Pinehurst Golf Trip

[jlazaro]

A few friends and I are thinking about taking a golf trip to Pinehurst in the early spring. A few questions to those who are familiar with the area:

 

- Would it be better to look for a rental house on VRBO.com (or similar) instead of renting a villa on the property?

- We are definitely going to play #2 at some point. Does anyone have approximate per round pricing?

- Recommendations for 3 of the other courses

 

Thanks. Any other tips would be appreciated as well.

[tw422]

Definitely play #4, 7 & 8. 4 is a lot of fun. 7 is tough but fair and 2 will beat you up. Can't comment on houses vs lodging. Stayed at main hotel and it was nice but not great. Breakfast was good and spa/health center was nice but pricey.

[ChrisSP]

The best courses at the resort are 2, 4, 7, 8, and in my humble opinion it's 4 and 8 that are the two best despite all the hype that No. 2 gets. I'd also consider playing Pine Needles, which is outstanding, and the Magnolia Course at Pinewild, which doesn't get much buzz but is really good.

[Troyefl]

I've played tobacco road near Pinehurst, was a very unique course. Had a good time.

[Par-A-Medic]

Best package deals around are through Tobacco Road travel. Took a group of 12 this spring. We played seven lakes, a good opener, I wanted to join there! Then Tobacco Road, MUST PLAY ONCE, you will love it or hate it. I thought it was a good lesson in course management. I stuck to my plan and won by several strokes. And finished at legacy. It's a nice track for the price

[Johnny Biarritz]

Pinehurst #2 will be $415 in the spring if you don't stay in a Resort owned property. You may or may not be able to get a round in if you do not book in advance, which also involves staying at a Resort property. If you 100% want a round on #2, you have to stay at the Resort, otherwise, it's 24 hour booking policy. When staying at the Resort, #2 is a $185 upcharge. That all assuming they don't change the rates for 2013, all these rates are for 2012.

For other courses:
If staying at the Resort, book #4, #8, and #7, ordered right there from best to better (that sounds odd, I know, but #7 certainly isn't bad)
For others outside the resort
1. Pine Needles
2. Dormie Club (if they are still allowing bookings; last I heard booking at Dormie was only available through Talamore Travel)
3. Tobacco Road...BUT do some research on TR. I love the place, know others who love the place. But I know guys who hate it and say it might be the worst course they have ever played. It's unconventional. I can give you more details on TR if you want.
4. Mid South
5. Pinewild (Magnolia)
6. Southern Pines
7. Mid Pines
8. All the rest in the area are rather interchangeable unless you can play Forest Creek or Country Club of North Carolina.

[MarkCPA]

Pine Needles is outstanding and a must play for me on any trip out to the Sand Hills area. And, yes, as the avatar shows, I love Tobacco Road too. I've used the travel agency that is tied in with Tobacco Road for my trips to Pinehurst and highly recommend them.

[NJGolfer33]

We just took a trip to Pinehurst last month. We rented a house through VRBO. The woman who owns it is a friend and gave us a great deal. She was able to get us a tee time on #2, but we were apparently lucky to get it. She had to pull a couple of strings because october and I believe April are extremely busy and they reserve almost all of their tee times on #2 for resort guests. Members have a certain time period, I believe 24 hours in advance, to call for tee times on #2. We played Tobacco Road, which as the other posters have mentioned, you will either love or hate. The consensus in our group was that we would not want to play it again.
The Pinehurst experience was great. We played #2 and took caddies. the course was immaculate. The greens were amazingly true. There is a ton to do there, from hitting the range to playing the 18 hole putting course, to just walking around the clubhouse. We played 36 at Pine Needles, which some guys felt was just as good or better than #2. Our last round was at Southern Pines. The overall feel of the place was a step down from Pinehurst and Pine Needles, but it was a challenging course and the greens were in great shape.
I can't wait to head back to the Pinehurst area. Enjoy your trip!

[XHoop24]

Spent a week in Pinehurst at the beginning of Oct. celebrating my dad's 60th bday and would echo what a number of the previous posters stated. #2 is a masterpiece and a true championship caliber golf course. We played 7 other courses in the area and the favorites of me and my dad were Pine Needles and Dormie. Very different golf courses but we really enjoyed each. Dormie and Pine Needles are at the top of the list for a return trip.

