Pinehurst Resort

Great variety in the par 5s and 4s. Par 3 holes are slightly repetitive in yardage if the wind isn't blowing. Turf conditions great, greens rolled perfectly. Great course but I was slightly unimpressed for whatever reason.

Words and pictures can not describe this place. When you walk up the stairs and see this place you just get the chills from all the history at Pinehurst.

The amenities and people are amazing. The driving range is really nice the putting green is so cool, (make sure you play the putting course called Thistle Dhu so much fun and so crazy)

We walked the course with 2 great caddies that filled us in on lots of tips, history, and crazy things the USGA does for the US opens ex: putting mortar on the fairways to make it fast.

From the tee shot to your final putt every shot is a grind because the moment you get out of position especially around the greens big numbers show up. I believe each guy in my group had a putt roll back to their feet when putting from off the green.

As I try to come up with which hole is my favorite I realize I cant because they all were so amazing and memorable. I suggest taking your time and soaking it all in. The walk up 18 was priceless just knowing the history just gives you the chills.

I highly suggest playing here if you get the chance. This is bucket list course and place that will not disappoint. Just soak it all in. Also we didn't play the cradle but it looked awesome and seemed like they had speakers all around the course playing great music. Pinehurst a place I wanna retire to someday.

I had played Pinehurst #2 after the redesign in the 90's when it had rough and now playing with the Coore Crenshaw redesign it made for a true test of my game. Honestly, the fairways are not that tight so you can hit driver off of most tees with knocking your knees together too much. The test is when you hit it into the waste area, when you miss the greens and putting on lighting fast surfaces. It was great to have a caddie, he really helped with the reads. The problem for me was, coming from the northeast, I am not used to putting from 10-15 feet off of greens. Most courses in New England have rough around the greens that you can chip from but everything at Pinehurst #2 is shaved and the greens are all elevated. My lack of knowing how to play those putts made for some sub-par scores on holes I played well to that point. You should play this course if you get the chance, even at the $500 all in price point.

I've lived an hour and a half away for 12 years and had never played #2. Decided to go ahead and do it this summer. Course is very playable but there is trouble everywhere particularly around the greens. Lots of subtle and not so subtle breaks. Putted off the green 2 times. Had a caddie, which definitely saved me a half dozen strokes at least. Definitely worth doing one time, though it is expensive. Great experience and I'll always remember it.

This course is everything you could ask for. Challenging holes, water, incredible clubhouse, nice warm up driving range and practice greens. Course is very well kept as well. Favorite course I’ve ever played

No matter what anyone says about #2, you are playing there. How could you not want to try your hand at a place that hosts US Opens. There is so much history there with championships that you will be in awe.

Ok...now to the golf. The course is beyond tough. You need to hit the fairway so you have a shot to hold the greens. The greens fall off on all sides, so hitting it in the right spot is your only goal when you are in the fairway. That spot is not always so obvious and is likely small. You also may have to land it in a bad spot to roll it in a good spot.

As you can see from the above, you need a caddie. They can take a handful of strokes off for you not only on green reading, but getting you to hit the right spots in the fairways and greens.

The amenities and staff are very friendly at Pinehurst. It is a premium resort experience, so they know how to treat you.

The conditions on the course were great as well. As you would expect from #2.

Finally, the only real issue is the price here. You are paying $400 for the round BEFORE another $100 for a caddie (including the tip). Is it a $500 experience? It isn't too often you get to play a US Open course, so yes, it is worth it once. Would I play it day in day out? No, the value isn't there for ongoing play...especially with how challenging it can be.

Enjoy your round and know it will live up to what you expect of #2.

If you are looking for an easier alternative that is still on Pinehurst property, check out #8. It is slightly off property, but can be worth the time.

The layout is a Tom Fazio built in the 90's, so it has a lot of the scale Fazio was known for then. Some big bunkers and water features. However, you get some great views of nature. It is a great contrast course to #2.

The staff and amenities were good enough. The restaurant served pretty good food, and the locker room was pretty nice.

The course conditions were enjoyable. The fairways and the greens were the stars, but the bunkers also were well done.

Overall, you will likely enjoy playing #8 and keep you coming back to the Pinehurst resort.

I loved everything about it! So much so that I cancelled my next round somewhere else and played it again the next day.

This is not a real "Ross" course. Some holes have the right flavor, but many show that they were designed before Mr. Ross arrived and before he acquired his towering skills as a designed. #9 gets lost because the course was changed to accommodate the US Open. There are some scenic holes but, in comparison to the other courses at Pinehurst, this is plebian.

