On the Golf Trail

Golf Trail

Welcome to the Home of American Golf!

Follow the Home of American Golf Trail to visit the highlights of golf in the Sandhills. The impact of golf starts centuries ago and continues to be a main attraction for visitors. With more than 40 golf courses in the area, golf is the essence of the Sandhills.

 

Accessibility:

This trail will best be explored in your personal vehicle with various stops.

 

USGA Golf House Pinehurst & Golf Experience

The USGA officially opening its second headquarters in the village of Pinehurst in late December 2023. More affectionately known as “HQ2,” this USGA complex houses administrative offices, testing center, welcome center and World Golf Hall of Fame, among other amenities. It is located on the Pinehurst Country Club campus on the south side of the circle between the club and the Carolina Hotel. Photo courtesy of the USGA.

 

Accessibility:

The USGA Experience is a 2-story experience, elevators available.  Paved grounds and parking area with accessible parking.

USGA Golf House Pinehurst
USGA Golf Hall of Fame

Opened just prior to the 2024 U.S. Open in June, the WGHOF is making a return to its original home in Pinehurst. The USGA has deep experience in collecting and preserving golf history. The facility will be very convenient for visitors, resort guests and golfers. Displays will be created with flexibility to change them periodically, so an ever-evolving experience for all.

 

Accessibility:

This is a 2-story experience, elevators available.  Paved grounds and parking area with accessible parking.

Golf Hall of Fame
Carolinas Golf Association Hall of Fame
Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame

The Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) Hall of History is located inside the organization’s headquarters Southern Pines across the street from Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club. The museum is free and open to the public during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Learn about our amateurs like Bill Joe Patton and Bill Harvey along with PGA professionals like Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Jay Haas and Lucas Glover, who all have Carolina roots.

Accessibility:

Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame
Thistle Dhu

1919 when James Wells Barber completed construction of a course on his Pinehurst estate in Moore County that the game most Americans would recognize today as miniature golf came into being this course would be name as Thistle Dhu and would be the first in miniature golf course. A perfect warm-up before a round, wind-down afterward or just a fun way to let the family share in one’s love of golf, Thistle Dhu is an 18-hole putting course made to make memories on. There are 18 greens here, but no greens fees, so any resort guest can simply bring a putter, drop a ball and take their chances aiming for pin after pin.

 

Accessibility:

Park at: 1 Carolina Vista Dr, Pinehurst, NC 28374

Accessible parking available. Paved road from the parking lot to the paved sidewalk, flat greens for playing.

First Mini-Golf Course
Double Eagle Indoor Golf Simulator

For golf enthusiasts, there is no off-season. Find your fairway at Pinehurst’s first indoor golf facility and sports bar. Play at the world’s finest courses indoors.

 

Accessibility:

Accessible parking available. Paved road from the parking lot to Double Eagle. Large open space for maneuvering around inside. Simulators are wheelchair accessible.

Indoor Golf
Pine Needles

Home to several U.S. Women’s Opens and known for its superior golf instruction, cozy ambiance and immaculate Donald Ross course, Pine Needles lives up to its reputation as a sanctuary of excellence.

 

Accessibility:

Accessible parking available. Paved road from the parking lot to entrance, some elevation slight shifts on the property.

 

 

 

Pine Needles
Golf Pride Retail Lab

A first of its kind, the Retail Lab in Golf Pride’s state-of-the-art Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Pinehurst, NC, has opened just inside the entrance to Pinehurst No. 8 golf course.

Accessibility:

Accessible parking available. Paved road from the parking lot to entrance.

Golf Pride Retail Lab
Bottlebrush Course at Longleaf

Bottlebrush is a six-hole par 3 course located on the grounds of Longleaf Golf & Family Club. One of the first such “short courses” in the region, the holes range from 50 to 100 yards in length and offers a wide variety of well-contoured and picturesque holes to challenge any player, and also be enjoyable and playable for all.

The Bill Bergin designed layout keeps in place a white furlong fence that was once part of the horse track and farm that encompassed the property. The nod to history is part of the charm, but so is the commitment to the future, as you’ll often find families and young players enjoying time together improving their skills, in fun competition, and mostly, just loving taking part in the game.

Accessibility:

Accessible parking available. Paved road from the parking lot to entrance, slight grade change in the parking lot.

