Count to Ten: Top Pinehurst Area Courses
Top 10 lists are always fun. Here is the first of three in the Sandhills golf universe to kick off 2025 based on one man’s humble opinions.
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 it’s even more special. It’s been an historical destination for over a century. There’s a special feeling — a feeling for golf and its tradition and history and longevity.”
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 of the world. There are no two places on earth where the senses are so saturated by golf. For all the traits they share, Pinehurst and its surrounding communities and St. Andrews with its web of proximate villages could be considered first cousins, perhaps even siblings. Yet their differences highlight how special and unique each destination is.
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 how courses are designed and maintained. Courses that two decades ago required golfers to ride a cart are leaving transportation to choice.