[arlingtonz]

Talamore always seems packed - I think when they get busy they run 5-6 minute tee times. We have shied away lately. Love Mid-Pines and I have heard amazing things about Dormie club. I play Tobacco Rd, which is a favorite of the group, it is starting to warm on me but not entirely. Look outside of the Pinehurst courses, you can really play some interesting areas as a result.

Good luck, and let us know how the trip goes.

[James_Par]

Everyone has different opinions on the courses there but #2 is tricky! Check out My Golf Concierge if you need help putting your trip together.

JT

[Don Ross]

Your housing question really depends on how many guys are making the trip. I know of several rental homes which will accommodate 8-10 guys comfortable. Look for "Three Green Retreat" [url="http://www.vrbo.com/201996"]http://www.vrbo.com/201996[/url] and "A slice of 7" [url="http://www.vrbo.com/421589"]http://www.vrbo.com/421589[/url]. This owner has Pinehurst Country Club privledges.

I agree with the course recommendations for Pinehurst. I love Pine Needles & MidPines. Southern Pines CC and Legacy Lakes are both good values.

[Gmachine]

just got back from pinehurst. locals say best pinehurst courses are #8 and #4. #8 was closed when i was there so i ended up playing #4. course layout is great but the greens were super slow. bushy, actually.. not sure if its because of the late season overseeding but the greens were so spongy that putts would just stop rolling. pretty bad to putt on actually.

also played Legends Golf Links which is about 10 min from pinehurst. found it to be better than pinehurst actually. definitely recommend that course.

[sniper]

I like T-Road but spent 5.5 hours on the course in October and the course was in the worst condition of the 8 times I've played it. I really enjoy Mid Pines and Pine Needles. I haven't played #2 but Pine Needles is one of the best courses I've played. Legacy is a good course.

[Johnny Biarritz]

[quote name='Gmachine' timestamp='1354466153' post='6007877']
also played Legends Golf Links which is about 10 min from pinehurst. found it to be better than pinehurst actually. definitely recommend that course.
[/quote]

Legends or Legacy? I don't recall a course named Legends in Pinehurst (Myrtle Beach, yes), but it's been about 5 years now since I lived in Pinehurst, so it could be new.

As far as Legacy, the Nicklaus Design (Michael Nicklaus) course just south of town, well, I found it to be OK. It's run through what is supposed to be a housing development and didn't have much interest, I didn't think.

[Par-A-Medic]

Has to be legacy if a Sandhills course. It's a nice course with good greens, no gimmicks. Very friendly staff, small bar.

[Gmachine]

[quote name='Johnny Biarritz' timestamp='1354497458' post='6009643']
[quote name='Gmachine' timestamp='1354466153' post='6007877']
also played Legends Golf Links which is about 10 min from pinehurst. found it to be better than pinehurst actually. definitely recommend that course.
[/quote]

Legends or Legacy? I don't recall a course named Legends in Pinehurst (Myrtle Beach, yes), but it's been about 5 years now since I lived in Pinehurst, so it could be new.

As far as Legacy, the Nicklaus Design (Michael Nicklaus) course just south of town, well, I found it to be OK. It's run through what is supposed to be a housing development and didn't have much interest, I didn't think.
[/quote]

sorry... Legacy.. it does have a housing development around it, but the homes are only on a few holes and they don't line up right along the fairway... so you're still pretty enclosed in treelined fairways... and lots of water on the back 9.

[Don Ross]

[attachment=1490855:pinehurst 2013 pics 4 005.jpg][attachment=1490857:pinehurst 2013 pics 4 007.jpg][attachment=1490859:pinehurst 2013 pics 4 008.jpg][attachment=1490861:pinehurst 2013 pics 4 009.jpg]Just a few pictures from my recent round on #4. Couple of comments. Very popular course, so much so that the course sometimes get a bit worn by all the play. Many consider it the most beautiful course in the Pinehurst mix. Tip on putting, the breaks are much more subtle than they appear. If you see a slight break, don't give up the hole. If you see a big break, it is likely 50% of what you are seeing. This is true over and over.