[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

PINENEEDLES Lodge and Golf club

I just finished playing 18 holes at PINENEEDLES, site of the 2007 Women's US OPEN. AWESOME facility, great course.

Whoever said that Donald Ross "protected par at the green" was definitely telling the truth. I was killing the ball off the tee with the generous fairways here. The areas around the greens, and the greens themselves were quite slick, rolling VERY FAST.

Service is 1st class here all the way. As I type this I am happily staring out the window of my hotel room overlooking the 18th green at Mid Pines GC. Carts were restricted to the cart path at Pineneedles and in the pinestraw only. We walked the front 9 and then we rode the back nine. The course does not route itself back to clubhouse but they have a snack shop at the 9th tee box. I played the US Open tees, about 6700 or so. If you play the tips, you would be looking at 7015 yards. Quite formidible, especially with the well protected greens! The Ross tees ( I played these) had a slope of 126 and a course rating of 70.6.

There is something about great golf courses in the south with all the towering Carolina pine trees. These trees can really mess with your depth perception when calculating shots into the greens.

Pineneedles is a must play IMO. Several of the employees here feel it is a better experience than No. 2....

Here are some pics.

[cdesana]

Thanks for the great pics and review. I am looking into going down that way with some friends in the fuiture and thought this course would be a must play. Would you care to share more about any other course you played and any package you put together?

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

My wife and I went for a quick weekend. We stayed at the Mid Pines Inn which is right across the street from Pineneedles. We played both courses. I think that the Pinehurst area is my new golf destination. Much more relaxed compared to Myrtle Beach.