Pinehurst Area Courses Dominate 2019 NC Golf Panel Rankings

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Legendary Pinehurst No. 2 Once Again Named Best Course in N.C. Photo courtesy of the USGA/John Mummert

PINEHURST, NC – Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the prestigious North Carolina Golf Panel. Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines moved up three spots to fourth with the Dogwood course at The Country Club of North Carolina placing fifth. Pinehurst No. 8 rounded out the top 10. Overall, 17 Pinehurst area golf courses are included among the Top 100 rankings.

The North Carolina Golf Panel was founded in 1995 and is recognized as the most authoritative statewide source of golf course rankings in a state that arguably has some of the nation’s best courses. The 135-member panel is composed of golf media, club professionals and general managers from many outstanding courses, accomplished amateur players and college golf coaches and others who play an active role in promoting golf in North Carolina.

“It’s no surprise the ‘Home of American Golf’ boasts a significant number of courses among the Top 100 in North Carolina,” said Phil Werz, president and CEO for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “While (Pinehurst) No. 2 is on everyone’s bucket list to play, we are fortunate to have numerous quality and world-class golf courses that rival any golf destination on the planet. When you combine great golf with a growing craft beer scene, great local dining and shopping, and fun events year-round, our area is an amazing destination for not only golfers but for couples, meetings and groups.”

While Pinehurst No. 4 was ranked just inside the Top 20 (No. 19), the Gil Hanse redesign opened last September, so few panelists were able to visit it to include in this year’s rankings. However, that ranking is expected to rise sharply in 2020 with more panelists able to play and rank it, according to Kevin Brafford, executive director of the N.C. Golf Panel.

“In 2019, panelists will get the opportunity to see the wonderful work of Gil Hanse and the Pinehurst staff have created,” said Brafford. “I expect our 2020 rankings will certainly reflect the national acclaim the course is receiving.”

The panel also ranked the Top 50 Courses You Can Play and the Pinehurst area once again dominated the list with 15 listed, or 30 percent of the clubs, including the top six – Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst No. 4, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club and Pinehurst No. 9. Other golf clubs among the Top 50 include Mid South Club, Pinehurst No. 7, Talamore Golf Resort (New Course), Southern Pines Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 6, Legacy Golf Links, Longleaf Golf & Family Club, Tobacco Road and Seven Lakes Country Club.

Pinehurst area golf courses are no strangers to the national and global stage as well when it comes to major championships. In 2019, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club will host the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, May 16-19. Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4 will welcome competitors for the U.S. Amateur, August 12-18. In 2021, The Country Club of North Carolina will host the U.S. Junior Amateur. In 2022, the U.S. Women’s Open returns to Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. And the U.S. Open will be back at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024, marking the fourth such major championship to be played at the club over a course of 25 years (1999, 2005, 2014 and 2024), the most to be played over the course of a quarter century than any other location in the country. All of those events are sanctioned by the United States Golf Association (USGA).

For more information about all golf courses in the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area, visit HomeofGolf.com. For the complete list of the Top 100 Courses for 2019, Top 50 Courses You Can Play and other rankings, visit NCGolfPanel.com.

Top 100 Courses for 2019 (second number is previous year’s ranking)

1. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst
2. Grandfather Golf and Country Club, Linville
3. Mountaintop Golf and Lake Club, Cashiers
7. Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Southern Pines
4. The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst
6. Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte
5. Old North State Club, New London
8. Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte
9. Elk River Club, Banner Elk
10. Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst
12. Sedgefield Country Club (Ross), Greensboro
11. Wade Hampton Golf Club, Cashiers
13. Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington
14. Old Town Club, Winston-Salem
15. The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst
16. Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington
19. Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, Southern Pines
17. Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham
18. Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst
20. Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh
22. Rock Barn Country Club (Jones), Conover
21. Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville
24. River Landing (River), Wallace
25. Forest Creek Golf Club (South), Pinehurst
26. MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary
23. Trump National Golf Club, Mooresville
27. Prestonwood Country Club (Highlands), Cary
28. Governors Club, Chapel Hill
30. Country Club of Landfall (Dye), Wilmington
31. Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst
34. Treyburn Country Club, Durham
37. Country Club of Landfall (Nicklaus), Wilmington
29. Linville Golf Club, Linville
32. Forest Creek Golf Club (North), Pinehurst
33. High Point Country Club (Willow Creek), High Point
35. The Hasentree Club, Wake Forest
38. Forsyth Country Club, Winston-Salem
36. Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte
39. Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill
40. Greensboro Country Club (Farm), Greensboro
43. River Landing (Landing), Wallace
44. Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head Island
41. Duke University Golf Club, Durham
49. Dormie Club, West End
42. The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis
46. Gaston Country Club, Gastonia
45. Leopard’s Chase, Sunset Beach
59. Country Club of Asheville, Asheville
48. Scotch Hall Preserve, Merry Hill
50. Hope Valley Country Club, Durham
47. Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia), Pinehurst
53. Mid South Club, Southern Pines
51. Tiger’s Eye, Sunset Beach
52. Sedgefield Country Club (Dye), Greensboro
54. Balsam Mountain Preserve, Sylva
55. River Run Country Club, Davidson
78. Starmount Forest Country Club, Greensboro
56. Alamance Country Club, Burlington
60. Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst
57. Prestonwood Country Club (Meadows), Cary
61. Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh
58. Carmel Country Club (South), Charlotte
62. Grandover (East), Greensboro
63. Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center (Champions), Browns Summit
69. Jefferson Landing, Jefferson
64. The Currituck Club, Duck
66. Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro
65. Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach
68. Lake Toxaway Country Club, Lake Toxaway
71. Croasdaile Country Club, Durham
70. Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington
75. Ballantyne Country Club, Charlotte
76. Cedarwood Country Club, Charlotte
72. Linville Ridge, Linville
67. St. James Plantation (Reserve), Southport
–The Peninsula Club, Cornelius
74. Tournament Players Club at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh
77. Hound Ears Club, Blowing Rock
–Mimosa Hills Golf Club, Morganton
79. Wilson Country Club, Wilson
73. Cape Fear National Golf Club, Leland
80. Grandover (West), Greensboro
81. Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point
87. Bermuda Run Country Club (East), Bermuda Run
83. Brier Creek Country Club, Raleigh
–Benvenue Country Club, Rocky Mount
85. Rocky River Golf Club, Concord
89. Mill Creek Golf Club, Mebane
— Compass Pointe Golf Club, Leland
86. North Ridge Country Club (Lakes), Raleigh
82. Country Club of Salisbury, Salisbury
92. New Course at Talamore, Southern Pines
88. Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash
90. Carolina Golf Club, Charlotte
93. Southern Pines Golf Club, Southern Pines
–Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville
99. Stoney Creek Golf Club, Whitsett
–Pinehurst No. 6, Pinehurst
96. Heritage Club, Wake Forest
94. Blowing Rock Country Club, Blowing Rock

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