Worldgolfer's Golf Course Reviews

Designer: Donald Ross (1927), John Fought (2005, Restoration), Kyle Franz (2017, Renovation)

Location: Southern Pines, North Carolina

History: Pine Needles was built in 1927 by Donald Ross as demand for more golf in the Pinehurst area became too much for the existing courses. Soon after the course was built, the hotel associated with it closed during the Great Depression. In the 1950s, a group of investors including LPGA Pro Peggy Kirk Bell bought Pine Needles and nearby Mid Pines, forming a formidable golf resort. Recently, the newly renovated Southern Pines was added to this group. Pine Needles has long been associated with women’s golf and has hosted four U.S. Women’s Opens (1996, 2001, 2007, 2022) and two U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs (1991, 2019). The course was extensively restored by John Fought in 2005 and most recently renovated by Kyle Franz in 2017. Accolades for Pine Needles are numerous and include:

• #146 Best Classic Course in America – Golfweek (2025)
• #60 Best Public Course in America – Golf Digest (2025)
• #39 Best Public Course in America – Golf Magazine (2024)
• #62 Best Public Course in America – Golfweek (2025)
• #47 Best Resort Course in America – Golfweek (2025)
• #15 Best Course in North Carolina – Golf Digest (2025)
• #9 Best Course in North Carolina – Golf Magazine (2024)
• #13 Best Course in North Carolina – Top100golfcourses.com (2025)
• #5 Best Public Course in North Carolina – Golfweek (2025)

Conditions: 9/10, Pine Needles was the best conditioned course we played in Southern Pines, with smooth, fast greens and beautiful, firm fairways.

Value: 8/10, Like its sister courses, Pine Needles provides great value with rates ranging from $105 to $295 depending on the day and season. There are also packages available and it is overall much more affordable than nearby Pinehurst.

Scorecard:

Tee                     Par         Yardage         Rating          Slope

Medal                71            7035                74.7               141

Ross                   71           6435                71.9              138

Regular             71           6002                70.0              133

Executive         71           5605                66.4               117

Forward            71           4940               69.2               125

Hole Descriptions: The Pinehurst area is indeed a golfer’s paradise and the three courses at Pine Needles, Mid Pines, and Southern Pines are among the best here, providing some excellent Donald Ross designs at very competitive prices. While I enjoy all three, Pine Needles is my favorite course of the group and is clearly one of the top public courses in the country. A course without a bad hole, Pine Needles features a big, sprawling layout that fits the rugged, sandy terrain perfectly. I found it more polished, grander, and in better condition than the other courses at the Resort and loved its playability, natural beauty, and routing. I will delve into the details below, but cannot recommend Pine Needles enough and encourage any architecture fan to get here.

Pine Needles opens with a reachable dogleg right par 5 at 485 yards. Playing uphill on the teeshot, beware of a crossbunker down the left at 170 yards and one at the inside corner of the dogleg at 235 yards. From here, the hole continues uphill with a fairway that slopes hard left-to-right with sequential crossbunkers on either side. The greens at Pine Needles are a fantastic collection and the 1st is no exception, playing narrow and back-to-front with severe fall-offs on the right side. Bunkers line this green on either side and are common destinations.

After a gentle opener, Pine Needles ratchets up the difficulty with the 440 yard 2nd, the longest par 4 on the course. Featuring a semi-blind, downhill teeshot, this tree-lined par 4 contains bunkers down the right at 165, 200, and 265 yards and mulchy waste areas down the left. This green is open up front but is defended by a large bunker left and slopes front-to-back with tight chipping areas long and right. Par is a great score here.

At 135 yards, the 3rd is somewhat of a signature hole at Pine Needles as the shortest and one of the most picturesque holes on the course. This is a classic Ross short hole with a small back-to-front sloped green defended by bunkers left, right, and short and water short as well. Birdies can be had here but any misses will make par an elusive target.

The 4th is another very attractive hole and one of my favorites on the course. At 385 yards, this is a slight dogleg left running uphill with an immediate 190 yard forced carry over water. This elevated green pinches in on both sides and is defended by a false front and bunkers short on either side.

The 5th hole is another strong par 3 playing at 180 yards. Probably the toughest one-shotter on the course, this hole features a large green that slopes steadily back-to-front on its first half with deep bunkers defending left and short right.

The next two holes run parallel to each other as longer par fours with blind teeshots. The 6th is the longer of the two at 410 yards and is the number 1 handicap. Trees line both sides of this fairway which is overall generous and briefly shared with the 7th down the left. This green is defended by bunkers on either side and slopes back-to-front with several humps on the back.

