The Good ol North Carolina discussion for mid 30 year ols

The fellas and I just got back a few months ago from Arizona. While I would elect to go back any day, we are looking into North Carolina. We liked Scottsdale, AZ because the golf is spectacular and it has some of the best night life. However, we want to begin checking off some bucket list courses, and Pinehurst No.2 is definitely one of them. We are currently looking into staying at the resort and playing all the courses there. The other option, which I am leaning towards a bit more is getting an AirBnB and playing No.2, Pine Needles and Tobacco Road. We would not be opposed to staying in a neighboring town, 20-30 mins drives don't bother us. Idealistically, we would like a place with a decent bar scene / night life and fantastic golf. The forums really assisted in our trip to AZ. Any help is much appreciated.

You could look at Southern Pines. Really not much within 30 minutes of Pinehurst.

At the resort, the must play courses are, in order: 2, 4, 8, and 6. I have not played #9. 1, 3, and 5 are not in the same league. Personally, I hate #7.

If you go off resort I would recommend Dormie, Mid Pines and Pine Needles for sure. I quite enjoyed Tobacco Road but it has a reputation for being polarizing.

I agree with all of this. Also loved Tobacco Road but some hate it. The nightlife around pinehurst leaves a lot to be desired but most people don’t go to the pinehurst region for the bar scene.

I completely understand that. And by no means are we looking for a crazy night life, but something with some live music an what not would be good. So my question would be are there any neighboring towns relatively to Pinehurst worth staying in?

There are definitely some places in Southern Pines (10 min drive or so) from pinehurst that could have some live music and a bit more nightlife.

Dont get me wrong, there are quite a few pubs/bars in both the Pinehurst and Southern Pines region. It just won’t be as prevalent as Scottsdale. There is also Pinehurst Brewing Company which just opened up this past year. Haven’t been to it yet but have heard good things.

I would not go to Pinehurst expecting night life...

Dormie is one of my favorite courses not just in Pinehurst but in the Southeast. I would try to get on there while in town just not sure what the Dormie Network is doing with it now that it's supposedly private come 2020 (saddens me)

#2, Tobacco Road, Dormie Club, Mid Pines over Pine Needles at least for me and have not played #4 yet but only heard good things.

I love the village of Pinehurst but i also am not one for night life.

I agree with the others, you'll find plenty of places to eat and drink, but "nightlife" is pretty limited in the Pinehurst and Southern Pines area. There is exactly one "gentleman's club" in the area, but I haven't been in for decades. You can see a list of places where live music is a possibility here: LIVE MUSIC MOORE COUNTY, PINEHURST, SOUTHERN PINES, CARTHAGE NC

Driving 20 or 30 minutes in any direction would decrease the nightlife chances even further.

I also agree with the suggestions for golf. At Pinehurst, #2 and #4 are special. I'm not sure what you need to do to get advance tee times on these courses, you might need to stay at the Resort, or in one of a very limited number of hotels. Beyond that, Pine Needles and Mid Pines, Tobacco Road, Dormie are my favorites. I played Dormie a week ago, and was told that it will still be open to bookings in 2020 through a small number of agencies, including Talamore and Tobacco Road.

I have a condo at Talamore, which is about halfway between Pinehurst Village and Southern Pines. These are nice 2-BR places (4 beds), good for golf trips, and the people who book trips are great. You could stay in the Village at hotels, you could stay in pretty standard hotels around the area, lots of choices. If you're all going to be drinking, there are taxis, and Uber is generally but not always available.

OP, I did a Pinehurst trip about 2-3 years back and am in the process of helping put one together for Nov. 2020. All of the courses already listed are the definite musts of the area: Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Tobacco Road, Dormie, #2, and #4. This is verbatim our tentative itinerary for next year. When we went last time, we got an airbnb in Southern Pines and it's exactly where I'd go again. Pinehurst village is cool and everything, but there's not much going on later in the evening. We were right up the road from the Bell Tree Tavern, which became our second home. The thing about #2 is that to book an advanced tee time, you must be staying on the property. I think they don't let you do a 1 night stay and play Thu-Sat, so we're doing Sunday night and flying home on Monday. Also, don't skip Tobacco Road. There's definitely a love/hate relationship here on wrx, but I am a huge Mike Strantz fan and loved every second of TR. I live in Minnesota, and really hadn't heard of him until a trip to Myrtle Beach where we played True Blue and Caledonia. I was an instant fan and am just sad he passed so early. The guy was a revolutionary. Also also...play the cradle as much as you can. I haven't been on it personally, but saw it when we were there and it looked like a riot. I love short courses, though, so there's that. Any way you slice it, you'll have a blast.

Whomever referenced Tobacco Road as “polarizing” really hit the nail on the head, although I can count less than a handful of friends that have the negative view. Pinehurst reminds me of those tiny towns in Scotland that would rarely exist today if the golf course hadn’t built up the local population to support course employees, golfers and tourists. So definitely recommend you stay near the village so that you can enjoy the restaurants, bars and shops.

Also try booking your golf through one of the local agents as they have access to some of the private CCs in the area, including the Raleigh area as well.

