Pine Needles Golf Club in Southern Pines NC - Home of the 1996, 2001 and 2007 US Womens Open

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Pine Needles Golf Club

Pine Needles Golf Club in Southern Pines is loved by pros and amateurs alike. Home of the 1996, 2001 and 2007 U.S. Women's Open, this Donald Ross original always pulls rave reviews. "I've been playing Opens for almost 20 years now, and this is one of the better US Open golf courses that I've played," former Women's Open winner Pat Bradley has said about the course. "It just flows from start to finish. And there are no gimmicks out there."

That may be because Pine Needles Golf Club hasn't fooled around with Donald Ross’ original 1928 design. Whereas many golf courses that age have brought in contemporary architects to modernize their layouts, Pine Needles has stayed true to Ross' vision for the most part. Officials lengthened it four years ago - a near-necessity in today's golf industry. Still, the basic canvas looks much the same as it did nearly 80 years ago. Pine Needles original Donald Ross design

That means wide fairways with the best routes to the green guarded by hazards, a characteristic many designers copied from Ross. There are also deep, grass-faced traps alongside the greens, which are relatively flat but fall off sharply (another favorite Ross trait, perfected at Pinehurst's famous No. 2. The relatively short par 4s are also appreciated by women, as well as lesser-hitting men. The course now stretches close to 7,000 yards, but much of that added distance will only affect the pros.

In 2001 when the USGA contested its U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles Golf Club, Kendra Graham, director of women's competitions for the USGA, summed it up best. Pine Needles, she says, “is a classic; it's such a memorable golf course. You need every club in your bag and you remember every hole after you play it one time. The holes feel like they've been there forever.”

The Bell family, owners of Pine Needles, as well as Mid Pines, has always treasured this course laid out by famed Scottish born architect Donald Ross and have maintained it with loving care for you and their other guests. Now, golf architect John Fought of Scottsdale has restored the course to its original glory. “We want to remind people that this is a Donald Ross golf course, and it will remain a Donald Ross golf course,” Fought says. “We're getting back to Ross in every way we can. Some elements had been lost, and we've had to step back in time to rediscover some of the things he did.”

Part of the plan was returning the greens to their original Ross design while rebuilding the greens foundations using USGA specifications. “Over the years, they became smaller and more oval shaped,” says Kelly Miller, Pine Needles Golf Club president, about the greens. “Originally they were much larger and quite varied in shape.”

Following the restoration, the Pine Needles Golf Club course measures more than 7,000 yards in length because some holes have been “stretched to return the shot values that Donald Ross intended for this course,” says Graham Gilmore, Director of Golf.

It's also a very walkable course, and the club actually encourages hoofing it - something you don't find much these days on U.S. tracks. In the old days of golf design, they didn't use as much land as some of the behemoths do now, and Ross has used this corner of the Sandhills very economically.

It's a classic layout in classic local terrain, with the course playing up and down tree-lined hills. The staff takes pride in keeping the Pine Needles course in terrific shape year-round. Even in late August, when other courses are not faring so well, this course is gorgeous. Especially the greens, which were redone four years ago.

You will start your round on Pine Needles with a par-5 gentle dogleg to the right that requires an uphill drive that moves from left to right. Your shot to the green must watch out for bunkers left and right.

There is virtually no rough, only pine needles that fall from the trees which line most of the holes. But there are holes that will challenge the manliest of men, like No. 2, a long and difficult par 4 where you must reach at least to the crest of a hill to have a long iron to the sloping green. This par-4 has been one of the harder holes on the course, although it has a straightaway downhill fairway. There's a generous landing area for your drive, but the second shot needs to be a long one, and the green slopes slightly away from the shot, making it tough to hold. If you can hit your drive down a speed slot on the left, your ball may be able to get more roll out of it. No. 7 is much the same - a good drive to the top of the hill will still find you with a long iron in your pudgy hands.

