Pinehurst and Sandhills Golf advice

[GCU23]

Hey Everyone - this isn't a post about where to play as we already have that part sorted.  We're less than a week out (the wait for the "cannot wait" is almost over!) and the group chat texts are flowing.  This is our first time to the area, and we're hitting the highlights. 

 

Tuesday - Fly into Raleigh and head to the Pinehurst area

Wednesday - 10am @ Tobacco Road  -- Afternoon play El Diablo

Thursday - Noonish @ Mid-Pines

Friday -    8am @ #3 then 2pm @ #4

Saturday- 9am Cradle then 12:30pm @ #2

 

Wanted to do #8, but something is going on with it while we're there so it wasn't an option.  We'll have caddies on both #2 and #4.

 

Anyway, we're pumped about the lineup, but my question is more about advice on playing in the Sandhills area and other general recommendations you'd give to out-of-towners.  For the golf, is there anything that a first timer should be aware of?  I know the Donald Ross greens and green complexes have me concerned.  I guess what I'm asking is, what would you tell someone that's never seen these courses as tips to play their best?  I've seen the "play to the center of the green, putt to the corners" comments, and "leave your 60* in the bag" stuff, anything else for the Pinehurst courses?  For Tobacco Road I've heard they have good GPS, and I'll buy a yardage guide so I'm hoping that takes some of the first time "Well I didn't know that was there" situations away.  What about humidity?  In AZ it really is a dry heat, and last year in Kiawah/Myrtle Beach the dampness really affected my play.  I swapped out my grips and bought a rosin bag so I'm hoping that helps.

 

As far as general recommendations in and around Pinehurst, is there anything we shouldn't miss??  I'm sure we'll walk the halls of the clubhouse to check out the memorabilia, check out the Deuce and Pinehurst Brewing Company, putt around on Thistle Dew, etc.  Just really don't know what we don't know so any commentary on this would be welcome.

 

One way or another, this time next week we'll be coming down the home stretch at Mid-Pines loving life!

 

Cheers to you all, can't wait to visit your part of the world!

 

 

 

[caniac6]

What’s El Diablo?

[ND2005]

Don’t overthink it. Golf is golf. Play your game. 
 
Humidity/dampness wise I always struggle with grips. I Have super tacky grips and I change gloves at the sign of the first slippage. I always have a couple backup gloves in the bag. 

 
In Pinehurst village I’m a big fan of Drum & quill. 
 

southern pines brewery also fun. 

[islesmb]

Dugans Pub in the village is a cool place and get the Shepherds pie.

[Drwoods2017]

12 hours ago, caniac6 said:

What’s El Diablo?

I think he means the el camino short course at tobacco road

 

[Drwoods2017]

15 hours ago, GCU23 said:

Hey Everyone - this isn't a post about where to play as we already have that part sorted.  We're less than a week out (the wait for the "cannot wait" is almost over!) and the group chat texts are flowing.  This is our first time to the area, and we're hitting the highlights. 

 

Tuesday - Fly into Raleigh and head to the Pinehurst area

Wednesday - 10am @ Tobacco Road  -- Afternoon play El Diablo

Thursday - Noonish @ Mid-Pines

Friday -    8am @ #3 then 2pm @ #4

Saturday- 9am Cradle then 12:30pm @ #2

 

Wanted to do #8, but something is going on with it while we're there so it wasn't an option.  We'll have caddies on both #2 and #4.

 

Anyway, we're pumped about the lineup, but my question is more about advice on playing in the Sandhills area and other general recommendations you'd give to out-of-towners.  For the golf, is there anything that a first timer should be aware of?  I know the Donald Ross greens and green complexes have me concerned.  I guess what I'm asking is, what would you tell someone that's never seen these courses as tips to play their best?  I've seen the "play to the center of the green, putt to the corners" comments, and "leave your 60* in the bag" stuff, anything else for the Pinehurst courses?  For Tobacco Road I've heard they have good GPS, and I'll buy a yardage guide so I'm hoping that takes some of the first time "Well I didn't know that was there" situations away.  What about humidity?  In AZ it really is a dry heat, and last year in Kiawah/Myrtle Beach the dampness really affected my play.  I swapped out my grips and bought a rosin bag so I'm hoping that helps.

