Local Resources

A Member's view of the Pinehurst Golf Experience

I live and play golf in Pinehurst, North Carolina. My wife and I moved to this beautiful place ten years ago and became members of the Pinehurst Country Club. We are retired, but there are many of us still out there in the working world....some full time, others part time. We have one thing in common. All of us play golf every chance we get.

And while golf is our passion, the Pinehurst membership offers so much more...like our member’s only clubhouse overlooking the world famous No. 2 golf course. Lake Pinehurst, 200 acres of water with a beautiful sandy beach for swimming, boating and fishing.  Four swimming pools scattered throughout the property, so popular with our many young families. Our nationally ranked tennis facility with 24 courts. The Pinehurst Croquet Club, site of the 2009 National Championship.  And the Pinehurst Spa, a four star rated facility with its 28 treatment rooms and full service Salon, available to members at special discount rates.

Our golfing members have playing privileges on six of the Pinehurst eight world class golf courses. The two exceptions are course No. 7 requiring a separate membership... and our newest course No. 8, which is often made available to members at a discount rate.

Three courses are reserved for the members every day. Today it might be No. 1, No.3, No. 5.  Two courses will be designated for organized golf and one for non organized.  The next day  No. 2,  No. 4, No. 6 will be members only courses.

Tee times are booked five days in advance. Each morning at 8:00 am we call the starting tower for the advanced tee times and are placed on a phone queue. Depending on timing and a little luck it will take ten to fifteen minutes to get through. There is another option. We can call the Tower each morning starting at 7:00 am and reserve whatever "day of play" tee times are still available.

Organized golf is very popular here. The MGA has reserved tee times two days a week. The “Scramblers" play one day a week.  The WGA has one day a week and the “Birdies" one day.  The "Chippers" play nine holes of golf once a week.

There are any number of private groups who arrange their own tee times. There are club championships at every level, a couples championship, and lots of member-guests.

A round of golf will typically last somewhere between three and four hours. In the summer tee times start at 6:30 am. In the winter the first tee time is 9:12 am with 8 minute intervals... organized winter golf is usually a shotgun starting at 11:00 am.  All courses are open year round including the half way houses. Fairways are over-seeded in late fall and we have wall to wall green rye grass throughout the winter.....the bermuda returns in early June.

Our favorite course is No. 1. It is a Donald Ross course and was completely renovated last summer. I also love course No.5, a true test of golf at every level. Course No. 3 is also a wonderful test...particularly for the short game. Courses No. 2, No. 4, No. 6 are considered "premium" courses and guests pay extra to play them. Members do not. I think course No.4 is the most beautiful of all the Pinehurst courses.  Course No. 2 is always ranked among the top ten in the world.

Private carts are allowed but are limited to 500 members. New members who want a private cart get on a waiting list---currently two to three years.  The rest of us join the Pinehurst cart program which, for unlimited play, will cost approximately $1850 for a single to $2700 for a couple. Or you can pay a daily fee, currently $18.00.

We also have an unlimited guest policy at very reasonable rates that vary by the season and the course.

And, by the way, if you are not interested in the Pinehurst membership there are currently 33 other signature courses in the area within a half hour drive. Full time residents can play most of them for about $40 a round using one of the several resident discount programs available.

Whatever your choice, most of us who live and play here think it's the best deal in golf. And be sure to check out the New York Times story about Pinehurst that was published last summer. It is available on Linda’s web page along with a wealth of other information about this area.

If you have any further golf questions please email Linda at:  lindamaull@remax.net . She will forward your message to me and I promise a quick response.

 Hope to tee it up with you in Pinehurst someday soon. 

Tom