There are places to get a drink around Pinehurst/Southern Pines, but most are not that different than (and include) Buffalo Wild Wings or that sort of sports bar. I can see some having live music and such in season, but it's not the revelry you'd get in say, Myrtle Beach. As others have suggested, 20-30 minutes puts you in the middle of nowhere (Tobacco Road is 20 min or so North of Southern Pines). Not sure what's in Fayetteville nightlife wise, otherwise it's a little over an hour into Raleigh where you'll find a decent nightlife scene.

Having been going down to Pinehurst for the last 11 years, the best spot for live music is The Rooster's Wife in Aberdeen. You'll want to grab a drink and hang out at The Pine Crest Inn. Definitely play the Cradle at least once. Played #2 this past March, and absolutely loved it. Have not played #4 since Gil touched it. Definitely go to The Pinehurst Track for breakfast. Arrive early, as there is limited space. The Bell Tree Tavern is a good spot, and The Ryder Cup Lounge at the Carolina is a hit or miss.

Good news about them being open to Tobacco Road bookings. My yearly trip always books through them and Dormie is always on the agenda.

I think everyone in here covered the golf aspect of going to pinehurst so I will chime in with some nightlife/outside food comments. Get at least 1 drink at dugans - it’s in pinehurst village and where most people end up going to drink. Your best options for food other than pinehurst brewery (which is really really good) would be in southern pines. Personally I love beefeaters, a townie type of steakhouse. Southern prime is an “upscale” steakhouse trying way too hard. As for the strip club, it’s not the greatest - last time The talent was lackluster, though not terrible.

hope this helps.

I agree on Beefeaters, its something of a throwback, the kind of steakhouse with a really extensive salad bar, and that little crock of cheese spread for your crackers. Another place I recommend a first-time visitor visit for a drink is the bar at the Pinecrest Inn, once owned by Donald Ross.

I also agree with Beefeaters.

Guys I have really been looking into setting up a buddies trip to Pinehurst and the surrounding areas for 2020. What is the optimal time to go, factoring in price versus weather and daylight? Most of my group is from CA, so we are used to playing golf in temperatures from 40-100 degrees, but without humidity. Curious as to what you guys think would be the best value for making a trip next year, thanks!

Peak season is April and May. Once you get into June, prices go down a bit, as the temperature rises. Summer will be good and warm, and is generally pretty humid, so it will FEEL hotter than it really is. On the other hand, the days are long, so its fairly easy to play 36 holes. The absolute best value is over the winter, but weather can be pretty questionable. To me, the best value/weather combination is summer in Pinehurst. The dates for "summer season" will vary depending on who you do your booking through.

Excellent information! I guess an additional question to what you said is do you need to use a booking service to get everything laid out, or is this something you could do by calling the individual courses and arranging tee times and finding your own place to rent?

I'm certain you can do everything on your own, I've read of people doing that. Typically, you'll pay a bit more for lodging if you go through a booking agency, but you'll pay less than the "off-the-street" rate for your greens fees. I couldn't tell you which is better from the money standpoint. I've been told that only a few booking agencies will be able to out you on Dormie, they won't accept "walk-up" or independent bookings, so that could influence your choice. If you want guaranteed times on #2 and #4 at Pinehurst, I'm pretty sure you'll need to book lodging through Pinehurst too.

Small hijack, if you had a round or two down there which between Mid/Pine/Dormie are the best? Playing 6 Friday, junior tournament on 5 and 6 Saturday/Sunday, then have Monday and possibly Tuesday to play.

Best way to get on? We leave this week I’m assuming it won’t be packed. Staying @ Pinehurst and used one of their people for tee time and lodging.

MidPines is my favorite course in that area. Dormie is really good, and may be closed to non-member play at some time in the next year or two. Pine Needles is great, but would be my 3rd choice of those 3 excellent courses. I suggest you look at booking through the website at MidPines to see their current rate, and then ask your contact at Pinehurst to see if they can do better.

Yea after I posted that I started doing some more research and the Pines + Tobacco are easily available and cheap. Where’s TR fit in your ranking DP? Is Dormie just a phone call?

LOL, Tobacco Road is in a category of its own. I enjoy it, some people hate it, but its a complete departure from the much more traditional designs.

You can try calling Dormie, I'm not sure what their policy is right now. The worst they can do is tell you no, and then you can try going through Pinehurst.

i would say dormie is the best of the bunch but as mentioned, going fully private shortly. I think pine needles is better than mid pines but not by much. i personally love tobacco road but 100% understand why people hate it. if youre a member at a club with some clout, i would try to play some of the privates in the area like country club of north carolina.

I could probably swing something like that but I'm just not seeing the point with the state course rankings and so many cheap options in the area. Never been so I can always check those off later when the weather is much nicer. Thinking about Dormie only because of the plan to go private.

Having recently played both courses at CCNC, I'd recommend other places. Forest Creek is great if you like Fazio and have a way to access their 36 holes. I really wasn't impressed by CCNC.

re. Dormie - great course and there are some package deals to be had which include Dormie at much less than the rack rate.

Tobacco was sweet. Played 6/2/TR and was gonna play Dormie but had to leave early.

Opposite view... #2, Mid-Pines, #8, #4, Pine Needles...................................................................................................................................and dead last- Tobacco Road.