 

As far as general recommendations in and around Pinehurst, is there anything we shouldn't miss??  I'm sure we'll walk the halls of the clubhouse to check out the memorabilia, check out the Deuce and Pinehurst Brewing Company, putt around on Thistle Dew, etc.  Just really don't know what we don't know so any commentary on this would be welcome.

 

One way or another, this time next week we'll be coming down the home stretch at Mid-Pines loving life!

 

Cheers to you all, can't wait to visit your part of the world!

 

 

 

Tobacco road is a lot more open than it looks.  Also on hole #16 you can get into some trouble because the tiered greens rejects a lot of shots.  I always aim for the left side of the green.  Less sloped and more likely to hold.  Also use contours to get the ball close to the hole.  A lot of times if you aim at pins it doesn't actually help because the contour of the greens often pushes those shots away.  As far as #2 goes I didn't feel like I did anything different than normal just soak in the history and enjoy it. #4 is very long so make sure you play the right tees. Otherwise it makes for a very long day. 

[Maroon_19]

When your caddy hands you a putter from 40 yards off the green... take the putter.  Practice long off-the-green putts on the chipping green over by No. 2's first tee.  Go in knowing that you aren't going to shoot your average.  I spent all spring practicing my short pitching/chipping game and never used my wedges around the green.  The practice helped everywhere except at Pinehurst.
 

The butterflies on the first tee at No. 2 are a real thing if it is your first time there.  Swing easy.

On both No. 2 and No. 4, I found that almost all of my putts were fairly straight... just one or two balls off of the cup to either side.  Pay special attention to the grain at the cup.  Hopefully your caddy will teach you how to do this.  At Tobacco Road, I swear I putted away from the cup more than I putted at it 🙂

Not sure how many are in your group.  We had 8 guys in two groups at Tobacco Road.  When we played El Camino that afternoon, we played as a single group of 8.  We were the only people left out on the course.  One of the highlights of a bucket list trip.
 

Not sure where you are staying in PH.  When we were there in May, we stayed at the Carolina.  I got up early every morning and walked down to the clubhouse to sit on the patio and watch the sun rise up over #18 green on No. 2.  It's worth the walk at least once.
 

Have fun!

[Kmdunlea]

I’ll be there the same time, arriving Thursday to play 9,2,4,7 for my annual buddies trip. Played Tobacco Road 2 weeks ago. Quickly made it into my top 3 courses ever played. 
 

[GCU23]

You guys are right, I meant El Camino at Tobacco Road, not El Diablo 🙂. 

 

This is great stuff and just what I was looking for.  I appreciate all of the course commentary/advice and also the non-golf stuff as well.

 

And I have to say, Maroon_19 what a pic!  My word that's beautiful!

 

 

[StudentGolfer4]

Just enjoy the experience and don’t get wrapped up in your score. As @ND2005 said you will probably score a bit higher than you’re use to. And don’t get discouraged when you putt a ball off the green or have one roll back to you. If you need a good caddy Peyton, idk his last name but has a ponytail, is fantastic. (One note about the caddies. They only get $22 of the $75 that you pay in the shop. Tip accordingly.) 

 

#3 is a lot of fun. It’s extremely short but just a Donald Ross funhouse. We were all embarrassed by our scores relative to the course rating. 

Here’s the golf nerd in me. It’s worth noting that the turtle back greens you see on #2 really aren’t typical of Donald Ross at all. Most golf historians agree that they have changed a lot since Ross designed them but it’s hard to pinpoint when the massive change took place. 
 

It’s really personal preference about what type of shot to play off the greens. I putted almost exclusively and did it fairly well. That would be my recommendation. We won’t talk about the 1 that rolled back to me 🤦‍♂️  A few of our guys did it poorly and then went back to hit 56/60 degree wedges like their use to with varying levels of success. A couple of our guys played hybrids from around the green. Plenty of different approaches.

