Pinehurst No. 2 – Donald Ross’s masterpiece – has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst Resort will host the 2024 U.S. Open on No. 2 for the fourth time, June 13-16. The Dogwood Course at The Country Club of North Carolina and Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club remain in the third and fourth positions, behind Grandfather Golf and Country Club in Linville. Sixteen courses from the Sandhills area are listed in the Top 100 rankings, including 13 among the Top 50.
The North Carolina Golf Panel was founded in 1995 and is recognized as the most authoritative statewide source of golf course rankings in a state that arguably boasts some of the nation’s best courses. The 185-member panel is composed of golf media, club professionals and general managers from many outstanding courses, accomplished amateur players and college golf coaches, and others who play an active role in promoting golf in North Carolina.
Grandfather Golf and Country Club (Phil Werz)
“There’s a reason why we are known around the world as the Home of American Golf,” said Phil Werz, president and CEO for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Golf is what drives our diverse economy, it’s the reason why the USGA moved here, and we cannot wait to witness yet another U.S. Open in June when it will be played on the number one golf course in North Carolina – Pinehurst No. 2.”
Among the 2024 rankings of the Top 100 Courses in North Carolina, a total of 16 are located in the Pinehurst area. Those rankings include: Pinehurst No. 2 (#1); The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood, #3); Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club (#4); Pinehurst No. 4 (#11); CCNC (Cardinal, #12); Pinehurst No. 8 (#13); Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club (#21); Dormie Club (#24); Forest Creek Golf Club (South, #32); Pinehurst No. 9 (#33); Mid South Club (#37); Forest Creek Golf Club (North, #39); Pinehurst No. 7 (#49); Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia, #67); and Southern Pines Golf Club (#69) and Talamore Golf Club (#77).
Pine Needles
One course that’s not on the list is Pinehurst Sandmines. The 10th course at Pinehurst Resort – a Tom Doak design – is expected to open April 3. Sandmines, undoubtedly, will be on next year’s list, possibly as high as Top 20.
Back to this year, the panel also ranked the Top 50 Courses You Can Play and the Pinehurst area once again dominated the list with 14 locations, or nearly 30 percent of the clubs, including the top seven and eight of the top 12. The top seven include Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst No. 8, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 9 and Mid South Club. Pinehurst No. 7 is 12th. Other golf clubs among the Top 50 include Southern Pines Golf Club (#18); Talamore Golf Club (#21); Pinehurst No. 6 (#34); Tobacco Road Golf Club (#38); Legacy Golf Links (#39) and Longleaf Golf and Family Club (#40).
The Dormie Club (Dormie Network)
“The Pinehurst area is like a fantasyland if you play golf and have an appreciation for great courses,” said Kevin Brafford, executive director of the N.C. Golf Panel. “It would be akin to a fan of ballparks being able to see Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium all in one city. That’s how blessed we are.”
Pinehurst No. 2 will host additional U.S. Open championships in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. In 2029, Pinehurst No. 2 will once again host back-to-back men’s and women’s U.S. Open championships, a repeat of the only course in America to host that tandem of historic events in 2014.
For more information about all golf courses in the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area, visit HomeofGolf.com. For the complete list of the Top 100 Courses for 2024, Top 50 Courses You Can Play and other rankings, visit NCGolfPanel.com. Or, for additional coverage, pick up the April issue of Business NC magazine.
