Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the prestigious North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst No. 4 moved up 10 ranking positions and into the Top 10 in the state to earn the ninth position. Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines remains ranked fourth with the Dogwood course at The Country Club of North Carolina holding onto its fifth position. Overall, 15 Pinehurst area golf courses are included among the Top 100 rankings.
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 has some of the nation’s best courses. The 135-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.
“It’s no surprise to see that seven of the top 20 courses in the state are located in the Pinehurst area,” said Phil Werz, president and CEO for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “While our destination is one on every golfer’s bucket list, we have a great mix of courses from legendary and historic to affordable and fun to fit every price range. When you combine great golf with a growing craft beer scene, local dining with innovative chefs using products from farmers in Moore County, unique shopping options and fun events year-round, our area is an amazing destination for not only golfers, but for couples, meetings and groups.”
The move Pinehurst No. 4 made into the top 10 of the rankings is no surprise. The Gil Hanse redesign opened in September 2018, so more panelists were able to play it last year and fully consider it for the 2020 rankings. Another area course that saw large improvement in their ranking was Mid South Club which moved up eight spots and into the top 50 at #44. Also, The New Course at Talamore improved nine spots to #83.
The panel also ranked the Top 50 Courses You Can Play and the Pinehurst area once again dominated the list with 15 listed, or 30 percent of the clubs, including the top six – Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst No.8, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club and Pinehurst No. 9. Other golf clubs among the Top 50 include Mid South Club, Pinehurst No. 7, The New Course at Talamore, Southern Pines Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 6, Legacy Golf Links, Tobacco Road, Longleaf Golf and Family Club and Hyland Golf Club.
“We are so fortunate in the state of North Carolina to have an abundance of great golf courses from the mountains to the coast,” said Kevin Brafford, executive director of the N.C. Golf Panel. “However, many of the courses in the Pinehurst area are legendary, globally-recognized and memorable. Those golf courses put our state on the golf bucket list map, not just for golfers in this country, but also from around the world.”
Pinehurst area golf courses are no strangers to the national and global stage as well when it comes to major championships. In 2019, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club hosted the U.S. Senior Women’s Open while Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4 hosted the U.S. Amateur. In 2021, The Country Club of North Carolina will host the U.S. Junior Amateur. In 2022, the U.S. Women’s Open returns to Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. And the U.S. Open will be back at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024, marking the fourth such major championship to be played at the historic club over the course of 25 years (1999, 2005, 2014 and 2024), the most to be played over the course of a quarter-century than any other location in the country. All of those events are sanctioned by the United States Golf Association (USGA).
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 2020, Top 50 Courses You Can Play and other rankings, visit NCGolfPanel.com.
Top 100 NC Courses for 2020:
- Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst
- Grandfather Golf and Country Club, Linville
- Mountaintop Golf and Lake Club, Cashiers
- Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Southern Pines
- The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst
- Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte
- Elk River Club, Banner Elk
- Old North State, New London
- Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst
- Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte
- Sedgefield Country Club (Ross), Greensboro
- Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst
- Old Town Club, Winston-Salem
- Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington
- Wade Hampton Golf Club, Cashiers
- Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington
- The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst
- Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, Southern Pines
- Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham
- Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh
- Rock Barn Country Club (Jones), Conover
- Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville
- River Landing (River), Wallace
- McGregor Downs Country Club, Cary
- Governors Club, Chapel Hill
- Forest Creek Golf Club (South), Pinehurst
- Trump National Golf Club, Mooresville
- Prestonwood Country Club (Highlands), Cary
- Country Club of Landfall (Dye), Wilmington
- Treyburn Country Club, Durham
- Country Club of Landfall (Nicklaus), Wilmington
- Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst
- Forest Creek Golf Club (North), Pinehurst
- Linville Golf Club, Linville
- Forsyth Country Club, Winston-Salem
- High Point Country Club (Willow Creek), High Point
- The Hasentree Club, Wake Forest
- Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte
- Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill
- River Landing (Landing), Wallace
- Dormie Club, West End
- Greensboro Country Club (Farm), Greensboro
- Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head Island
- Mid South Club, Southern Pines
- Duke University Golf Club, Durham
- Gaston Country Club, Gastonia
- Country Club of Asheville, Asheville
- Scotch Hall Preserve, Merry Hill
- Leopard’s Chase, Sunset Beach
- Starmount Forest Country Club, Greensboro
- The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Greensboro
- Balsam Mountain Preserve, Sylva
- Hope Valley Country Club, Durham
- Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia), Pinehurst
- Grandover (East), Greensboro
- The Currituck Club, Duck
- Alamance Country Club, Burlington
- Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst
- Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh
- Prestonwood Country Club (Meadows), Cary
- Jefferson Landing, Jefferson
- The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis
- Ballantyne Country Club, Charlotte
- Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center (Champions), Browns Summit
- Tiger’s Eye, Sunset Beach
- Hounds Ears Club, Blowing Rock
- River Run Country Club, Davidson
- Carmel Country Club (South), Charlotte
- Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro
- Croasdaile Country Club, Durham
- Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington
- Cedarwood Country Club, Charlotte
- The Peninsula Club, Cornelius
- Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach
- Lake Toxaway Country Club, Lake Toxaway
- St. James Plantation (Reserve), Southport
- Mimosa Hills Golf Club, Morganton
- Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point
- Providence Country Club, Charlotte
- Tournament Players Club at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh
- Linville Ridge, Linville
- Tanglewood Park (Championship), Clemmons
- The New Course at Talamore, Southern Pines
- Grandover (West), Greensboro
- Wilson Country Club, Wilson
- Bermuda Run Country Club (East), Bermuda Run
- Cape Fear Country Club, Leland
- Brier Creek Country Club, Raleigh
- Benvenue Country Club, Rocky Mount
- Rocky River Golf Club, Concord
- Compass Point Golf Club, Leland
- Mill Creek Golf Club, Mebane
- North Ridge Country Club (Lakes), Raleigh
- Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash
- Carolina Golf Club, Charlotte
- Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville
- Prestonwood Country Club (Fairways), Cary
- Blowing Rock Country Club, Blowing Rock
- Stoney Creek Golf Club, Whitsett
- Nags Head Golf Links, Nags Head
Photo of Pinehurst No. 2 taken by Sandhills Sentinel Photographer John Patota.
Contributed