I go to Myrtle Beach every spring with about 8-12 guys. I was wondering if a trip to Pinehurst woyld be a good idea. I was hoping I could get some advise as far as what there is to do post round, nightlife,restaurants,etc. Also what other courses are near by that aren't so advertised and are still worth playing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I have only been there once, and #2 was under construction for the Open. I played #8, #4 (before renovation) and #7. In my opinion Pinehurst is awesome, would move there if I could work the deal.

But, its all about the golf. If you are looking for clubs and such it is not the place!!

cdesana's post about says it all. Pinehurst is an amazing place and it's definitely on my short-list of retirement destinations (of course that's not for another 40 years). The golf courses and the resort are top notch both in terms of fun and history. That being said, it ain't cheap. As a result, I would be a little cautious of the price, especially if you're used to going to Myrtle with a bunch of guys. Whereas a week at Myrtle might run you anywhere between $700 - $1500 depending on when you go, you'd go through that amount in the span of a weekend at Pinehurst. There are other courses to play, of course, that won't be as expensive as the resort courses (National, Mid South, The Pit, Legacy, Tobacco Road, Talamore, Mid Pines, even Pine Needles) so you can still go to Pinehurst and have a good time without necessarily hitting up #2 or the other true "Pinehurst" courses.

As for nightlife, whereas Vegas would get a 10, Myrtle might get a 4 or so in my opinion, Pinehurst comes in at around a 0 or 1. There's no clubs or gentlemen's clubs to speak of and most of Pinehurst tends to shut down after normal operating hours. Everything about the place is classy, so just don't go there with the expectations of debauchery and craziness like you would at Myrtle or Vegas, etc.

Nightlife is pretty much non-existant.....trust me, I used to live there. There is one place that we used to go to ALL the time right in the villege there. It's called Duggan's Pub and it was only about 7 minute walk from the intern villa's that I stayed in (figure about a 12 minutes walk when you're really hammered).

Not true about the gentlemen's clubs though (well, true in the aspect that there isn't one IN the Village of Pinehurst), but there is one in Southern Pines or Aberdeen....I can't rememeber which one, but it's only about a 10 minute drive from #2. It is very popular with the resort crowd, we used to recommend it to all the guys who would come into the shop and ask us what the hell there is to do around here. It is Pinehurst legend, according to the golf pro's I work with who actually witnessed this, that durring the 99 Open Phil Mickelson spend SEVERAL thousands of dollars there. I can't for the life of me remember the name of this place though.....damn, I'm going to be thinking about it all day now!

1st time there this year,stayed @ Pinecrest Inn (Donald Ross's mansion),rated 5 star,great food,great service & cheap.
played the National-36 holes a day-5days good test of golf
Pinecrest Inn has a bar & a guy playing piano,lots of golf & basketball on TV, a lot of locals hang out male/female young to old

Duggan's is it in Pinehurst for nightlife. Its all about the golf there. There are some fine courses outside of the Pinehurst Resort. #2 is a bit overhyped and overrated, but it is a must play at least once just to do it. There's nothing really special about it other than the history of the course, ie you're not going to be remembering every shot there and such. But, it is a very fair test of golf and extremely difficult if you don't take a caddy. The greens are quite difficult if you don't hit where you are supposed to.

Pinehurst is pricey as it is no Myrtle Beach, so you better make sure your buddies know it. You can stay at the Manor Inn at the Resort at a bit more discount than the Holly or Carolina. It is smaller and a bit further away (like 1000 ft from the Carolina), but its nice. If you go there enough, the staff there will get to know you and what your preferences are for rooms and stuff.

All I can do is echo the comments of others. Pinehurst is a great golf location, but only a golf location. If nightlife is a requirement, Pinehurst will disappoint. Also, the Pinehurst Resort has some courses that I think are better than #2. I played it just because it's #2, but I found nothing special about it. Well, that's not entirely true, I did enjoy playing with a caddy.

I am playing Pineedles and Mid Pines next weekend, I'll let you know, comparison wise, how it stacks up to MB, we were there in April.....[color="#4B0082"][/color]

To be honest, I would prefer a more laid back and less crowded setting than MB from now on.

Great responses guys. Thanks. I would love the laidback atmosphere that Pinehurst seems to offer for a change. We'll be staying at a friends condo so the boarding will be cheap enough. I'll check out the courses that were posted and see if it's a good fit. Thanks again.

^^^^ I want tons of pics of Pine Needles and Mid Pines, Bend, ya hear?!?!^^^


And yeah, No. 2 is not going to blow you away with visual awesomeness. It just wont. But pay attention to all the subtleties. Look at your options on every shot. Every single hole is a brand new challenge, as Ross liked to say. There is so much to appreciate with that golf course, its unbelievable. Its made me look at other courses differently since Ive played it, and so many of the other places Ive played have just been a letdown...

J, where do you live in Michigan? I am in Dearborn pretty often visiting the in laws and I golf somewhere new each time....

That's pretty much what I meant with my post. Its just not a real awe inspiring place. It has character to it, but its very understated character. It is overhyped and overrated for what you get for your money, but a fair test of golf. Still a must play though. If you played it in a cart, you wouldn't remember a thing about it. However, walking with a caddy, you get to see the subtleties. Its not an easy course by any means, however put it in the right spots off the tee and hit to the right part of the green, even if thats away from the flag, and you should have a good round.

Thats a real good description there...




Bend, Im in Wyandotte, like 10 mins from Dearborn... Let me know when youre in town, we should tee it up.

i think "pure gold" is the name you all are looking for. it really is the only place to go after 9:00

Go to Southern Pines every year, my buddy bought a condo at Talamore which is a nice course to play. Other courses that are very good are Mid Pines, The National Golf Club (Jack Nicklaus course, Hard as Hell!), Pine Wild and Mid South Golf club. We play 12 rounds in 7 days so usually eat dinner after golf and crash! 1 strip club in town and it is Pure Gold, they have a shuttle van when they close which came in very handy when my friends left me there a few years back! Several good restaurants, my favorite is Ragazzis Italian restaurant. The Barn is good and the Lobsteer is also decent. Yes Myrtle has a much better night life but as far as golf goes, Southern Pines area is second to none!

I just went to the Sandhills Area April 12-15 with 8 guys. We stayed at Little River, rooms were nice. And the pro Alan took care of all course bookings for us. We played Tobacco Road, Both Pinewild tracks ( all 3 actually, they have a fun little 9 hole par 3, to have some fun with), MidSouth, Talamore, and Little River. Price was great. I would highly recommend it.

I've been to Pinehurst a couple times now and I'm a fan. It's a lot more laid back that MB, that's for sure.

If cost is a factor, it's definitely possible to play quite a few good courses without paying the big bucks at the Pinehurst resort. There are a number of very good courses in the area beyond #s 1-8. The last two trips I've done a package deal with one of the many outfits that do them (same as Myrtle Beach, really).

I'll add recommendations for Mid Pines and Talamore (the front is fairly dull) and also enjoyed The Carolina (Palmer design, extremely not busy - played in no more than 3 hours in April) and Anderson Creek (DLIII design, it's a ways out of town). Hyland Hills was an OK warmup course but it's nothing special. I don't care for The Pit but that's personal taste.

I think next trip I'll split my time and stay part of the week at either Pinehurst or Pine Needles and the rest on a package deal... still have 6 more Pinehurst courses to play (including #2)!