Bottlebrush
Area Golf Courses

With more than 40 courses to choose from there is a choice for every one.

Area Golf Courses
Wee Pines at Olmsted Village

Opened in Spring 2024, Wee Pines at Olmsted Village is the only mini golf course in Moore County. Wee Pines is a classic design, featuring 36 holes, 18 of which are ADA compliant, a water hole, and giant boulders. All ages welcome and fun for the entire family.

Accessibility:

Accessible parking available. Paved road from the parking lot to entrance.

Both courses are ADA Compliant.

Wee Pines Mini Golf

Selfie Moments with Golf Legends
Payne Stewart
Donald Ross
Putter Boy
USGA Officially Opens Golf House Pinehurst
The United States Golf Association (USGA) today officially opened Golf House Pinehurst, its seven-acre campus located footsteps from the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club main clubhouse. The new location includes the organization’s equipment-testing and research
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Architect’s Mosaic
“Getting the No. 6 job was a major step for us in the golf-design business,” Tom Fazio says of the mid-1970s assignment to build the resort’s first course away from its core operation in the
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Count to Ten
Tom Doak was bitten by the golf bug as a youngster growing up in Stamford, Conn., first playing a local municipal course and then tagging along on his father’s business trips to esteemed golf destinations
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Rebirth at Woodlake
A.B. Hardee was going to bring the ocean to the Sandhills. He was going to build a lake and a dam and install a wave-making machine on some swampy property in northeast Moore County. You
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Pinehurst No. 2 Continues to Lead the Way in 2024
Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst Resort will host the 2024 U.S. Open at
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Sandhills Pours Double Dose
They came from across the Eastern states and even the Midwest on a crisp morning in October 2023, these aficionados of the golf course artistry of Mike Strantz. The venue was Tot Hill Farm, the
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The Dynamic Decade
The last decade has seen an explosion in innovation in the golf and hospitality worlds. By June 2024, the Sandhills will have seen the launch and evolution of these top 10 stories for the last
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A Dozen Master Strokes
No doubt the 20-footer Payne Stewart drained on the last shot of the 1999 U.S. Open is the most famous shot in a century and a quarter of golf in the Sandhills. But there have
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Hall of Fame Take Two
This new, six-acre Golf House Pinehurst complex, just steps away from the opening tee shot on Pinehurst No. 2, features the USGA Experience Building and World Golf Hall of Fame.
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Sandhills Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame arrives this spring. There is no Sandhills Golf Hall of Fame. But what if there were? Who might comprise the inaugural class of honorees? A dozen of must-haves could
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Payne at 25
To the left of the putting green on Pinehurst No. 2’s 18th hole stands a bronze statue of Payne Stewart. The champion of the 1999 U.S. Open, the first ever held at Pinehurst, was captured
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A U.S. Open Year
The Pinehurst elixir is two-fold. The village and club offer a blend of history and aesthetics and devotion to the game of golf that set a perfect table for such a competitive feast.
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Golfers Gift Guide
The American national championship is the big story in 2024, so of course the pro shop at Pinehurst is stocked with merchandise adorned by the Open logo.
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Pinehurst Holiday
On December 25th, there was Santa Claus. On the 27th, there was Donald Ross.
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A “New” Pinehurst Welcomes the World in 2024
Even if you’ve made a recent visit to the Sandhills region of North Carolina — the “Home of American Golf,” Pinehurst, along with the bourgeoning Southern Pines and Aberdeen areas — you will quickly discover
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An Artist in the Dirt
Tom Fazio was working at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, in the mid-1970s on some course renovations leading up to the 1979 U.S. Open when he noticed an ambitious and talented member of the course
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Act Two for Tot Hill Farm
If Mike Strantz hadn’t died from tongue cancer in 2005 at the young age of 50, would he ever have made it to Pinehurst proper to design a golf course? We’ll never know, of course,
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Loving Our Black & Whites
A vintage photograph showing Pinehurst owner Richard Tufts seated on a bench beside architect Donald Ross taken in the 1940s had long captured Tom Pashley’s fancy. Here was Tufts, third generation of the Pinehurst founding
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Pinehurst Major-itis
The eight trophies sit in a glass display case at the east end of Heritage Hall in the Pinehurst Resort Clubhouse. To one side is the outside veranda and then the 18th green of Pinehurst
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When They Were Young
