2025 N.C. Golf Panel Rankings

Pinehurst Area Also Boasts the Top Eight Courses You Can Play

Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state in the annual Top 100 rankings as determined by the North Carolina Golf Panel. The Dogwood Course at The Country Club of North Carolina retained its position at No. 3 while Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club and Quail Hollow – site of this year’s PGA Championship – swapped fourth and fifth place with the Southern Pines course dropping one spot. Eighteen courses from the Sandhills area are listed in the Top 100 rankings, including 14 among the Top 50.

Pinehurst No. 10 made its debut among the rankings at number 14 – the highest debut for any new course or a course breaking into the Top 100 in the history of the N.C. Golf Panel. The Tom Doak-designed course opened in April 2024 and was named “Best New Course” in the United States by Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated.

The North Carolina Golf Panel was founded in 1995 and is recognized as the most authoritative statewide source of golf course rankings in a state that boasts some of the nation’s best courses. The 185-member panel is composed of golf media, club professionals and general managers from many outstanding courses, accomplished amateur players and college golf coaches, and others who play an active role in promoting golf in North Carolina.

“The level and number of quality golf courses in the Sandhills region is why we are known as the Home of American Golf,” said Phil Werz, president and CEO for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “With the success of last year’s U.S. Open, the debut of Pinehurst No. 10 and the stature of several other courses in our destination, we are without a doubt one of the best golf getaways around.”

Among the 2025 rankings of the Top 100 Courses in North Carolina, a total of 19 are located in the Pinehurst area. Those rankings include: Pinehurst No. 2 (#1); The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood, #3); Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club (#5); Pinehurst No. 4 (#11); CCNC (Cardinal, #12); Pinehurst No. 10 (#14); Pinehurst No. 8 (#16); Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club (#25); Dormie Club (#27); Pinehurst No. 9 (#35); Forest Creek Golf Club (South, #36); Mid South Club (#38); Forest Creek Golf Club (North, #39); Pinehurst No. 7 (#49); Southern Pines Golf Club (#70); Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia, #75); Talamore Golf Club (#77); Tot Hill Farm (#95) and Longleaf Golf & Family Club (#98).

The panel also ranked the Top 60 Courses You Can Play and the Pinehurst area once again dominated the list with 16 locations, or more than 25 percent of the clubs, including the top eight and exactly half of the top 20. The top eight include Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst No. 10, Pinehurst No. 8, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 9 and Mid South Club. Pinehurst No. 7 is 13th. Other golf clubs among the Top 60 You Can Play include Southern Pines Golf Club (#20); Talamore Golf Club (#24); Tot Hill Farm (#32); Longleaf Golf & Family Club (#34); Pinehurst No. 6 (#44); Tobacco Road Golf Club (#45) and Legacy Golf Links (#49).

“The Pinehurst area is like a fantasyland if you play golf and have an appreciation for great courses,” said Kevin Brafford, executive director of the N.C. Golf Panel. “It would be akin to a fan of ballparks being able to see Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium all in one city. That’s how blessed we are.”

Pinehurst No. 2 will host additional U.S. Open championships in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. In 2029, Pinehurst No. 2 will once again host back-to-back men’s and women’s U.S. Open championships, a repeat of the only course in America to host that tandem of historic events in 2014.

For more information about all golf courses in the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area, visit HomeofGolf.com. For the complete list of the Top 100 Courses for 2025, Top 60 Courses You Can Play and other rankings, visit NCGolfPanel.com. Or, for additional coverage, pick up the April issue of Business N.C. magazine.

