Played Pinehurst No. 3 and Mid Pines this weekend

[unprecedented_three]

This was my first trip to Pinehurst to play golf (have been here a few times but have never played).

 

Mid Pines

I phoned (at 7:00 a.m.) Mid Pines EXACTLY 30 days before my preferred date to play (Saturday, June 24), and they had a single tee time available—3:35 p.m.  When we arrived at the course, the buildings (pro shop, restaurant, lodging) are noticeably dated, but you can tell they were awesome back in the day. We paid $180/each (threesome) in pro shop, and they didn't tell us anything. We were left to our own to figure everything out, so we walked over to the started and asked him what we were to do next. He said just grab a random cart, put your bags in, and you can head to the range. The range had nice wooden baskets of all the balls we wanted to hit (no bag stands, no yardage indicators, no tees, etc.) After we hit on the range, we found the putting green and chipping area. The starter then let us go about 10 minutes before our scheduled time.

 

The course was fantastic—gorgeous, old school, in great condition. The course occupants, not so much. Seemingly every group around us was a bro-weekend grouping intent on playing loud music, drinking, smoking (weed), and hacking it around. The front took us two hours to play. We had to wait 20 minutes at the turn, and then it got bad. We waited 10 minutes on every tee, and the back nine took us almost three hours to play. Honestly, I'm hesitant to play here again on a weekend given the price and other golfers and slow play. Maybe a weekday (or off-season) is better. The staff was friendly but not particularly helpful unless you approached them.

 

Pinehurst No. 3

We are not staying at the resort, so I called (7:00 a.m.) the main resort pro shop the day before we wanted to play (Friday, June 23). Tee times were wide open for 1, 3, and 5. The woman on the phone was extremely friendly, nice, and helpful. We nabbed what we wanted—9:00 a.m. for a twosome. From the bag drop, to the people in the pro shop, to the starters, everyone and everything at Pinehurst was top-notch and impressive. We felt as if they actually cared about us and wanted us to be there and have a memorable experience. We paid in the pro shop ($130/each), and the guy at the counter told us about the range, putting green, etc.—all of which were impressive. The starter was also funny, helpful, and seemed to want us there.

 

This was the hardest course either of us have ever played. It is only slightly over 5,000 yards, but the greens are insane (mostly Donald Ross turtlebacks). We had a blast even though our scores were through the roof. We rode, but we would definitely walk next time—it is so short and the tee boxes are so close that there is no reason to ride. The course and greens were immaculate, and we loved every part of the experience. We immediately wanted to play it again. We also had no one in front or behind us. We finished in 3 hours. At $130/person, we thought this experience was a steal. Sugarloaf Social has also done a great job giving this course its own identity—see this link. 

 

TLDR

Not itching to go back to Mid Pines due to slow play and bro groups. Experience at Pinehurst No. 3 exceeded expectations due to price, fast play, interesting course, immaculate resort facilities, and friendly staff.

[JRSc]

14 hours ago, unprecedented_three said:

This was my first trip to Pinehurst to play golf (have been here a few times but have never played).

 

Mid Pines

I phoned (at 7:00 a.m.) Mid Pines EXACTLY 30 days before my preferred date to play (Saturday, June 24), and they had a single tee time available—3:35 p.m.  When we arrived at the course, the buildings (pro shop, restaurant, lodging) are noticeably dated, but you can tell they were awesome back in the day. We paid $180/each (threesome) in pro shop, and they didn't tell us anything. We were left to our own to figure everything out, so we walked over to the started and asked him what we were to do next. He said just grab a random cart, put your bags in, and you can head to the range. The range had nice wooden baskets of all the balls we wanted to hit (no bag stands, no yardage indicators, no tees, etc.) After we hit on the range, we found the putting green and chipping area. The starter then let us go about 10 minutes before our scheduled time.

 

The course was fantastic—gorgeous, old school, in great condition. The course occupants, not so much. Seemingly every group around us was a bro-weekend grouping intent on playing loud music, drinking, smoking (weed), and hacking it around. The front took us two hours to play. We had to wait 20 minutes at the turn, and then it got bad. We waited 10 minutes on every tee, and the back nine took us almost three hours to play. Honestly, I'm hesitant to play here again on a weekend given the price and other golfers and slow play. Maybe a weekday (or off-season) is better. The staff was friendly but not particularly helpful unless you approached them.

