Overview
Pinehurst is the resort everyone knows for No. 2, but the Sandhills around it are stacked with Donald Ross-era courses at a fraction of the resort green fee, plus a walkable Village that empties into pubs the second the last group signs their card. Come for the golf history, stay because it's genuinely one of the few golf towns in America you can do entirely on foot.
Courses worth playing
- Tobacco Road $100+ Mike Strantz's answer to No. 2 — blind shots, wild bunkering, nothing like anything else you've played. Regularly ranked among Golf Digest's top 50 public courses in the country.
- Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club $265+ Host to four U.S. Women's Opens. Kyle Franz's 2017 restoration gave it arguably the best set of greens in the Sandhills not named No. 2.
- Southern Pines Golf Club $75+ One of Donald Ross's earliest designs, open for play in 1906 — its full 18 actually beat No. 2's to the punch by about a year. Same architect, same bones, a fraction of the cost.
Where to eat
- Pinehurst Track Restaurant Pinehurst A white cinderblock diner with green trim, put on the map in 1996 by a pair of harness racers who knew their way around a griddle. Blueberry pancakes are the move.
- Chapman's Southern Pines Downtown Southern Pines tavern with sidewalk seating. Get the Cajun crawfish fries.
- Drum & Quill Pinehurst Named for golf writer Bob Drum and the quill he used to immortalize Arnold Palmer — his son runs the place. Market Square pub, deep beer list.
Where to drink
- Neville's Southern Pines Basement dive with a pool table downstairs, a patio for when it's warm, and cheap drinks poured strong. Karaoke Tuesdays at 9:30. 19th hole pickThe Tangtini or the Bloody Mary — the two cocktails regulars keep naming.
- Dugan's Pub Pinehurst Irish pub right on Market Square, about as central to the Village as it gets. 19th hole pickA pint and whatever's coming out of the kitchen — it's a five-minute walk from the Cradle.
- Maxie's Grill & Tap Room Pinehurst Informal watering hole off McIntyre Road. Locals go for the live music, the burgers, and cold beer. 19th hole pickThe famous Scorcher wings, whatever's cold on tap.
Getting there
Fly into Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and drive about 70 miles south — a little over an hour. Spring and fall are the sweet spot; Sandhills summers get thick with humidity, and you'll want to be able to breathe on the back nine.