Ben Hogan was a 30-year-old journeyman when the PGA Tour came to Pinehurst in March 1940. Hogan had been playing for eight years and didn’t have a win to show for it. He was out
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Sleepy Summers No More
“It was sleepy during the summer for sure,” says Peggy Bell Miller, daughter of Warren and Peggy Kirk Bell. “All the staff went to Myrtle Beach. There was no business during the summer.” But, that
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Kid You Not
Dan Van Horn was an engineer living in Atlanta and raising a family of three in the mid-1990s when it struck him how well the baseball equipment industry addressed the youth market and how poorly
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Rock the Village
Pinehurst Business Partners, in collaboration with the Village of Pinehurst and the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, is thrilled to announce Rock the Village, an extraordinary art installation project designed to
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1999 U.S. Open: A Look Back
A U.S. Open at Pinehurst seems old hat now. In about a year, the esteemed No. 2 course will be the venue for its fourth rendition of America’s national championship, following 1999 (won by Payne
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2024 U.S. Open: A Look Ahead
The Village of Pinehurst, the broader Sandhills community and the revered No. 2 course are officially in countdown mode as the calendar swings to one year out from the 2024 U.S. Open. Where did 10
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X Marks the 10-Spot
The Pinehurst Resort wanted to open its 10th course around the time Donald Ross’s masterpiece No. 2 hosts its fourth U.S. Open in June 2024. Tom Pashley, the resort’s president, contacted Doak in mid-2022, and
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Pinehurst No. 2 Still Ranked Best Course in NC
Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst Resort will host the 2024 U.S. Open at
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Golf Pride Retail Lab a must-see experience for your Pinehurst itinerary
That connection is a recurring theme around Golf Pride’s 36,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Global Innovation Center and headquarters, which debuted in 2019 near the entrance of Pinehurst Resort’s No. 8 course.
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A Few of Our Favorite (Golfing) Things
As we like to say around the Home of American Golf, “When the dogleg bites, when the bogey stings, when we’re feeling sad, we simply remember our favorite things, and then we don’t feel so
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Southern Pines Golf Club Recognized
Southern Pines Golf Club, an original Donald Ross designed golf course built in 1906, has been recognized by raters from Golf Digest as one of the best renovation projects for 2022.
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Pinehurst Resort Announces New Course to be Designed by Tom Doak
Pinehurst Resort has announced that it will be creating a brand-new golf courses for the first time in 28 years. Pinehurst No. 10 is set to open in 2024 and will be designed by acclaimed
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Coore & Crenshaw Roots Run Deep
Golf architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw each have a significant tie to the Sandhills and Pinehurst No. 2 from their respective early days in golf. Coore was born in 1946 and grew up in
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The Hanse Touch
Gil Hanse launched his golf design firm in 1993 and for nearly two decades carved a niche doing restoration work on classic courses across the United States, among them Merion, Winged Foot, Fishers Island, The
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Jones Family Imprint
Jones Family Imprint Across The Sandhills of North Carolina with favorite courses such as Pinehurst No. 7 and CCNC's Cardinal Course.
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The Big Three
It made for a great story in the heady days of the late-1980s golf boom: Arnie and Jack battling it out once again, staking their immense abilities and reputations face-to-face as they’d done so many
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Pinehurst Area Buzzing with 2023 Excitement
Headed into 2023, there’s a palpable buzz pulsing throughout North Carolina’s Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen area — or as it is more globally recognized, the “Home of American Golf.”Golf around Pinehurst boasts a storied
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Maples Roots Run Deep in Sandhills Golf Design
“For me, Pinehurst is such a special place for golf,” says Fazio, who at 77 is still designing new courses and working on renovations of his earlier works. “Put Donald Ross in the equation and
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“For me, Pinehurst is such a special place for golf!”- Tom Fazio
“For me, Pinehurst is such a special place for golf,” says Fazio, who at 77 is still designing new courses and working on renovations of his earlier works. “Put Donald Ross in the equation and
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Talamore Resort Debuts New Toptracer Range
Autumn around the Village of Pinehurst area is the most popular time of year for a golf vacation. This fall, guests at Talamore Golf Resort in the “Home of American Golf” will be able to
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What Goes Around…
The World Golf Fame will move back to Pinehurst and be located on the second floor of the new Golf House Pinehurst facility the USGA is building on land adjacent to the Pinehurst Resort &