 

Pinehurst No. 3

We are not staying at the resort, so I called (7:00 a.m.) the main resort pro shop the day before we wanted to play (Friday, June 23). Tee times were wide open for 1, 3, and 5. The woman on the phone was extremely friendly, nice, and helpful. We nabbed what we wanted—9:00 a.m. for a twosome. From the bag drop, to the people in the pro shop, to the starters, everyone and everything at Pinehurst was top-notch and impressive. We felt as if they actually cared about us and wanted us to be there and have a memorable experience. We paid in the pro shop ($130/each), and the guy at the counter told us about the range, putting green, etc.—all of which were impressive. The starter was also funny, helpful, and seemed to want us there.

 

This was the hardest course either of us have ever played. It is only slightly over 5,000 yards, but the greens are insane (mostly Donald Ross turtlebacks). We had a blast even though our scores were through the roof. We rode, but we would definitely walk next time—it is so short and the tee boxes are so close that there is no reason to ride. The course and greens were immaculate, and we loved every part of the experience. We immediately wanted to play it again. We also had no one in front or behind us. We finished in 3 hours. At $130/person, we thought this experience was a steal. Sugarloaf Social has also done a great job giving this course its own identity—see this link. 

 

TLDR

Not itching to go back to Mid Pines due to slow play and bro groups. Experience at Pinehurst No. 3 exceeded expectations due to price, fast play, interesting course, immaculate resort facilities, and friendly staff.

I’d recommend playing Mid Pines in the am next time. Resort courses this time of year will have plenty of “ Bro Groups” playing in the afternoons. For most it’s the second round of the day and time to have some fun. Pinehurst #3 is great and a lot of fun to play but IMO MP is a much better golf course. 
You would probably have a similar experience as you had at MP If you play any course in the Pinehurst area at 3:45 on a Summer Saturday afternoon. 

[unprecedented_three]

5 hours ago, JRSc said:

I’d recommend playing Mid Pines in the am next time. Resort courses this time of year will have plenty of “ Bro Groups” playing in the afternoons. For most it’s the second round of the day and time to have some fun. Pinehurst #3 is great and a lot of fun to play but IMO MP is a much better golf course. 
You would probably have a similar experience as you had at MP If you play any course in the Pinehurst area at 3:45 on a Summer Saturday afternoon. 

This makes sense. Afternoon is all we could get at MP without going through a booking agency or buying a package.

[islesmb]

11 hours ago, JRSc said:

I’d recommend playing Mid Pines in the am next time. Resort courses this time of year will have plenty of “ Bro Groups” playing in the afternoons. For most it’s the second round of the day and time to have some fun. Pinehurst #3 is great and a lot of fun to play but IMO MP is a much better golf course. 
You would probably have a similar experience as you had at MP If you play any course in the Pinehurst area at 3:45 on a Summer Saturday afternoon. 

 

I can confirm this to be true, I played Talamore at around 1:45 Saturday afternoon and it was busy and slow. Sunday morning the pace of play was much better as the second group out and we didn't even have to wait at the turn.

[ND2005]

On 6/25/2023 at 9:58 PM, JRSc said:

I’d recommend playing Mid Pines in the am next time. Resort courses this time of year will have plenty of “ Bro Groups” playing in the afternoons. For most it’s the second round of the day and time to have some fun. Pinehurst #3 is great and a lot of fun to play but IMO MP is a much better golf course. 
You would probably have a similar experience as you had at MP If you play any course in the Pinehurst area at 3:45 on a Summer Saturday afternoon. 

 

I played Mid-Pines at around 9 am and it was a 5 hour round. When I got back to the Carolina Inn one of the staff asked me how the round was and I said good except the pace of play. His response was - "5 hours? That's pretty good out there!" 

[JRSc]

9 hours ago, ND2005 said:

 

I played Mid-Pines at around 9 am and it was a 5 hour round. When I got back to the Carolina Inn one of the staff asked me how the round was and I said good except the pace of play. His response was - "5 hours? That's pretty good out there!" 

Those greens can be tricky. I love MP. Just glad I live close enough to run out and play when it’s not too busy.