For example, fairway bunkers are now placed so that they serve as the kind of hazard that Ross intended from the tees. The short par-5s that had begun to feel like par-4s for those using modern equipment feel like par-5s again. All 18 greens have been rebuilt and planted with the modern A-1 Bent grasses.

No. 3 is one of Pine Needles Golf Club signature holes. There are probably more pictures taken on this hole than anywhere else on the course. On this short par-3, you need to make a precise tee shot over a small pond and wetlands area. The putting surface slopes Pine Needles # 3 sharply from back to front, making three putts a possibility. If the pin is placed directly over the front bunker and short of the back bunker, your shot will be tough to place.

Pine trees lining the fairway require an accurate drive on the par-4 No.4. Picking a club is tough as you make your uphill approach to the green because the hole plays longer than it looks. The right front bunker is deceptive because it might make you think it's right beside the putting surface when it's actually 20 yards in front.

On the par-3 No. 5, you find yourself at the highest elevation on the front nine, with tee boxes that are often plagued by swirling winds. Consider the winds when choosing your club. The green is domed in shape with its high point in the middle of the putting surface. There's also a false front to contend with.

On the par-4 No. 6, long hitters can catch the down slope of the fairway and get 30 yards extra roll out of their tee shot. If your shot is a bit short, however, you'll catch the upslope and your ball will stop dead, requiring a long iron or fairway wood on your approach shot. The ground falls sharply away from the green which also has a deep bunker below it. If you can, hit a draw off the tee of the par-4 No. 7 to provide a good angle of approach and get the most roll on a long hole. The green has a false front that repels shots that don't fly at least 15 feet onto the putting surface. It's very hard to roll the ball up onto the green even though there are no bunkers in front of it.

The par-5 No. 10 is a dogleg left with a dramatic bunker hugging the inside of the corner of the turn. A well-struck tee shot, however, can clear the bunker and leave a long iron or fairway wood to the green. “This is a wonderfully challenging hole that rewards long hitters,” says Pat McGowan, who also notes that this is one of the most photographed holes on the course.

A tee shot that is shaped left to right out of a chute of pine trees works best on the par-4 No. 11. This is one of the tighter driving holes on the course. The topography of the hole – down off the tee, back up to the green – adds to its aesthetics and challenge.

You're going to make your drive uphill to a wide fairway on the par-4 No. 12. But try to stay to the right side of the fairway near the bunker in order to get the best angle for your approach shot to the green.

The par-3 No. 13 requires a long downhill shot to the green. Pay attention to the wind and the drop-off from the tee in order to pull the right club for your tee shot.

As part of our effort to restore the course to its original layout, Nos. 14 and 15 have been reverted to their original pars as designed by Donald Ross. No. 14 has become a par-4 again, and No. 15 a par-5. New tee boxes have been built to provide for the change. No. 15 has a severely sloping fairway you have to favor right. The closing hole features a downhill approach to a green guarded by deep bunkers on both sides.

The par-3 No. 16 provides players with only a glimpse of the green from the tee. The putting surface is well guarded by bunkers, but don't be deceived. That bunker in front of the green has space behind it that will allow you to bounce your ball onto the green.

No. 17 is a left-hand dogleg par-4 that can be a challenge. Players who can hit a big draw over the bunker in the turn and around the pine trees can save themselves two to four clubs' worth of distance on their approach shot. Those who can't might end up in the woods and add strokes to their game. The Lodge at Pine Needles

On the par-4 No. 18 hitting a slight draw off the tee is the ideal shot. Players with length will be able to catch the fairway down slope and get a lot of roll. The approach requires a downhill shot to the green that's difficult to hold.

Whatever the changes, you'll be playing your round on a rolling landscape dotted with maples, holly trees, azaleas, dogwood, blackjack oaks and loblolly pines. Although the Pine Needles Golf Club course is always meticulously groomed, it remains naturally scattered with gentle sandy hills and hollows. You're going to find wide fairways with multi-directional slopes.

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