Top 100 Courses for 2025 (second number is previous year’s ranking)

1. 1. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst

2. 2. Grandfather Golf and Country Club, Linville

3. 3. The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst

4. 5. Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte

5. 4. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club

6. 6. Elk River Club, Banner Elk

7. 8. Old Town Club, Winston-Salem

8. 9. Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro

9. 10. Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham

10. 11. Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst

11. 15. Old North State Club, New London

12. 12. The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst

13. 7. Mountaintop Golf and Lake Club, Cashiers

14. N/R Pinehurst No. 10, Aberdeen

15. 14. Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington

16. 13. Pinehurst, No. 8, Pinehurst

17. 16. Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte

18. 17. Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh

19. 22. Forsyth Country Club, Winston-Salem

20. 18. Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington

21. 20. River Landing (River), Wallace

22. 19. MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary

23. 25. Rock Barn Country Club (Jones), Conover

24. 26. Governors Club, Chapel Hill

25. 21. Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, Southern Pines

26. 23. Country Club of Landfall (Dye), Wilmington

27. 24. Dormie Club, West End

28. 27. Country Club of Landfall (Nicklaus), Wilmington

29. 35. Treyburn Country Club, Durham

30. 29. Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville

31. 30. Starmount Forest Country Club, Greensboro

32. 31. River Landing (Landing), Wallace

33. 28. Prestonwood Country Club (Highlands), Cary

34. 34. Champion Hills Club, Hendersonville

35. 33. Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst

36. 32. Forest Creek Golf Club (South), Pinehurst

37. 36. The Club at Longview, Waxhaw

38. 37. Mid South Club, Southern Pines

39. 39. Forest Creek Golf Club (North), Pinehurst

40. 40. Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte

41. 42. Bryan Park (Champions), Browns Summit

42. 48. Occano, Merry Hill

43. 38. Linville Golf Club, Linville

44. 44. High Point Country Club (Willow Creek), High Point

45. 45. Greensboro Country Club (Farm), Greensboro

46. 46. Grandover (East), Greensboro

47. 47. Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill

48. 41. Trump National Golf Club, Mooresville

49. 49. Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst

50. 51. Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro

51. 50, Hound Ears Club, Boone

52. 52. Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh

53. N/R Waynesville Inn & Golf Club, Waynesville

54. 53. Country Club of Asheville, Asheville

55. 62. Ballantyne Country Club, Charlotte

56. 56. Duke University Golf Club, Durham

57. 55. The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Greensboro

58. 54. The Hasentree Club, Wake Forest

59. 58. Mimosa Hills Golf Club, Morganton

60. 59. Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington

61. 57. Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head Island

62. N/R The Club at 12 Oaks, Holly Springs

63. 61. The Currituck Club, Corolla

64. 64. Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro

65. 65. Carolina Country Club, Raleigh

66. 60. Gaston Country Club, Gastonia

67. 68. Cedarwood Country Club, Charlotte

68. 63. Hope Valley Country Club, Durham

69. 66. Prestonwood Country Club (Meadows), Cary

70. 69. Southern Pines Golf Club, Southern Pines

71. 70. High Meadows Country Club, High Meadows

72. 71. Grandover (West) Greensboro

73. 73. Blowing Rock Country Club, Blowing Rock

74. N/R Springdale Resort, Canton

75. 67. Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia), Pinehurst

76. 72. Crows Creek Golf Club, Calabash

77. 74. Croasdaile Country Club, Durham

78. 77. Talamore Golf Resort, Southern Pines

79. 75. Alamance Country Club, Burlington

80. N/R Kenmure Country Club, Flat Rock

81. 84. Carmel Country Club (South), Charlotte

82. 89. Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point

83. 82. Providence Country Club, Charlotte

84. 85. Mill Creek Golf Club, Mebane

85. 76. Bright’s Creek Club, Mill Spring

86. 79. Jefferson Landing, Jefferson

87. 80. The Club at Irish Creek, Mooresville

88. N/R Mooresville Golf Club, Morresville

89. 86. Tanglewood Park (Championship), Clemmons

90. 87. Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach

91. 78. Leopard’s Chase, Sunset Beach

92. 88. Crystal Coast Country Club, Pine Knoll Shores

93. 90. Linville Ridge, Linville

94. 91. The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh

95. N/R Tot Hill Farm, Asheboro

96. 92. Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville

97. 94. Deep Springs Country Club, Stoneville

98. N/R Longleaf Golf & Family Club, Southern Pines

99. 97. Morehead City Country Club, Morehead City

100. 98. Bermuda Run Country Club (East), Bermuda Run

The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In 2023, Moore County ranked as the tenth largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $805 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county.

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Read more on Pinehurst and the top 100 courses for 2025 here!