This week, the eyes of the golfing world have been on the Pinehurst Resort in the Sandhills of North Carolina. (Side brag: I picked Martin Kaymer to win the U.S. Open in my fantasy golf pool.) The USGA held its men's championship event last weekend and will conduct the women's event this weekend at Pinehurst #2, the iconic Donald Ross designed layout that was restored by the hottest golf architect firm today, (Bill) Coore & (Ben) Crenshaw, and is getting wide acclaim from pros, golfers and the general public. It looks terrific on television, that's for sure.
If you are looking for a break and mild introduction to National Golf Club's layout, forget
about it. From the start, Jack Nicklaus' design is a sculpted challenge. National Golf Club
was recently purchased by Pinehurst Resort and has become Pinehurst #9.
Golf is plentiful and excellent in the Pinehurst/Southern Pines area, some of the highest quality courses, and some of the most famous, on the east coast. The Pinehurst Resort now can boast nine courses in its rotation after it added a few months ago the National Golf Club just down the street, an established golf community we visited and reviewed here. (Click for our review of National Golf Club.) Blue-collar golfers with a zest for travel rave about the unforgettable Tobacco Road, just a half hour away and about as wild and exciting a layout as you will every play. Back closer to Pinehurst, Mid Pines, another Donald Ross classic, and Dormie Club, a new course by Coore & Crenshaw that adheres to old principles of design, help give visiting and local golfers more than a month of golf courses they can play without repeating a single one. For those serious about a golf retirement, there are myriad options in the Pinehurst area, both golf and real estate related.
