Golf Scrapbook Blog (The Other Ones)

Pinehurst #4, #7 and #8
(plus other Pinehurst courses)

Been to Pinehurst on three different trips, the longest of which was in 2017 where I played #2, #4, #8 and Tobacco Road. I may do a separate write-up on Tobacco but for now will include a little here. On separate trips played #7, Mid-Pines and Mid-South. I have an oft-cancelled trip planned again for Spring 2022 where we hope to play both Forest Creek courses and possibly Pine Needles. UPDATE: I went back to Pinehurst in 2024 and played the new #9 and #10 courses. See review of those courses here.

Obviously the crown jewel of the entire Pinehurst region is #2. I do #2 here (see what I did there?). Don’t get me wrong, #2 is very good and in my top 50, but for it to be consistently in the Top 20 world and US rankings is a might bit lofty IMO. So where do the other Pinehurst courses rank.

In my rankings I have #8 slightly ahead of #4 and #7 a good way behind that. Most likely reason for that is I played #4 right before Gil Hanse’s redo was started. In Golf Magazine’s most recent rankings (2020-2021), they have Pinehurst #4 ranked at 92 in the US. That too is a bit lofty IMO as we all thought #4 was nice but not even as nice as #8 (but again we played it before the redo was done). BTW they have #2 ranked at 11. That’s also high praise – a bit too high. Golf Digest also ranks #4 higher than #8 and put it in its most recent second 100 as well (#162).

Pinehurst #4: I am curious why the #4 love post-restoration. It was a very good golf course. I’m guessing like #2, the most recent Gil Hanse remake must have brought it back to its roots. Golf Digest went so far as to compare it to #2 and the course co-hosted the Amateur with its more famous big sister #2 in 2019.

This is a course that has had pretty constant tinkering since its inception. According to Golf Digest, “No. 4 began as nine holes built by Ross in 1912. In the early 1950s, owner Richard Tufts created a new 18 on the site. Twenty years later, Robert Trent Jones redesigned the course, and 10 years after that, his son Rees redesigned it again. In 1999, Tom Fazio refashioned the whole thing.”

The new course follows the same routing as Fazio’s iteration – the one we played. I didn’t play well here – but looking at the card played well enough when I had to and won all my six hole matches. This is our favorite game and gives everyone in the foursome the opportunity to play as a team. We spice it up and play front and back threes plus totals. We’ll play $10 front/back/totals for each match. Of course we add $10 auto two-down presses. All you need to do to avoid losing big is play at least two holes out of every six well enough to either win a side or keep from getting doubled on each side. On this day there were no presses but I won 8 of 9 three-hole sides and tied the other.

There’s not much water so to speak on #4. Only three holes play around or over a pond. The trouble lies in the green complexes where (like #2) Fazio designed upside down saucers that repelled approach shots. We played #4 in the early Spring and the course was just coming out of dormancy. It didn’t affect play at all but did take the esthetics down a notch or two. Since I have a lot to chat about here, I won’t belabor you with a hole-by-hole description.

Pinehurst #8 is close to a Top 100 course. Designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1996, it’s off property and provides a very different vibe than the other Pinehurst courses. Water and wetlands come into play on a lot more of the holes than other Pinehurst courses. While we played this on the same trip as #4, the grass had recovered faster and there was much less dormancy.

So we had our big blowout the night before we were scheduled to play #8 which means we were all excruciatingly hungover for the round. In fact, half our group missed our early tee time and had to scramble to re-book an hour or so after we teed off. I played like I felt – poopy! As we were rushing around to get here, there was neither warm-up nor nerve-buster to relax. From what I remember – and why I ranked #8 higher than #4 – was the slight elevation changes on #8 where there is not as much on the courses at the resort.

I don’t remember a lot of the holes but remember walking off the course thinking how nice it was. It’s most definitely unlike the other Pinehurst courses but definitely worth the play.

Played Pinehurst # 7 in 2012. Also played it early Spring so it was pretty dormant, Again this doesn’t affect the play as much (though the rough is usually a little less rough when the grass is dormant). Like 8, #7 is off property and also enjoys more subtle elevation changes than the on-property Pinehurst courses. This is a Rees Jones course and is nice and all but a pretty big step down from #4 and #8. It doesn’t make best in state for Golf Digest so the snobs agree with me as well. From what my memory serves me from ten years ago, this was pretty much more of a parkland style course than the “in the pine scrub” of the others. Closer in vibe to #8 than to #2. The only hole I really remember is the 18th – a downhill par five with the green backed up by a pond. One club too many and you’re dunking your Titliest. I played horribly here and took a nice double on 18.

Tobacco Road I rank much higher than #7. For most it is a love it or hate proposition. I’m square in the middle. Definitely one of the most unique courses you’ll ever play but it gets to be a bit tricked up at points. Love the first where you need to squeeze your drive through the titties to find the fairway. It’s a 547-yard par five and the number three handicap on the course so from the get-go you know it’s gonna be a tough round. I actually played really well here – an 87. If you’re here, you have to play it. It is so different from anything else down here and definitely a memorable experience. We got here early to try and get out early but ended up sitting in the clubhouse for a few hours. It’s not a huge clubhouse so I don’t recommend doing this as we drank them out of Miller Lites.

Mid-South: My buddy Rob and Scott do a yearly trip with their buddies to Pinehurst and they love Mid-South. I had a meeting in Charlotte during their 2021 trip and drove across the state to join them for their Mid-South round. It was a really nice course, great conditioning and a great Palmer design but the houses were a little omnipresent for my liking. I did not play well here at all. Like #7, Mid-South was more of a parkland style club with a lot more water coming into play than the PH courses. My favorite is the par three sixth which is all carry over a little pond to a pretty canted green that runs balls back toward the pond. In my el crapo round, I hit it safely long right but my only slightly skulled chip put me into the pond.

Mid-Pines is a great, classic Donald Ross course. It’s a combo parkland/pines course. The course was in awesome shape. It didn’t beat you up too bad but you had to be strong around the greens. It wasn’t too pricey and as we stayed on property for the round in 2012, this was a pretty inexpensive round for a really nice course.

All in all if you’re planning your first trip to Pinehurst and don’t have connections set up yet, I would do the following: Book a Vrbo – there are a ton of rentals in the area. Then book one room at the Pinehurst resort. Round one at Mid-South. High gross score has to pay for the Pinehurst room. Then you have to do #2 (when in Rome) and I would try #4 the next day post Hanse renovation. Take the trip to Tobacco Road and if you’re so inclined to do 36-in-a-day add Mid-Pines or Pine Needles (haven’t played but stayed there for a night an looks really nice and is ranked pretty high in state). Hoping to add Forest Creek so will let you know in an update whether to beat up your pro to try and get on there and I hear the Dormie Club is the best in the whole area but no plans to get on there this time.

I don’t have the below photos labeled and can’t really remember much but here you go.

Pinehurst #4