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Fall into Pinehurst Golf
Fall around the Home of American Golf may be the most enticing season of all, when there’s a nip in the air on the first tee and you’re out of your pullover by the turn.
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Pinehurst No. 2
No Resting on Laurels Around the Home of American Golf
Calling these “the best of times” around the Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen area of North Carolina might seem like it’s saying a lot, but sometimes the shoe simply fits. Just take a look at
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Donald Ross
Donald Ross Could Golf His Ball
Anyone who has ever teed it up in the Pinehurst area knows the name Donald Ross. A transplanted Scot, Donald Ross fused his home course knowledge (Royal Dornoch and its elevated, contoured greens) and his
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St. Andrews Clubhouse
From Cradle to Cradle
Nothing in 30 years has changed my early opinions: Pinehurst is the spiritual home of golf in the United States and St. Andrews the spiritual home of golf in Scotland — and for the rest
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Waltzing on the Danube with Peggy Kirk Bell
Twenty-five years ago, I drew one of those assignments that happen in life — to the fortunate few. As a senior editor at LINKS magazine, I signed on to document the first golf cruise put
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Grande Dame of Women’s Golf
Peggy Kirk Bell’s influence around the Sandhills, and on the game of golf, will be on full display during the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles.
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Pine Needles Goes Back in Time
Following a restoration that took it back to its original Donald Ross design, Pine Needles will look and play much different than it did during its last U.S. Women’s Open in 2007.
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The New Course at Talamore
Talamore Doing More for 2022
The popular resort in the Home of American Golf has numerous enhancements and new amenities arriving soon, including a Toptracer Range, cutting-edge EcoBunkers and a 15,000-square foot putting course.
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Foxfire Red Fox Course
Undiscovered Pinehurst
The history of golf in the Sandhills of North Carolina practically writes itself. National championships, titans of the game, legendary architects and award-winning golf course designs, all have their place in Pinehurst and the surrounding
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Talamore and Mid South: History of Their Own
Tucked between the century-plus traditions of Pinehurst three miles to the west and Mid Pines one mile to the east, two 1990s era courses have established golfing bona fides of their own.
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Dormie Club’s New Era
Bill Coore remembers walking the property of what would become Dormie Club around 2006 before engineers had delineated any wetlands on the land northwest of the Village of Pinehurst.
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Tobacco Road Golf Club - Sunset
Nature’s Canvas: Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road is one of the Home of American Golf area’s most distinctive golf courses. It’s appropriate then that the club has one of the most cutting-edge social media presences.
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Tobacco Road Golf Club - Fairway
Remarkable Golf Stays in The Pinehurst Area
While the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area of North Carolina boasts some of the best golf courses in the country, the variety of living quarters to enjoy during your stay is just as numerous.
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Pinehurst No. 2, Hole 18
2004 Ryder Cup That Wasn’t
With the 2023 Ryder Cup on tap for later in September in Italy, it’s fun and perhaps a bit revealing to hark back to Pinehurst’s two Ryder Cups — the one in 1951 that did
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Pinehurst No. 2, Hole 18
No. 2 Celebrates 10 Years
Ripping out grass on a U.S. Open golf course was, indeed, an extremist move. But Pinehurst owner Robert Dedman Jr., CEO Don Padgett II, and architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were willing 11 years
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Pinehurst’s Ryder Cup 1951
The PGA of America brought the 1951 Ryder Cup to Pinehurst No. 2 for the ninth rendition of the event launched in 1927 and originally sponsored by English seed merchant and entrepreneur Samuel Ryder.
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Southern Pines Golf Club Flagstick
Fall Renewal in the Sandhills
This fall, there is a sense of rebirth around the Home of American Golf.
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Lee Pace Tom Pashley Pinehurst No. 4
Sandhills Embraces Walking Culture
For those who prefer to sling a bag over their shoulders, push a trolley or hire a caddie, the pendulum is swinging back in the early 2020s, both in how the game is played and
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Episode 2: Golf Tips with Nick Bradley
In this golf tip, Nick talks about a simple 100-110 yard wedge shot that at times may not be so simple. Maybe it is a well protected green with bunkers where the ball must fly
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Episode 1: Golf Tips with Nick Bradley
In an exclusive series with the Home of American Golf, world-renowned golf instructor Nick Bradley provides valuable golf tips for you to improve your enjoyment of the game.
