include Pine Needles and its sister courses, Mid Pines and Southern Pines Golf Club. For a championship-themed trip, it makes an ideal base.

Franz oversaw a restoration completed in 2013 that returned the course to a more natural Sandhills presentation.

At less than modern championship length, Mid Pines demonstrates something important about great golf: difficulty and interest do not require enormous yardage. Uneven lies, changing elevations, thoughtful angles and Ross greens provide the defense.

For travelers, Mid Pines is also among the easiest historic championship courses to incorporate into a Sandhills itinerary. Packages through Mid Pines and Pine Needles allow golfers to rotate among the three Ross courses operated by the resorts.

Its place in Sandhills golf has also evolved. Legacy is now part of the Talamore Golf Resort family, joining Talamore and Mid South in a three-course collection. That makes it particularly easy for traveling groups to add a USGA championship venue without building an entire trip around one expensive marquee round.

No. 8, Tom Fazio’s 1996 centennial design, served alongside No. 2 during stroke play for the 2017 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. The course underwent a major restoration by Tom Fazio II and reopened in 2022 with reshaped bunkers, improved drainage and refreshed playing surfaces.

Then there is No. 6, a George and Tom Fazio design that became the stage for a different kind of USGA history. It hosted the first U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022 and welcomed the championship back in 2023, showcasing elite golfers with disabilities in what quickly became an important addition to the USGA championship calendar.

Like No. 2, these courses require Pinehurst membership or a resort stay for advance access, so golfers interested in playing them should plan them as part of their Pinehurst accommodations and golf package.

And CCNC is not finished. The USGA returns for the 2030 U.S. Senior Amateur and 2037 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Dogwood, originally designed by Ellis Maples and Willard Byrd, was renovated by Greensboro-based architect Kris Spence in 2016. The club launched another Spence-led project in 2026, investing approximately $2 million in expanded and improved practice facilities.

Because CCNC is private, it is not a conventional booking option for a visiting golfer. Access generally requires a member connection or participation in an event. But its championship history deserves a place on any complete accounting of USGA golf in the Sandhills.

Dormie is also private, operating as part of the national Dormie Network, so access is considerably different from booking a public resort round.

CCNC is the outlier because of its private status.

And between rounds, the USGA Experience and World Golf Hall of Fame at Golf House Pinehurst provide the logical companion stop. The USGA's second home sits beside Pinehurst Resort, placing the governing body’s history, artifacts and championship mission in the same community where so much of that history has unfolded.

That may ultimately be what separates Pinehurst from every other American golf destination.

You don't merely visit a U.S. Open course.

You can play No. 2, cross Midland Road to another four-time U.S. Women’s Open venue, tee it up on the sites of national amateur championships and trace generations of USGA history across a remarkably compact corner of the North Carolina Sandhills.

The scorecard you carry may be new.

The footsteps are anything but.