Southern Pines

[zaccaf]

On 1/13/2022 at 9:37 AM, Drwoods2017 said:

Played yesterday and I think its still in between what it was and what it wants to be.  It might get a lot better and for the price it is right now its a great deal.  As soon as it goes up to $145 im out on it for now.

The new rates are a little out of hands IMO. 

Dates	Monday - Thursday	Friday - Sunday
November 21, 2022 – February 15, 2023	$85	$95
February 16 – March 22, 2023	$125	$145
March 23 – June 11, 2023	$175	$195
June 12 – September 10, 2023	$135	$155
September 11 – November 19, 2023	$155	$175
November 20, 2023 – February 17, 2024	$85	$95

[Drwoods2017]

15 minutes ago, zaccaf said:

The new rates are a little out of hands IMO. 

Dates	Monday - Thursday	Friday - Sunday
November 21, 2022 – February 15, 2023	$85	$95
February 16 – March 22, 2023	$125	$145
March 23 – June 11, 2023	$175	$195
June 12 – September 10, 2023	$135	$155
September 11 – November 19, 2023	$155	$175
November 20, 2023 – February 17, 2024	$85	$95

Woof. 

[cferguson5]

On 3/22/2023 at 6:26 AM, Looper34 said:

Did you call the individual pro shops for a tee time? 

Yes, they are not being very accommodating for non lodging guests. They are saying that we cannot book it in advance. 

[cferguson5]

4 hours ago, davep043 said:

I know that Talamore Travel can make golf-only bookings, you might at least give them a call.  I don't know what they'll do if you're only looking to book a single day's golf.  April 15 is smack dab in the middle of peak demand times in the Pinehurst area.

Thanks for the tip. they were helpful and are trying to get tee times for pines courses. They said they have to fill out a paper request and it takes a while to hear back from the pro shops. They did find two tee times, one at legacy and the other at talamore. They recommended booking these and changing them if they hear back from southern pines on availability. How are these courses? Im not familiar with the area. 

[caniac6]

55 minutes ago, cferguson5 said:

Thanks for the tip. they were helpful and are trying to get tee times for pines courses. They said they have to fill out a paper request and it takes a while to hear back from the pro shops. They did find two tee times, one at legacy and the other at talamore. They recommended booking these and changing them if they hear back from southern pines on availability. How are these courses? Im not familiar with the area. 

Both are good .

[Looper34]

19 hours ago, cferguson5 said:

Yes, they are not being very accommodating for non lodging guests. They are saying that we cannot book it in advance. 

I was in the area last week and played PN as a single. When I originally called PN (about a week ahead of time) to get a weekday AM tee time they said they only had the afternoon available (MP and SP had slots available). The day before I was there, I called PN back and they had some AM slots available. Day of, my group went out as a 3 ball. They might hold slots for members or something. PN, MP and SP are all great tracks but I get the impression PN is the busiest of the three. Booking another track and then calling back each pro shop is a good idea and if you can get on SP or MP, it is definitely worth the aggravation. Good luck. 

[Mr_Wolfe]

Just got back from playing PN, MP, SP, and Talomore. I thought all were in good shape.

 

Mr. Wolfe

[davep043]

On 3/23/2023 at 1:30 PM, cferguson5 said:

Thanks for the tip. they were helpful and are trying to get tee times for pines courses. They said they have to fill out a paper request and it takes a while to hear back from the pro shops. They did find two tee times, one at legacy and the other at talamore. They recommended booking these and changing them if they hear back from southern pines on availability. How are these courses? Im not familiar with the area. 

I know lots of people like Legacy, but I wasn't thrilled the one time I played there.  Its just fine as a course, and generally in decent shape, I just thought it was unremarkable.  I should probably go back and give it another try.  Talamore is better, in my opinion, but I own a condo there and play it pretty regularly.  I could be a little biased.  Its a solid layout, usually in very good shape, and the relatively new (2016) changes made it a whole lot better.  

[woofelfin]

Anyone have a good restaurant req for around southern pines?

[Faucette]

Sothern Prime-upscale steak house

Beef Eaters- good steak, not as upscale/expensive as Southern Prime

Sly Fox- good food, local chef owns it

San Felipe or Casa Mecixana for standard Mexican. 

Kick Back Jacks or Hickory Tavern- sports bars with good food and atmosphere

 

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by Faucette

[woofelfin]

 

4 hours ago, Faucette said:

Sothern Prime-upscale steak house

Beef Eaters- good steak, not as upscale/expensive as Southern Prime

Sly Fox- good food, local chef owns it

San Felipe or Casa Mecixana for standard Mexican. 

Kick Back Jacks or Hickory Tavern- sports bars with good food and atmosphere

 

 

Thank you!