The 7th is arguably the tougher hole at 405 yards playing as a slight dogleg left. Again featuring a semi-blind teeshot, this hole features a tighter fairway lined by trees and bunkers down the left at 175 yards and right at 225 yards. This green is somewhat vexing with slopes both back-to-front and right-to-left defended by a bunker right.

The 8th is another gorgeous hole as a 355 yard dogleg right. This teeshot plays over sandy wastebunkers to a generous fairway that moves right immediately with bunkers right at 165 yards and left at 275 yards. Trees run down the left side the entire way, so you’ll have to pick your line and club carefully to avoid running through. This green is defended by bunkers on either side and overall runs back-to-front.

The 9th hole is a 370 yard slight dogleg left with a generous fairway lined by trees and a bunker right at 260 yards. There’s not much to this hole until you reach the green which sits on a pedestal surrounded by tight lies and a bunker left. The front of this green is on the flatter side while the back of the green slopes front-to-back with a swale back right. It is one of the best greens on the course and makes this hole a real standout without dramatic land movement or visuals.

At 480 yards, the 10th hole is a short dogleg left par 5 and one of my favorite par fives in golf. A beautiful risk/reward hole, this teeshot is exhilarating and plays over a pond to a fairway that turns left around 240 yards. A well-placed line of bunkers runs down the left side up to 220 yards but longer hitters should look to cut the corner here. While readily reachable in two for those who successfully do this, this lay-up is a “Great Hazard” of bunkers running diagonally across this fairway about 80 yards short of the green. This green slopes steadily back-to-front with a bunker short right.

The 11th hole is another beauty as a downhill 370 yard par 4. Initially featuring a generous fairway, this hole tightens and turns slightly right with a bunker down the right at 240 yards. This approach plays slightly uphill to a green that runs left-to-right with a false front.

The 12th hole is the shortest par 4 at Pine Needles playing 350 yard straightaway. This hole features a blind teeshot over a plateau to a right-to-left sloping fairway defended by trees and natural areas on both sides. Those attempting to get close to this green will need to beware of a right bunker and midline bunker around 300 yards. This green slopes hard back right-to-front left and is defended by a bunker left.

The 13th is another hole that fits the terrain gorgeously as an 180 yard slightly downhill par 3. Two bunkers guard short right of a narrow, long, right-to-left sloped green.

The 14th is the most difficult hole on the back as a 400 yard dogleg right par 4. This hole is tight and tree-lined the entire way with a skinny fairway that turns right around 220 yards with bunkers down the right at this point. Although cutting the corner is doable, most golfers will be left a long iron approach into a back-to-front sloped green guarded by a bunker short right.

The 15th hole is the final par 5 on the course and another chance for birdie at 485 yards. This hole plays straightaway and is notable for its excellent fairway bunkering, with crossbunkers down both sides for much of the landing area. These bunkers continue on the lay-up on the way to a large, undulating green defended by more bunkers on either side.

After crossing a road, you reach the 170 yard par 3 16th. This one-shotter features a giant wastebunker you must carry to reach a back-to-front sloped green defended by bunkers on either side. It is the least memorable of the par threes but is still a fine hole.

At 430 yards, the 17th hole is a difficult sweeping dogleg left par 4. Like the 14th, this hole is tight and tree-lined the entire way and turns left around 215 yards. Those wanting to cut the corner here will have to carry a large bunker complex down the left corner of the dogleg. This green is large and on the flatter side but features slopes on all sides and is surrounded by tight lies.

Pine Needles’ original 1st hole and current closing hole is an interesting 405 yard par 4 that plays severely downhill as a slight dogleg left. When we played, the setting sun was directly in our eyes and this teeshot was essentially blind. Thankfully, the fairway is generous with a large bunker down the left at 175 yards but little danger otherwise. This approach continues downhill towards a back-to-front sloped green defended by bunkers left.

General Comments: Pine Needles’ clubhouse is indeed a cozy lodge, but is not nearly as stately or pretty as Mid Pines. The range here uses Trackman and is big enough for all the clubs in your bag. Pace of play was wonderful walking on a late season afternoon.

Verdict: A spectacular Donald Ross design, Pine Needles oozes a classic charm and features a wonderful routing with an emphasis on playability and interesting greens. It is more polished and cohesive than its sister courses and is a must play on a visit to Pinehurst.