CaddieTrail Guide
North Carolina is the spiritual home of American golf. Donald Ross lived in Pinehurst for four decades. The Sandhills corridor — Pinehurst, Pine Needles, Mid Pines, Tobacco Road — is one of the great golf destinations on earth.
North Carolina is the spiritual home of American golf, and this trail reflects that depth. Donald Ross lived in Pinehurst for four decades and shaped more than 50 North Carolina courses — six of them on this trail. Wade Hampton and Mountaintop anchor the western mountains, while the Sandhills corridor — home to Pinehurst, Pine Needles, Mid Pines, and Tobacco Road — is one of the great golf destinations on earth. Quail Hollow brings PGA Championship pedigree to Charlotte, and Old Town Club quietly stands as one of Perry Maxwell's finest designs anywhere.
#1 on trail
Wade Hampton Golf ClubCashiers, North Carolina
Tom Fazio's 1987 masterwork carved through the Blue Ridge Mountains at 3,500 feet. Sweeping mountain scenery and granite rock outcroppings define every hole on this ultra-private Cashiers layout, though the course itself plays with surprisingly modest elevation change — a hallmark of Fazio's acclaimed routing.
#2 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Donald Ross's 1907 masterpiece, restored to native sand by Coore & Crenshaw in 2011. Crowned greens and wiregrass rough define every hole. Host to four U.S. Opens.
#3 on trail
Old Town ClubWinston-Salem, North Carolina
Designed by Perry Maxwell, this private Winston-Salem layout opened in 1939 across rolling Piedmont terrain. Tight, tree-lined fairways demand precision off the tee.
#4 on trail
Diamond Creek Golf ClubBanner Elk, North Carolina
Tom Fazio's 2002 design winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains at 4,000 feet elevation, featuring dramatic elevation changes and mountain stream crossings. One of western North Carolina's most celebrated private layouts.
#5 on trail
Mountaintop Golf & Lake ClubCashiers, North Carolina
Private mountain course in Cashiers, NC, sitting above 4,000 feet. Elevation shifts and ridge-top terrain define virtually every hole, with long-range views that affect wind reads and club selection.
#6 on trail
Eagle Point Golf ClubWilmington, North Carolina
Private 18-hole club in Wilmington, NC designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 2000, with a layout shaped by coastal Carolina terrain. Membership access only.
No place in America concentrates great public golf like the North Carolina Sandhills. Pinehurst alone supplies six of these ten — Donald Ross's revered No. 2, host to more championships than any course in the country; Tom Doak's No. 10, carved through the old Sandmines south of the village; Gil Hanse's reimagined No. 4; and the Fazio, Rees Jones, and Nicklaus layouts at No. 8, No. 7, and No. 9. Four miles east in Southern Pines stand the Ross gems Pine Needles and Mid Pines, alongside his restored Southern Pines Golf Club. And near Sanford, Mike Strantz's Tobacco Road erupts from an old sand quarry — golf's wildest ride. Ten ways into the Home of American Golf.
#1 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Donald Ross's 1907 masterpiece, restored to native sand by Coore & Crenshaw in 2011. Crowned greens and wiregrass rough define every hole. Host to four U.S. Opens.
#2 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 4)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Redesigned by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2018, No. 4 features sandy waste areas and native wiregrass throughout. Resort access via Pinehurst.
#3 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 10)Aberdeen, North Carolina
Tom Doak's 2024 addition to Pinehurst Resort plays through the Sandhills' native wiregrass and longleaf pine terrain. The newest of the resort's ten courses.
#4 on trail
Tobacco Road Golf ClubSanford, North Carolina
Mike Strantz carved this 1998 public layout through former tobacco fields and sand hills, producing severe elevation changes and blind shots rarely found on public-access courses in the Carolinas.
#5 on trail
Pine Needles Lodge & Golf ClubSouthern Pines, North Carolina
Donald Ross design from 1928 in the Sandhills, known for crowned greens and natural wiregrass terrain. Has hosted multiple U.S. Women's Opens. Resort access.
#6 on trail
Mid Pines Inn & Golf ClubSouthern Pines, North Carolina
Donald Ross design from 1921 with classic Sandhills terrain, crowned greens, and strategic bunkering. Resort access makes this Pinehurst-area track one of the region's most accessible Ross originals.
The complete Pinehurst property — all ten 18-hole courses plus Gil Hanse's Cradle short course — at the Home of American Golf. The lineup spans 125 years of architecture: Donald Ross's original Nos. 1, 2, and 3; Ross's 1919 No. 4 since reimagined by Gil Hanse; Ellis Maples's 1961 No. 5; the Fazios' 1979 No. 6; Rees Jones's 1986 No. 7; Tom Fazio's 1996 Centennial No. 8; Jack Nicklaus's No. 9; and Tom Doak's bold 2024 No. 10. Walk-on play is available to non-resort guests on Nos. 1, 3, and 5 (April-October) and The Cradle (year-round). The remaining courses require a resort stay, with No. 2, No. 4, and No. 10 demanding a minimum two-night booking. Pinehurst is the USGA's first U.S. Open Anchor Site, hosting the championship in 2024 and again in 2029, 2035, 2041, and 2047 — an unprecedented partnership that reaffirms why this is the spiritual home of American golf.
#1 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Donald Ross's 1907 masterpiece, restored to native sand by Coore & Crenshaw in 2011. Crowned greens and wiregrass rough define every hole. Host to four U.S. Opens.
#2 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 4)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Redesigned by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2018, No. 4 features sandy waste areas and native wiregrass throughout. Resort access via Pinehurst.
#3 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 8)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Tom Fazio-designed layout at Pinehurst Resort plays through Carolina sandhills with elevation changes and native wiregrass waste areas. Resort access, 18 holes.
#4 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 10)Aberdeen, North Carolina
Tom Doak's 2024 addition to Pinehurst Resort plays through the Sandhills' native wiregrass and longleaf pine terrain. The newest of the resort's ten courses.
#5 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 9)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Jack Nicklaus country, but No. 9 offers resort guests a more forgiving track amid Pinehurst's iconic sandhills terrain. A solid warm-up before tackling the marquee layouts.
#6 on trail
Pinehurst Resort (No. 3)Pinehurst, North Carolina
Donald Ross's shorter layout within the Pinehurst Resort complex offers a more forgiving test than its famous siblings, winding through longleaf pines on gently rolling sandhills terrain. A quieter option for resort guests seeking Ross's trademark crowned greens.
CaddieTrail is the pursuit platform for serious golfers.