To me, that’s one of the things that makes #2 so great. Rarely does the golf course ever dictate the type of shot you need to hit. The only hole I can think of where there really aren’t options is the par 3, hole 9. 

Enjoy your trip!

[ND2005]

4 minutes ago, StudentGolfer4 said:

 

#3 is a lot of fun. It’s extremely short but just a Donald Ross funhouse. We were all embarrassed by our scores relative to the course rating. 

Played it once, shot 70 🤣

 

Was just grooved that weekend. Played Dormie Club too and hit 14/14 fairways and shot 75

 

 

[Looper34]

You're gonna love it.

Tobacco Road isn't all that hard. A lot of eye candy but just pick your target and trust your yardage. I found the par 3s not very long and also the greens are very receptive and funnel toward the pins. The club house and practice area at TR are all pretty basic with no frills. Also bring bug spray and if you smoke cigars bring them as well because the no-see-um flies are relentless, especially this time of year. I seriously would think about ear plugs next time I play there because they are always buzzing in your ears .

At PH, if your breakfast isn't included, go to the Village Cafe which is kind of a local place. Food is good, people are nice and it's not crazy expensive. The Cradle is fun but it's busy so you move along pretty fast. You'll only need 3 clubs tops at The Cradle as the longest hole is like 115 yards. They let you borrow a small canvas bag to put your clubs in too. A lot of people play The Cradle barefoot.

The caddys know their stuff and you won't believe the reads they'll give you on #2s greens but they're on point. It's fun/frustrating to hit what you think is a great iron onto a green on #2 and then yell at it to "HANG ON" as the ball slowly meanders around until it decides to stop, hopefully ON the green. #4 is a great track and a real challenge as well. Leave yourself plenty of time to enjoy the practice area at PH because it's top notch and try to get to The Deuce afterward and enjoy some drinks on the veranda and watch other players finish on 18.

Enjoy. 

[GCU23]

Got home last week from Pinehurst.  What a trip.  The courses were all excellent.  A couple of takeaways......

 

1. I don't see why Tobacco Road is so divisive.  It's an incredible course, and an absolute blast to play.  It's truly unique, which is refreshing, at least to me.  The quirks make it that much more fun. The GPS is super helpful as is the regular yardage book if you buy that.  We did play a shamble as it was the first round of the trip and probably the most penalizing course we played off the tee.  Everyone in each group played out from the best tee shot.  Perfect format to start the trip and ease the higher handicappers into golfing again. I do wish we'd played TR last instead of first on the trip.  So many of the greens funnel towards the hole locations which is fun, and would have been a nice reprieve from the turtle backs everywhere else we played.

 

2. Speaking of the greens, the Donald Ross specials aren't as diabolical as you're led to believe.  They're certainly more visually worrisome than what most of us are used to, but there's often a little more room to play to than what your eyes will tell you.  They're super intriguing to play on, just don't spend time psyching yourself out about how tough they're going to be.  As was described to me in this thread, there are a million different options as far as what shots to hit around these greens so don't listen to the "leave your 60* at home" comments.  It may come in handy 🙂

 

3. Course #3 gets a bad rap from a lot of people.  Yes it's short (short short), but it also fun.  We had varying HDCP's on the trip, and on #3 we had the rule that the 4 longer hitters could only use irons all round to try to give the shorter hitters the distance advantage for once.  It was a cool format.  The green complexes were awesome and a great introduction to Pinehurst type greens, and the course overall was great for a change of pace.  It really made you feel the scale of #4 and #2.  

 

4.  El Camino was so much fun at Tobacco Road, The Cradle was really cool, and Thistle Dew awesome.  All worth being part of your trip for sure.

 

 

All in all, it was a fantastic trip.  There's so much good golf and good times to be had.  I appreciate the insight you all provided.  We had a blast!