The crowning achievement of Donald Ross, restored by Coore/Crenshaw to resemble its beginnings. Spectacular holes, easy to walk layout, challenging greens, and history walks with you as a playing partner.

This was our 2nd time playing No. 9 and we loved it just as much as the 1st time. The course is in fantastic shape. We were a twosome playing behind a foursome and still finished in under 4 hours. We didn't push the group in front of us and never got pushed from behind. There are lot of dogleg rights, as you would imagine considering Jack designed it. There are quite a few natural areas and just the right amount of water. We paid a member/guest rate, assuming the walk-on rate is much higher. We played No. 5 in the afternoon and wish we would've played No. 9 twice, that's how much we loved it.

We played No. 9 in the morning and loved it. We played No. 5 in the afternoon and were disappointed. The course was in fair to poor condition and the pace of play was poor. There were 2 groups on the tee at each hole and we waited on every shot from the tee and fairway. The amenities at Pinehurst are 2nd to none though. We played the 18 hole putting course that was a blast and we wish we would've played The Cradle instead of No. 5 now. The Cradle looks like a blast and they had music playing all afternoon. We ate lunch at The Deuce. Sit at the right-side of the bar and you'll have a perfect view of the 18 Green for No. 2.

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.

No. 5 doesn't have the reputation of No. 2 or 8, but should be incorporated into any trip to Pinehurst. If you play one of the championship courses, you can play 1, 3 or 5 for cart fee only. Challenging holes over rolling hills with several dog-legs and forced carries over water. Pay attention to the grain of the greens. With the grain, putts can be very fast. Against the grain, velcro. Played 18 holes in 2hrs and 15 minutes on a weekend. Awesome!

Look for the bale of turtles on the 12th tee.

Played #2 as walking threesome with caddies in four hours. Every step was a treat. The course is in great condition and a challenge to all. It is also a great walk and a classic second shot course. The fairways are wide, but you need to hit the proper side for the approaches to the turtle back greens. There are shot options for apporoaches, but just aiming for the middle is helpful. Taking a caddie will also help as they can let you know the miss or the place to aim so that the ball rolls to the appropriate section.

Unlike many courses which allow you to ease into your round, holes 3-5 and quite frankly 1 and 2 will challenge you right off the bat. What separates Pinehurst from other courses is the fact that you can play the same ball for a whole round. Hazards exist, but since they are not water, you won’t lose a sleeve. The green sites and the difficult recovery for par ensure that it is not a pushover but pleasurably interesting.

Having played and loved Dornoch, you can see that Ross brought the challenge of those green sites over to the States. This place has everything you could want and spending time at the putting course and in the halls reading the history on the walls is time well spent.

If you want a taste of American Parkland golf of the highest order, then play #2. It is a great walk, a rewarding course and just everything that a day should be. The restoration has brought back Ross architecture of the highest order.

There's basically nothing that hasn't been said about No. 2. It's historical significance to the game of golf in the USA is almost unmatched.

The course, to the untrained eye, could probably be construed as "nothing special". There isn't really a "signature" hole. But that's not the point of the course. As I made my way around the course from the Blue tees (one tee in front of the US Open tees) I'd keep saying to myself, "well, this isn't that special". And then I'd get up to the green. Where each and every one is a work of art. The course is intentionally pretty generous off the tee but is also easy to get stuck hitting from waste area to waste area.

The greens can be comical at times. For example, on the very first hole I hit a piped a perfect drive down the right center. Hit my approach pin-high to the right just off the green. I proceed to hit what i thought was a great chip (rolled across the green into the bunker) hit out from the bunker and then 2-putted from 30 feet for 6...all after being in Position A off the tee. That is to say the real work comes around the greens.

I feel it's also the type of course you admire and appreciate the more you play it. However, at such steep prices, not sure many people have that opportunity.

As for Bucket List, I'm glad I played it and hope to play it again some day, just think there are others that might come before it.

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.

This newer addition is a change of pace from all the rest of the courses at Pinehurst, but certainly a worthy play. There's no doubt it has Jack Nickluas' imprint all over it, from the shape of the fairways, undulations, water hazards and difficulty of the tee shots and approach shots. With lost of elevated greens complexes and difficult bunkers, this is all the course you can handle and certainly presents a worthy contrast to the rest of golf at Pinehurst.

This is another golf course that I'd like to give 4 1/2 stars if that option were available, because Tom Fazio's No. 8 design is certainly that good. It's a modern golf course, no doubt, but it fits the sand hills terrain perfectly, albeit with a few more water hazards than 1-5 at Pinehurst. There's nothing boring about No. 8 and it'll challenge the best players from the rearward tees. Like all the courses here, you can almost always expect great conditioning, including the greens surfaces.