Pinehurst Resort & Country Club - No. 7

No. 7 is the one Pinehurst course that doesn't fit my game, so therefore I don't love it. It's a parade of tough approach shots to elevated greens or over wetland hazards. The ranger proudly told us that its slope and rating is more difficult from the tips than Pinehurst No. 2. I can see why. I would probably shoot lower on No. 2 than I would on No. 7 more than 90 percent of the time for the simple fact that my putter can handle the greens on No. 2 but my ball-striking off the ground can't handle the demands of No. 7.

#7 at Pinehurst appeared to be quite polarizing amongst members and staff during our trip. We played it as a second round of the day a couple times on our trip since it was wide open in the afternoons.

We were told by some staff that #7 was the toughest course of the resort, and the greens were extremely fast. Some staff members appeared to dislike the course entirely. In my opinion it is a nice course with several elevated greens. Nothing spectacular or difficult about the routing. The greens were nice and smooth, but not terribly fast, and you could hold a shot on most surfaces. The course does require the ball to be in the air to get on several of the greens.

A couple of the par 5s are funky dog legs. I was hitting 6 iron off the white tees. Other than that most holes are pretty good.

Conditions were good, the staff is very friendly, and since it was lightly played during our trip, pace was excellent. We enjoyed our rounds on #7, and they did have the cheapest snack bar food of all the courses which was nice. $5 hot dog instead of $8 at main resort.

Variety is good, right? On Pinehurst's terms, courses 6 through 9 offer it in the form of modern resort golf. No. 7 is a nice but fairly typical 1980s golf course: tough, with well-protected greens and a good bit of exterior mounding and shaping to show the hand of Man. That said, there are plenty of good holes, with the short par-5 first being high among them. A reminder that this is still Pinehurst comes at the lovely par-3 16th.

I'm a Pinehurst CC member and note this course's reviews are WAY out of date. Course #7 is bounded by the two US Am courses, #2 and #4, but has the most changes in elevation (of any of the 9 PCC courses). Along with recent addition #9 (formerly known as National) and #8, #7 is PCC's Signature club-within-club. Each course 7-9 has its own clubhouse; and because their first tees do not start near the main clubhouse, they don't get the attention of resort players...in fact, access is limited. Plus 7 is a tough track...Bluegolf shows course ratings and slopes from white and blue tees akin to #2 and #4. Pace of play is rapid, and playing conditions reliably superior, because #7 is the least played PCC course. Members like it that way. So forget you read this if you can; if you can't, see if the resort can get you a slot, or meet a member. :-)

Just because a calendar flips a month does not justify $196 for this course. When you have an hour frost delay and temps that don't break 50, you would think the course would not charge mid summer rates. Fairways still painted green. Tons of elevation change.

Played this course for the first time this summer. Evidently, the greens were completely redone and we were playing the course after it had only been re-opened for a week or so. No surprise the course was in great condition and the greens were pure.

Winds through the trees and was a very enjoyable round. Wouldn't mind playing this track again on future trips to Pinehurst.

Greens are 100% recovered from what sounds like a rough spell. Excellent condition. Now that I've played it 3 times, I really enjoy this layout. Challenging but fair. Must avoid bunkers and CLUB UP on approaches. It plays so much longer because of all the uphill shots. Cart guys are really great and practice areas are very good. Kudos to the grounds crew as the greens are perfect and they are showing little stress from the drought.

Course should be closed until greens are in adequate shape. We were told that holes 1-6 greens weren't in good shape. None of the rest were much better. Pace of play (over 5h) was just as bad.

Played 5/17 and 5/18 as a single. Had course to myself both rounds. Played through one group. Cart guys are very friendly and helpful. Staff was nice. Clubhouse is old but well kept. Greens were absolutely perfect. Fairways excellent, too. But the greens were just spectacular. Very well kept course. Design routes through a neighborhood of nice, well kept homes. There are OB stakes in view but you have to hit a TERRIBLE shot to go OB. I got near the stakes one time in 36 holes. There is good room to drive the ball here but approaches are difficult. They will tell you several times there are 13 uphill approaches and it is true. Some are 2 clubs uphill. Bunkers are well kept but stay out of them obviously. Most green complexes will have a bailout side away from the bunkers. Play to that or it will be a long day. The course routing has no "wow" factor really, but it is a rock solid golf design that challenges and makes you think. Really strong par 3's and par 5's. Overall an excellent experience with zero complaints. I played the blue tees (6,820 yds) first day and white tees (6,340 yds) the next. If you are unsure which to play, play the up tees. As stated before the course plays longer than it shows on the card. Definitely will play again when in the area. NOTE: This course and clubhouse are NOT based at the main resort clubhouse. It's separate off of HWY 15/501 about 6 min from main resort clubhouse.

Of the Pinehurst Resort's nine courses, only #7 and #8 have marsh-hazard features. These features on #7 are attributed to a bit of forced routing, whereas on #8 they are more reflective of esthetics. No. 7 has nice elevation variety, and many challenging holes. Pinehurst CC maintenance is apparent here. Overall, #7 ranks in the middle of the pack for the nine Pinehurst courses... 2/4/8/9/7/6/5/3/1. Nevertheless, an extremely nice tract and well worth playing.

No. 7 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club always seems to be the odd course out in the resort rotation. Plenty of local members play it, and enjoy it, but when it comes to resort guests, the big three, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 8, see the most traffic.
At 7,216 yards, this Rees Jones design is the resort's second longest track. A parade of 13 elevated greens make it play even longer. It opened in 1986 away from the main clubhouse to replace a former nine-hole employee course designed by Donald Ross. The front nine ends in a three-hole flurry of water and wetlands, including the "Devil's Gut" guarding the green on the short par-4 seventh hole.
Here's a interesting historical footnote: Tiger Woods won his lone Pinehurst title to date here in the 1992 Big I Junior Classic.