[davep043]

On 4/10/2023 at 1:10 PM, woofelfin said:

Anyone have a good restaurant req for around southern pines?

A few more to add.  Belle Tree is good bar food in the middle of Southern Pines.  Chef Warren's is casual fine dining, a favorite for both my wife and I.  195 American Fusion was really good the one time I ate there.  Chapmans is very good, looks a bit bar-like but the food is a notch above bar food.  

A little further, I like the beer and snacks at Railhouse Brewing in Aberdeen, and Pinehurst Brewing has excellent beer and grilled/smoked meats.  I won't call it barbecue, in this part of North Carolina that means slow-cooked pork with a vinegary-based sauce, although the barbecue at PH Brewing is pretty good.

[Looper34]

Played SP earlier this week and tee to green, the course is in great shape. There is still a lot of construction/renovation going on including heavy machinery moving brush. tree stumps and spreading soil to reshape the cart paths and other areas but it didn't effect the golf. The tough Par 3 9th was closed and they had us play "the lost hole" par 3 instead which was fine. 

I only had 2 complaints. The first being charged $3 for a sack of 17 golf balls to hit at the range AFTER paying $175 for the round. The range is in really nice shape but charging for range balls after paying that much for the round has always been a pet peeve of mine. Mid Pines and Pine Needles range balls are complimentary.

The second was the pin sheet and the number the starter gave us when we started wasn't even close to where the pins were set on the back 9 and it cost me a handful of strokes. On the par 4 12th, the pin sheet indicated the hole was back. When I scoped my second shot, I had 158 to the flag so I pulled my 150 club to hit the center. I made great contact and landed the ball in front of the flag and then watched it roll off the DR false front and finally gather about 15-20 yards in front of the green. When I got to the green the flag was at the front. It got me again on the par 3 14th where I barely got on the green. On 16, I left myself a 50' putt. I tried to see if there was any rhyme or reason to the placements and maybe the back 9 pins were placed at a different number on the card but they were all over the place. It just seemed like whoever set the pins on the back went rogue.

That being said, not a big deal and I would play SP again in a heart beat and I love seeing the renovation taking shape.

[toominator]

Spent a few days in the area last week and played Tobacco, Pine Needles, Mid-Pines and Mid-South. Unfortunately didn't get the chance to get over to SP but will make it a point next trip. Everything else was in great shape. Unexpectedly I was very impressed with Mid-South. It was a fun change of pace after dealing with Ross/Stranz.  Usually not a big fan of Palmer but really liked this track. The thing about Mid-South is it doesn't feel like Sandhills golf. That course could be anywhere in the country - but again really enjoyed it.

 

Oh and second the rec on Chapmans. Got a tip to go there and wasn't disappointed.

Edited April 24, 2023 by toominator
fixed typo

[Sep]

reviving this, has anyone played SP recently?  I just called in my 30 day window to book and the earliest Pine Needles had was 2:50 PM.  I love a good twilight round (give me the golden hour), but I am afraid with sunset at 7 PM, we might be in trouble with any sort of pace of play issue.

 

The guy offered me SP at 1:50, which would give us a time buffer, but if I'm traveling down to the carolinas for a bucket list, I want to hit the best.  Some of the posts talking about it still looking like a construction site are concerning.

 

Alternative is a 1:10 PM at No. 8, fwiw.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Sep

[Looper34]

51 minutes ago, Sep said:

reviving this, has anyone played SP recently?  I just called in my 30 day window to book and the earliest Pine Needles had was 2:50 PM.  I love a good twilight round (give me the golden hour), but I am afraid with sunset at 7 PM, we might be in trouble with any sort of pace of play issue.

 

The guy offered me SP at 1:50, which would give us a time buffer, but if I'm traveling down to the carolinas for a bucket list, I want to hit the best.  Some of the posts talking about it still looking like a construction site are concerning.

 

Alternative is a 1:10 PM at No. 8, fwiw.

Played it last Friday, went off around noon. It's a great course and it's in great shape. You won't be disappointed. Play was slow but we still finished at just under 4 1/2 hrs.

[Sep]

1 hour ago, Looper34 said:

Played it last Friday, went off around noon. It's a great course and it's in great shape. You won't be disappointed. Play was slow but we still finished at just under 4 1/2 hrs.

 

Thank you for the reply.  Was most of the construction equipment off property?

 

You seem like a local, so what would you recommend of the three?

 

Pine Needles at 2:50 PM (sunset at 7, so dark by say 7:30)

Southern Pines at 1:30 PM

or No. 8 at 1:10 PM

Edited September 7, 2023 by Sep

[Looper34]

There is some work going on at Southern Pines but I didn't see any big equipment moving around. They're putting in a new pump house or something near the lake by the 10th tee. It does not effect the golf or the experience at all, The course is in great shape.

