The Pines at Elizabeth City

Apparently the owners are letting this course go completely so they can turn the property into housing units. I'm not sure they understand how zoning laws work in this country, but I wish them all the worst luck and outcomes possible for destroying what was probably once a great golf course.

We had a 7:30 AM tee time, they apparently open at 7:00 AM, there was no staff there, at all. We walked out to try the practice green, it had probably 6-10 different kinds of vegetation growing on it. Their front facing message on the phones mentions "freshly rennovated bermuda grass greens", WHERE?????

Then we saw ALL the grass clippings EVERYWHERE. They made absolutely no effort to clean them up. Good luck ever finding your ball, anywhere. I said f it and we left.

I love playing this course because of the layout. The staff is great and the pricing is very reasonable. The course is in need of some work. The sand traps need a great deal of work and some of the greens are in need of work as well. I will definitely play it again.

Well I recognize that not every course can be the blue horseshoe in Williamsburg, the Pines falls somewhere along the lines of golfing in a field. It had rained the night before and every golf cart was soaked to the bone, there were no additional dry towels to wipe the carts down and it did not appear as if the outdoor guy was keeping up with that. I think he was doing his best. As far as the layout, the course has a nice flow albeit a bit confusing for the first time. The people golfing there were clearly regulars, and my assumption is they golf there as it’s the closest course to them. My friend and I tried it out because it was the only course within 45 minutes of our house that had open teetimes, and now we know why. The fairways are not mowed down and in many spots you can lose your golf ball right in the fairway unless you walk right up on top of it and look down, the rough is even worse and the greens are pretty much gravel with sand poured on top. There was standing water throughout the course, including on the cart paths. The lakes had a putrid smell and clearly have not been treated in a while. There was large equipment sitting in the middle of fairways and at various other locations throughout the course. We were able to get a good deal at $25, but in all honesty that even felt overpriced. It was an experience, I can say that I’ve been there, but I would not recommend it to anyone who enjoys well kept courses. Clearly they are trying to do their best, so I apologize for the brutal honesty as I know there are hard-working people behind the scenes. The course just is not ready yet and I have heard it’s better than it was, but it’s still not as great as it could be. Best of luck to those who give it a whirl.

Looks like they have made an attempt to heal a few greens. Time will tell I guess

This course was good except for the grass , it needs to be cut badly the fairways was more like rough. The greens we're just okay a few of them had huge dead brass lines like a checkerboard. I got a deal through the tee off app so I can't complain too much but if I would have paid normal price I would have been upset. The layout was a little confusing but the signs helped a lot. The food was great and solos the people working there very friendly. If the grass was cut and the greens were better I would definitely come back.

This is my third time playing the Pines this year and the condition is gradually getting better. There are still some rough greens in the sand traps aren’t very good but I know that the employees and grounds crew are working hard to get them in better condition.

I still really enjoy the course layout and it forces you to play it safe over being aggressive. I enjoy having to strategize for each shot.

Something changed, I guess they hired new groundskeepers but the course is not how I remember it. Every single green is trash, can’t roll anything true here, even tap ins need to be taken with caution. Wouldn’t come back here, even if they gave me a free tee time. Only shinning light, is the half way house; the food and drinks were great, they have a friendly staff in the front.

In 2023 The Pines was awarded the best golf course in three years this course has deteriorated to what could only be close to unplayable. This Tom Clark design from 1947 has a supreme layout that will challenge all golfers. In the last 2 years the course has degraded to greens that are unplayable, tee boxes that are pocked marked and sparse, and bermuda fairways that have been taken over by broadleaf and fescue. This signals a course that appears to be left for dead and extinction.

I really enjoyed the course layout. It was challenging with the number of water, hazards and placement of sand traps. The course was very affordable at under $40 for 18 holes, including the cart. The restaurants pretty darn good too, and I recommend stopping by for food after your round.

The course is in need of attention. The greens and sand traps are in extremely poor condition. I don’t think I saw a sand trap that had sand in it. It was all compacted dirt/sand and exposed wood around the edges. The greens were mostly sand and dirt and were very hard to play on. The fairways were a little long and the tee boxes were hit or miss.

The course has potential and just need some TLC.

Course layout is great. This course has great potential to be a really great course but the greens are terrible and some tee boxes are really hard. Bunkers need raked and some have weeds growing out of them. If this course was well maintained, it could be a hidden gem of a course.

Course layout is very nice. Condition of course is very subpar. Bunkers growing grass, fairways in poor condition, but worst of all is the DEAD greens. Almost every green has no grass or very little grass. Never played a course with greens in conditions as bad as The Pines.

There was no staff member and building were locked up when I started my round. Staff member brought me a golf cart as I was walking off the 5th hole. Stated I wasn’t supposed to be able to get a 7am tee time.

Frustrating day

Hi,

I sent this email to the course.

Four of us played this past week. I was truly embarrassed to take my relatives from North Myrtle Beach to play. If you can't maintain the course, go ahead and shut it down or at least create temporary greens. Not only were the greens unplayable, sand traps full of grass and trash, your maintenance crew had not replaced many of the red tee box markers. Mower tire marks and blade scrapes are just a sign of not caring for the course.

I would be embarrassed to let golfers on the course.

Course is in terrible shape. It has been neglected for so long that it will probably take years to get it in shape. I don’t know if management doesn’t know what they’re doing or is unwilling to make the repairs to the course. I don’t think I will be playing here again.

The layout is nice with some challenging holes. The greens were in bad shape and in need of some serious work. The staff was very friendly and the food in the clubhouse is good and reasonably priced. The potential loss of the driving range to condominiums is an unfortunate situation and could affect the asthetics of the course.

This is not what you would expect from a. Middle of the country no where golf course, hazards laid out just right, forgiving but not all at the same time , fairway and tee boxes were awesome, it's still early in the season but the greens were a bit rough and not just weeds , could definitely get away with a minus 1 per hole to off set

Tee boxes and greens are in extremely bad condition

Sneaky tough even though it's not long because of the small, mushroomed greens...Plenty of water, bunkers, and trees to make you think out there! Still a great value for a decent layout and a quick round, but the ownership HAS TO put a little bit of time or money back into the course to fix the greens! Most of them weren't even puttable.