Pinehurst Trip Report

Just got home from an epic and incredibly HOT trip to Pinehurst and the area. Needless to say it was awesome even when the caliber of the play wasn't haha! I wanted to pass along a few thoughts. First of all #2 exceeded my every expectation and it is in US open conditions according to one of their caddies. It is as pure and beautiful as it gets and no picture or video can give you perspective on how awesome the routing and elevation is or how incredible difficult those greens are. It is like like playing a museum piece. No trip to the area would be right without playing and walking #2.

The overall feel at Pinehurst is extremely welcoming and everyone is very nice. Reminded me of St. Andrews in that everything revolved around the game. We were all a little surprised at the age of people in the area. We are in our mid 30s and realized it was somewhat of a place where people retire but there were very few people anywhere our age that weren't working at the courses. We stayed one night in the Holly Inn and the rest of the time at the Magnolia. Both inns were extremely welcoming and laid back. I believe the group all had Pine Needles as our next favorite course. Every hole is a treat and the conditions right now are a 10/10. Personally from there I enjoyed Mid-Pines more than Tobacco Road and #8. Tobacco Road is in a class of its own and really hard to compare to any other golf course. It is like going on a golf adventure. Cradle is a must do.!

I may be in the minority, and it could be because it was our last round and we were exhausted but I was a little underwhelmed by #8. The greens were perfect and rolling at least a 12 but the layout itself in my opinion, came in last to the other courses played.

A couple of recommendations for the area we all enjoyed for food/drink, Pinehurst brewery is worth a visit, Greek restaurant in the village is great!, Ten-Ya in village has excellent sushi. The Deuce at the resort is worth several visits just to drink a cocktail and look out at #2. Curt's Cuccina was a very good italian meal. Drum and Quill was a fun pub to visit and watch golf. Visit the Old Golf shop for some good conversations and look at golf relics. Here are a few pics: !

Nice summary and pics. I'm headed there tomorrow with golf on Tuesday-Friday. I'm a West-coaster so hot to me is the desert - no humidity. How was the humidity on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being horrible? Thanks!

> @slocagolfer said:

> Nice summary and pics. I'm headed there tomorrow with golf on Tuesday-Friday. I'm a West-coaster so hot to me is the desert - no humidity. How was the humidity on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being horrible? Thanks!

Coming from Louisiana I know something about humidity! I would say last week it was a solid 8/10. But I think this week’s forecast is going to be much nicer than what we had . Drink water constantly and start the day with a Gatorade. Enjoy and let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for sharing. I'm heading there in mid-July. Mid Pines is showing aerification rates for that time. I'm wondering if you think it would be worth putting up with aerated greens there or would the day be better spent elsewhere. Already planning to play #2, #4 and hopefully Dormie Club.

> @sisk61 said:

> Thanks for sharing. I'm heading there in mid-July. Mid Pines is showing aerification rates for that time. I'm wondering if you think it would be worth putting up with aerated greens there or would the day be better spent elsewhere. Already planning to play #2, #4 and hopefully Dormie Club.

I would play Pine Needles if they aren't doing maintenance. In my opinion the conditioning was superior and it is more of a championship course. Also, right across street from Mid Pines.

Sounds like a great trip, glad it worked out well for y'all. I haven't been to Theo's (the Greek place) for years, good to know its still doing well I remember the saganaki there, flaming greek cheese. I'm impressed y'all found Curt's, we don't tell too many golf tourists about that one.

It was a great trip, hopefully we will return one day. Curt’s was awesome. If i lived there i would eat there often

> @tacrispy said:

> > @slocagolfer said:

> > Nice summary and pics. I'm headed there tomorrow with golf on Tuesday-Friday. I'm a West-coaster so hot to me is the desert - no humidity. How was the humidity on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being horrible? Thanks!

>

> Coming from Louisiana I know something about humidity! I would say last week it was a solid 8/10. But I think this week’s forecast is going to be much nicer than what we had . Drink water constantly and start the day with a Gatorade. Enjoy and let me know if you have any other questions.

We hit some good weather. Warm, but not too hot. A bit of humidity - I had to towel my hands dry a number of times on day 3. We avoided any rain but it was high clouds which kept the temperature within reason. When the sun came behind the clouds it heated up but felt comfortable. Really perfect as far as I was concerned.

We played 8, 5, 2, and 4. Four was my favorite and 2 kicked me hard. Loved it though. Had a great caddie that made putting so much better than the first two days. All of us were commenting on how difficult it was to read the greens. I'd see it left and it would go right. "Huh," was the word of the day.

Wonderful place. Sure glad this California boy could play these iconic courses.

Pinehurst is great. #2 is very nice but nowhere near the price charged. Haven’t played #4 since the redo but looking forward too. You can have the rest of the resort courses. Agree on Pine Needles as second best course and Dormie is worth a go. You either love or hate Tobacco Road. I’m in the not so good camp as it’s tricked up. Worth deciding on your own.

> @sisk61 said:

> Thanks for sharing. I'm heading there in mid-July. Mid Pines is showing aerification rates for that time. I'm wondering if you think it would be worth putting up with aerated greens there or would the day be better spent elsewhere. Already planning to play #2, #4 and hopefully Dormie Club.

My group is playing Pine Needles, Mid Pines and Tobacco Road mid July. The aerification dates are all late June/first few days of July so I think you may be ok.

I'm late to get on WRX and leave a comment but I'm one of the fellas that went on this trip with Crispy, and I'll second everything he said. The trip was awesome, the only real downer being that it was in the middle of the regional heat wave. 5 days of golf in 100 degree heat was tough, and definitely affected the replay/cradle/porch sitting potential in the afternoons. But the courses were pristine, everyone we met along the way was super friendly, and the food was outstanding.

However, I probably left the trip more pumped up than any of the other guys because I'm moving to the triangle this summer. This golf mecca is only going to be an hour and a half away!