Looking to play one of the top golf regions in the world, with great courses stacked alongside great courses? Look no further than Pinehurst, North Carolina.
From classic dream layouts to modern works of art, there are a dozen courses within a half-hour’s drive of Pinehurst that rank among the top 20 public-access courses in North Carolina.
For this exercise, we used Google Maps and punched in each course as of a Saturday morning to determine drive times. And included with this list is a general map of where to find all these courses. Each one on the list below is represented with a number on the map – keep scrolling to see the numbers.
And keep in mind, the numbers represent how the courses are ranked, and it can become a bit confusing as the courses at the famed Pinehurst Resort are named numerically. For example, Pinehurst No. 2 ranks No. 1 on this list, and it appears accordingly as No. 1 on the map.
Included with each course is its position in North Carolina on the Golfweek’s Best public-access list. For any course that appears on our other popular rankings lists, those positions are included as well.
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A little background: The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
The courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or casino, by staying at an affiliated hotel or purchasing a golf vacation package. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required, although Pinewild Country Club is a special case on this list with an editor’s note below.
12. Pinehurst (No. 6)
Where: Pinehurst
State ranking 2023: No. 20 among public-access courses in North Carolina
Designer: George Fazio, Tom Fazio
Distance: About a 9-minute drive northeast of Pinehurst
11. Pinewild (Magnolia)
Where: Pinehurst
State ranking 2023: No. 19 among public-access courses in North Carolina
Designer: Gene Hamm
Distance: About an 8-minute drive west of Pinehurst
Editor’s note: Pinewild is mostly a private club, but it does offer golf packages. Contact the club for information.
10. Pinehurst (No. 7)
Where: Pinehurst
State ranking 2023: No. 14 among public-access courses in North Carolina
Designer: Rees Jones
Distance: About a 5-minute drive southeast of Pinehurst
9. Talamore (Mid South)
Where: Southern Pines
State ranking 2023: No. 13 among public-access courses in North Carolina
Designer: Arnold Palmer
Distance: About a 9-minute drive east of Pinehurst
8. Pinehurst (No. 9)
Where: Pinehurst
State ranking 2023: No. 12 among public-access courses in North Carolina
Designer: Jack Nicklaus
Distance: About a 7-minute drive east of Pinehurst
7. Southern Pines Golf Club
Where: Southern Pines
State ranking 2023: No. 9 among public-access courses in North Carolina
Designer: Donald Ross (Kyle Franz restoration)
Distance: About a 12-minute drive southeast of Pinehurst
6. Pinehurst (No. 8)
Where: Pinehurst
State ranking 2023: No. 7 among public-access courses in North Carolina; No. 74 among resort courses in the U.S.
Designer: Tom Fazio
Distance: About a 6-minute drive north of of Pinehurst
5. Tobacco Road
Where: Sanford
State ranking 2023: No. 6 among public-access courses in North Carolina; tied for No. 60 among resort courses in the U.S.; tied for No. 79 among public-access courses in the U.S.
Designer: Mike Strantz
Distance: About a 30-minute drive northeast of Pinehurst
4. Pine Needles
Where: Southern Pines
State ranking 2023: No. 4 among public-access courses in North Carolina; tied for No. 151 among all classic courses in the U.S.; No. 47 among resort courses in the U.S.; tied for No. 62 among public-access courses in the U.S.
Designer: Donald Ross (Kyle Franz restoration)
Distance: About a 10-minute drive east of Pinehurst
3. Mid Pines
Where: Southern Pines
State ranking 2023: No. 3 among public-access courses in North Carolina; tied for No. 123 among all classic courses in the U.S.; tied for No. 35 among resort courses in the U.S.; tied for No. 47 among public-access courses in the U.S.
Designer: Donald Ross (Kyle Franz restoration)
Distance: About a 10-minute drive east of Pinehurst
2. Pinehurst (No. 4)
Where: Pinehurst
State ranking 2023: No. 2 among public-access courses in North Carolina; tied for No. 93 among all modern courses in the U.S.; No. 29 resort course in the U.S.; No. 36 public-access course in the U.S.
Designer: Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner
Distance: In Pinehurst
1. Pinehurst (No. 2)
Where: Pinehurst
State ranking 2023: No. 1 among public-access courses in North Carolina; No. 17 among all classic courses in the U.S.; No. 3 resort course in the U.S.; No. 3 public-access course in the U.S.
Designer: Donald Ross (Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw restoration)
Distance: In Pinehurst