Top 100 Courses for 2024 (second number is previous year’s ranking)
1. 1. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst
2. 2. Grandfather Golf and Country Club, Linville
3. 4. The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst
4. 3. Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Southern Pines
5. 5. Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte
6. 7. Elk River Club, Banner Elk
7. 6. Mountaintop Golf and Lake Club, Cashiers
8. 8. Old Town Club, Winston-Salem
9. 9. Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro
10. 17. Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham
11. 12. Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst
12. 13. The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst
13. 16. Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst
14. 11. Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington
15. 10. Old North State Club, New London
16. 14. Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte
17. 19. Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh
18. 18. Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington
19. 20. MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary
20. 21. River Landing (River), Wallace
21. 22. Mid Pines Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines
22. 23. Forsyth Country Club, Winston-Salem
23. 27. Country Club of Landfall (Dye), Wilmington
24. 24. Dormie Club, West End
25. 25. Rock Barn Country Club (Jones), Conover
26. 26. Governors Club, Chapel Hill
27. 31. Country Club of Landfall (Nicklaus), Wilmington
28. 32. Prestonwood Country Club (Highlands), Cary
29. 28. Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville
30. 34. Starmount Forest Country Club, Greensboro
31. 36. River Landing (Landing), Wallace
32. 29. Forest Creek Country Club (South), Pinehurst
33. 30. Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst
34. 35. Champion Hills Club, Hendersonville
35. 33. Treyburn Country Club, Durham
36. 39. The Club at Longview, Waxhaw
37. 37. Mid South Club, Southern Pines
38. 38. Linville Golf Club, Linville
39. 40. Forest Creek Golf Club (North)m Pinehurst
40. 41. Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte
41. 42. Trump National Golf Club, Mooresville
42. 45. Bryan Park (Champions), Browns Summit
43. 43. Balsam Mountain Preserve, Sylva
44. 44. High Point Country Club (Willow Creek), High Point
45. 47. Greensboro Country Club (Farm), Greensboro
46. 49. Grandover (East), Greensboro
47. 48. Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill
48. 60. Occano, Merry Hill
49. 51. Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst
50. 53. Hound Ears Club, Boone
51. 61. Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro
52. 54. Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh
53. 50. Country Club of Asheville, Asheville
54. 46. The Hasentree Club, Wake Forest
55. 52. The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Greensboro
56. 57. Duke University Golf Club, Durham
57. 56. Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head Island
58. 62. Mimosa Hills Golf Club, Morganton
59. 64. Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington
60. 55. Gaston Country Club, Gastonia
61. 59. The Currituck Club, Corolla
62. 63. Ballantyne Country Club, Charlotte
63. 58. Hope Valley Country Club, Durham
64. 66. Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro
65. 69. Carolina Country Club, Raleigh
66. 65. Prestonwood Country Club (Meadows), Cary
67. 68. Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia), Pinehurst
68. 70. Cedarwood Country Club, Charlotte
69. 75. Southern Pines Golf Club, Southern Pines
70. — High Meadows Country Club, High Meadows
71. 83. Grandover (West), Greensboro
72. 71. Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash
73. 86. Blowing Rock Country Club, Blowing Rock
74. 84. Croasdaile Country Club, Durham
75. 72. Alamance Country Club, Burlington
76. 73. Bright’s Creek Club, Mill Spring
77. 77. Talamore Golf Club, Southern Pines
78. 67. Leopard’s Chase, Sunset Beach
79. 74. Jefferson Landing, Jefferson
80. 76. The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis
81. 78. River Run Country Club, Davidson
82. 81. Providence Country Club, Charlotte
83. 79. Tiger’s Eye, Sunset Beach
84. 80. Carmel Country Club (South), Charlotte
85. 87. Mill Creek Golf Club, Mebane
86. 85. Tanglewood Park (Championship). Clemmons
87. 82. Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach
88. 80. Crystal Coast Country Club, Pine Knoll Shores
89. 88. Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point
90. 91. Linville Ridge, Linville
91. 89. The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh
92. 99. Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville
93. 92. The Peninsula Club, Cornelius
94. — Deep Springs Country Club, Stoneville
95. 93. Lake Toxawat Country Club, Lake Toxaway
96. 94. Benevenue Country Club, Rocky Mount
97. 95. Morehead City Country Club, Morehead City
98. 96. Bermuda Run Country Club (East), Bermuda Run
99. 97. Stoney Creek Golf Club, Whitsett
100. 100. Rumbling Bald Resort (Apple Valley), Lake Lure
The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In 2022, Moore County ranked as the tenth largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $750 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county.
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Feature Photo Courtesy of Pinehurst Resort