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Mason's Nashville Hot Chicken Biscuit
Hunger Games – Sandhills Golfers Dining Guide
Memorable rounds at the Home of American Golf are fueled by great eats at breakfast, lunch, and dinner with dining and libations as varied and impressive as the area’s storied courses. Planning for early morning
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Tobacco Road 15th Green
“Bermuda Revolution” Around Sandhills Leads to Ideal Year-Round Golf
Many Sandhills area golf courses have converted their green complexes from bent grass to Bermuda over the past decade, creating greens that are perfect for putting.
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Top 10 Places for a #Sandhills Selfie
Boasting an abundance of picturesque spaces and memorable places, Moore County — including the Southern Pines, Pinehurst, and Aberdeen communities — serves up plenty of opportunities for a #SandhillsSelfie. In 1996, Pinehurst was designated a
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SP Golf Club Hole 18
Franz Part 3: On Sandhills Topography
In part 3 of a multi-part Q&A series with golf writer Brad King, Kyle Franz discusses the unique topography around the Sandhills and what it was like working at Southern Pines Golf Club during one
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Bird's eye view of Village of Pinehurst
First Timer’s Guide to Pinehurst
Welcome to the Home of American Golf! The Sandhills of North Carolina are anchored by the towns of Pinehurst, Southern Pines, and Aberdeen. Although most visitors come here to play 18 holes, and there is
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Franz Part 2: The Legacy Continues
In part 2 of a multi-part Q&A series with golf writer Brad King, Kyle Franz discusses the various eras of Ross’s design work around the Sandhills and how Ross’s golf course design work compares to
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Bottlebrush: Pinehurst Area’s Best Kept Secret
Bottlebrush, a six-hole par three course at Longleaf Golf & Family Club, is perhaps the best kept secret for golf in the Sandhills of North Carolina.
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Kyle Franz
Franz Creating Legacy on the Links
With his ongoing improvement project at Southern Pines Golf Club, architect Kyle Franz is coming full circle renovating a variety of Donald Ross-designed golf courses in North Carolina’s Sandhills region.
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Finn Scooters at Pine Needles
Spring Primer: Local Knowledge from the Home of American Golf
The Home of American Golf stands more than ready to shine this spring, and when planning your spring visit to the Pinehurst area, this important local knowledge might make your trip even more memorable.
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Midland Road: The “Fifth Avenue of Golf”
Offering groundbreaking golf designs and insight into the history of the game, including U.S. Opens and Ryder Cups, Midland Road has rightfully earned its nickname: The “Fifth Avenue of Golf”
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18 Holes of Local Knowledge for the Sandhills Golfer
Navigating the “Home of American Golf” can be an enjoyable pastime for those who love the game. Allow us to make your life a little easier — and your trip a bit more enjoyable —
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CCNC Dogwood
Donald Ross First of Many Architects to Design U.S. Open-Quality Courses in Sandhills
As the “Home of American Golf,” the Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen area has long held close ties with the U.S. Open. This is the final of a three-part series detailing some of our area’s
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Mid South Clubhouse
Former U.S. Open Champions Provide Pinehurst Area Some of Its Finest Designs
In and around the North Carolina Sandhills, some of the finest golf course design creativity by a trio of legendary former U.S. Open champions — Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player — is on
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Home of American Golf and U.S. Open Connections
As the “Home of American Golf,” the Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen area has long held close ties with the U.S. Open. This is the first of a three-part series detailing some of our area’s
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Carolinas Golf Association Hall of History
The Home of American Golf Is filled with so much history, that’s why any visit to the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area must include a tour of the Carolinas Golf Association Hall of History.
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Tobacco Road: A Truly Unique Golf Adventure
Any golf excursion to the Home of American Golf usually includes the obvious choices – Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst No. 4, Pine Needles, Mid Pines, and perhaps Mid South and Talamore. For the record, there
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The Drum & Quill in Pinehurst, NC
Our Favorite 19th Holes in the Home of American Golf
Among the things that we particularly enjoy around the Sandhills are a round of golf followed by an ice-cold brew. We thought this would be the perfect time to celebrate some of the area’s most
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Insider Golf Tips
From the latest golf tip videos from some of the area’s best pros, to some insider scoop on what’s happening at the area’s courses, check out the latest below as you plan your getaway to
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