On the way to Myrtle Beach, we stopped in North Carolina so I could get in a round at Pine Needles. Simply put, it was a fantastic experience.
1. The Course: As a fan of Donald Ross courses, Pine Needles was everything I hoped it would be. Fair, challenging, and with fantastic greens. In terms of conditioning, the fairways were “OK,” but that appeared the result of a late winter. In a few weeks, they should be perfect. Even though they were recently sanded, the greens were fast, rolled true, and great contours.
a. I did get the experience of hitting the green only to have the ball kicked off the back. Nevertheless, I never felt the design was unfair.
b. In terms of green speed, they were fast, but not ridiculous. I did; however, miss a 2 foot putt (3 times).

Bottom Line: If you enjoy Donald Ross courses, you will be very happy with Pine Needles. Indeed, it a must play.

2. The Hospitality: Fantastic. Everyone from the resort we came into contact was fantastic to deal with. They were helpful without being in the way.
Our Pinehurst Plas: It was our first time in the Pinehurst area and we definitely will be back for a real trip. Lunch at the Holly Inn was fantastic. The Pinehurst Resort is unreal. It was a golf madhouse with golfer’s going off in every direction.
With a little luck, I am hoping to get down to the area to play Linville, Mid Pines, and Pinehurst No. 2. in 2010.

If you can pull that together for 2010 you will love it. I'm fortunate to only be 2 hours from Pinehurst and get down there several times a year. Pine Needles is a treat but if you like the Ross designs and the history you will like MidPines even more. It is short and feels more original to what Ross designed. Staff there is outstanding as well and treat the vacation golfer like a member for a day. Glad you enjoyed Pinehurst and glad you got the "bug" to come back!

My favorite course ever! I have played it a number of times and it seems to only get better. The update a few years ago made it more challenging while maintaining the original feel (IMO). Glad you enjoyed it....

We stayed at Mid Pines and played PN and MP as well as the 4 hole short course. It was awesome, and I enjoyed all the golf!

My buddy and I played Pinehurst #2&5, Pine Needles, and Tobacco Road over three days last February (my wife, who is very understanding, was okay with me missing Valentines day). Pine Needles was our first stop and it was a great course. It was me, my buddy, and a guy from France we paired up with. Great course, lots of fun, and the hospitality was indeed awesome. No doubt about it I would play again and would love to hit up Mid Pines. I'm thinking being stationed at Pope AFB wouldn't be a bad thing...

I envy you. On Valentine's Day, it finally got warm enough (and that is a generous description) for me to play somewhere near me. I ended up driving 2 hours to play Van Cortdland Golf Course in the freaking Bronx. It was so cold, there was still remnants of snow in the freaking bunkers. (VC is the oldest public golf course in the United States (and looks older). While you were beautiful North Carolina, I was checking out the graffiti and zooming traffic on the Major Deegan Expressway :-) Worst of all, while I was playing, my wife was free in Manhattan with a credit card!!!! We did, however, have a very nice dinner in the city when we were done.

How did you like Tobacco Road? I am playing True Blue on Wednesday. It is my first time to play a Mike Stranz course. I have hear people love his courses or hate them.

BTW, here my pics of Pineneedles...

http://www.hetzelfamily.org/golf/pineneedles/

and here is the 4 hole practice loop:

http://www.hetzelfamily.org/golf/PineneedlesLoop/

Not to threadjack, but here are pics of Mid Pines:

http://www.hetzelfamily.org/golf/MidPines/

I hope you make it back in 2010, if you are a Donald Ross fan, Mid Pines is a great layout. Also don't miss Southern Pines C.C., ( the old Elks Club course) it is the most under rated Ross design in the area. It has had new Management for about a year, and they have really brought the course conditions back where they need to be, and it's less than 1/2 the price of Mid Pines.

The next time I visit the Pinehurst area, I am definitely playing Southern Pines CC.