NC trip early Jan suggestion

[pennywise2016]

Going to North Carolina 3-4 days Jan 4th. Playing 2 rounds per day

 

Playing cheaper courses 1st day hopefully fairly quite as warmup rounds haven't played in a bit

 

Day 1 - Legacy and longleaf ?

 

Day 2 - Mid Pines and ? Talamore ?

 

Day 3 - Tobacco rd and Tobbaco Rd

 

 

Any suggestions as second course fairly close to my first round

Edited December 28, 2023 by pennywise2016

[StudentGolfer4]

Where are staying? That will influence some answers I'm sure. 
 

Day 1: Duke or Findley (UNC) would be solid choices. Findley did some work recently so their availability to the public may have changed a bit. Both within 30 minutes or so. 
 

Day 2: Mid Pines and Pine Needles would be great. Southern pines is the other obvious choice. 
 

Day 3: Tobacco Road and then whichever course you didn’t play on Day 2 would fit. If it was me, I would be sure to end up at Pinehurst Resort. (If you have already been there before then disregard). I really enjoy Pinehurst 3 and it’s perfect for a 2nd round of the day. That may be my first choice. Another fun option is playing  The Cradle followed by Thistle Dhu. 
 

Note about Tobacco Road. Some people hate it and some love it. Others are along the lines of “I’m glad I’ve played it once but I’m not in a hurry to do it again”. Be sure to do your homework before committing to a same day replay there. 

[pennywise2016]

I'm staying in Pinehurst area not on a resort trying to keep it budget friendly. Main purpose of my trip is to play tobacco rd

 

Removed lonnie pool, noticed out of the way

[NCLancer]

I think with any frost delays 36 in a day will be tough due to the late start and the quickly setting sun...hopefully it can work out for you though.  Have fun and enjoy!

[pennywise2016]

Thanks , good to know

[allparz]

Playing Legacy limits what you can do given it's location 5mi south of Aberdeen.  You could travel an easy 8 miles further south and play Deercroft.

 

Why not play both Foxfire courses day 1?  

Or play both Whispering Pines courses?

Both short money options and no traveling between courses, courses are solid and closer to where you are staying than Legacy.

 

The other short money easy travel option would be Longleaf and one of the Whispering Pines courses.

 

Legacy is nice but not much better than Foxfire or Whispering Pines offerings...

[bluedot]

36 a day is doable if you don’t get a frost delay; sunset is a little before 5:30 now.  If you’re going to be at Mid Pines the second day, and can afford it, Pine Needles is literally just across the street; that would be two Top 100 courses in a day.  Talamore is good, but it ain’t Pine Needles.
 

I like Legacy and Longleaf as a first day option, and I think dedicating the third day to Tobacco Road twice is also a good call.  
 

I hope you get go weather; Sunday looks iffy.

[Florida Gator]

Pine Needles and Mid Pines same day are easy, they are across the street from one another.  I just played Mid Pines yesterday, its in great condition and its overseeded.  I’ll play Pine Needles again tomorrow and that’s also in great shape.

 

Southern Pines, to me, is a must play if you hit Mid and Needles.  Book an early round here and I would call the day prior to playing and book a round on Pinehurst #3, that way you’ll have had your groin area kicked as hard as possible by the Ross courses in the area that don’t include #2.  I hear plenty of people complain about #3 because of the shorter length, but I can shoot par or damn close to it on #1 which is a within a few hundred yards of #3 in length, but I’ll shoot 10 shots higher on #3.  There are half of the original #3 holes on the current layout and the original holes are as good as anything on #2.  If #3 is unavailable #5 has the other half of the remaining original #3 Ross holes but to me its not as tough as the current #3.

 

I am a big fan of Tobacco Road, as much as people either love it or hate it.  The key here is to ignore what youre looking at when playing your shot and play straight target golf.  The first time I played there the pro in the clubhouse told me its all smoke and mirrors, play to the 100 or 150 and play to either center green or the middle of the green tier that the flag is on.  It’s very generous for tee shots, but you HAVE TO PUTT WELL to play well here.  

 

I am going to suggest a half day of hanging out at the clubhouse at Pinehurst, and calling the day prior to get on at the Cradle, as well as playing on Thistle Dhu which is the putting course.  It’s worth playing both and taking your time to enjoy it, that would be a good compliment to the round at Tobacco Road. 

 

When I was still in grad school and my first couple of years out, I would head to this area right around Thanksgiving when I’d visit family in the RDU area because of how cheap the rates are between then and mid/end of February compared to peak season.  Dormant Bermuda plays just fine except the greens are going to be fast as hell, all of the sandhill courses are in great shape and all drain well.  When the Bermuda goes dormant, all the grounds crews can do is cover them at night and roll them in the morning since you're not mowing grass that isn’t growing, that’s why the greens are so fast.  

 

The overseeded courses are going to play LONG, winter rye is a thirsty grass that looks great but results in softer turf which leads to mud balls with little to no roll out on tee shots.  Remember this when you choose your tee boxes, a 6,500 yard course will feel like a 7,200 yard course really fast with colder weather reducing carry distances and no roll out on your tee shots then hitting to greens that are rolling at an 11 or faster.