My 11 favorite Pinehurst courses, ranked

If it has been a decade since you’ve been to Pinehurst, it’s time to go—much has changed. There are several additions to the scene, and most of the major courses have undergone serious transformations.

Although Pinehurst (and neighboring Southern Pines) is still Pinehurst, a quaint, historic village that’s not like anywhere else in golf—or even like anything outside its small geographic radius—the overall environment of the golf, resorts, lodging and restaurants is more evolved than it was 10 years ago, the last time the resort hosted the U.S. Open.

What hasn’t changed is the difficulty of selecting where to play. Choosing how to divide your rounds in such a target-rich environment can tie visitors in knots. 

Scroll through my selection of the best courses in the Pinehurst area, and be sure to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography and reviews from our course panelists. We also encourage you to leave your own ratings on the courses you’ve played … so you can make your case for why each course deserves, or doesn’t deserve, more notoriety.