IMHO, Pine Needles, Southern Pines (and Mid Pines) are better tracks than PH #8. Pine Needles is the nicest of the 3 but SP is a great golf course. You should get the round in at PN provided no large groups of slow players are in the mix so it's a roll of the dice. If you're booking a foursome, I'd stick with SP to make sure you get it in without sweating the daylight.

You can also call a couple days before and see if there are any cancellations on an earlier time and move up. I've done that before.

[Sep]

9 hours ago, Looper34 said:

There is some work going on at Southern Pines but I didn't see any big equipment moving around. They're putting in a new pump house or something near the lake by the 10th tee. It does not effect the golf or the experience at all, The course is in great shape.

IMHO, Pine Needles, Southern Pines (and Mid Pines) are better tracks than PH #8. Pine Needles is the nicest of the 3 but SP is a great golf course. You should get the round in at PN provided no large groups of slow players are in the mix so it's a roll of the dice. If you're booking a foursome, I'd stick with SP to make sure you get it in without sweating the daylight.

You can also call a couple days before and see if there are any cancellations on an earlier time and move up. I've done that before.

you described my plan exactly. Thanks for the advice

[Drwoods2017]

15 hours ago, Sep said:

you described my plan exactly. Thanks for the advice

Curious is you’re staying at Pinehurst resort and playing the other courses there? I agree pine needles is the far superior course outside the resort but I think a renovated #8 is better than southern pines IMO 

[bluedot]

11 hours ago, Drwoods2017 said:

Curious is you’re staying at Pinehurst resort and playing the other courses there? I agree pine needles is the far superior course outside the resort but I think a renovated #8 is better than southern pines IMO 

If you live in NC, you’ll come across lifelong friends who have been debating Pine Needles vs Mid Pines for decades.  And that’s confirmed if you look at the various course rankings; some rate MP higher, others have PN.  PN is somewhat better known because of hosting big events, but that’s probably more about the ability to accommodate crowds than the golf course itself vs Mid Pines.  I very, very slightly prefer Mid Pines, but it's razor's edge, and I feel great playing either one; both are just great golf courses.

 

As to Southern Pines vs Pinehurst #8, I think you’d be in a pretty small minority in favoring #8.  #8 is good, but it’s just another Fazio that could be pretty much anywhere, while SP is a true Sandhills golf course.  I’d pick any of the courses at the main club (including #1, which a lot of people think is too short) over #8 just for that reason.  And that is not a knock on #8 or Fazio; I just prefer Ross and Ellis Maples courses in the Sandhills, even ones that have been heavily redone, to Fazio stuff, wherever it might be.

Edited September 9, 2023 by bluedot

[Gdane]

The new peak season rates are pretty tough.

 

That being said, the off-season stay and play at PN/MP/SP is the best value I've found in golf.  My group went last year the first day the rates dropped, played unlimited golf over 3 days, stayed 2 nights at Pine Needles, and ate hot breakfast in the lodge every morning for $365 all in.

[Sep]

@Looper34 just an update, i was able to snag a 10:00 AM at Pine Needles.  Now I am just watching flyovers incessantly

[vandyfan]

Playing Southern Pines this weekend along with several pinehurst courses. Will try to remember to put my thoughts here later for anyone that cares. 

 

[vandyfan]

Played Southern Pines yesterday. A few quick thoughts and, to frame it, I had played Pinehurst No. 2 in the morning so this was my second round of the day. 

 

The layout is very cool, a lot of elevation changes and some interesting, swoopy greens. Kind of like a mix between Pinehurst No. 8 and (very light) hints of Tobacco Road around the greens and with some of the uphill approaches. Fairly wide and generous off the tee with some really great (and a few quite lengthy) par 3s. Some of the bunkers/waste areas didn't seem to handle the excessive rain from the prior week particularly well and #10 especially had some runoff damage right in front of the green. The greens rolled very well and were a tad firm (for example, I was spinning 7 irons back 6-10 feet on No. 2 and these were hitting and rolling out a few feet). The fairways are a tad scruffy but looked to be overseeded as all the fairways were very green. 

 

On the value side of things, everything in the area has gotten a bit out of hand with their pricing. I really enjoyed Southern Pines, especially as a change up from the Pinehurst Resort courses we played, but I didn't walk away thinking it was "worth" (whatever that means) $165. That said, I would have no problem playing that course everyday as I thought it was very interesting but also scoreable and fun. Holes #4, #7, #13 (my favorite, mainly due to the green complex) and #17 were standouts to me. I might need to play that course a few more times to "appreciate" hole #11. 

 

All in all I think it is a fun change up but I wouldn't say it is "can't miss." Never played it before the restoration but I would imagine it was significantly improved over its previous iteration. 
 

 

Edited March 4 by vandyfan