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PINEHURST NO. 2 CONTINUES TO LEAD THE WAY IN 2024 NC GOLF PANEL RANKINGS
Pinehurst Area Also Boasts The Top Seven Courses You Can Play
By Brian Weis
Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst Resort will host the 2024 U.S. Open at the venerable Donald Ross course for the fourth time, June 13-16. The Dogwood Course at The Country Club of North Carolina and Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club remain in the third and fourth positions behind Grandfather Golf and Country Club in Linville. Sixteen courses from the Sandhills area are listed in the Top 100 rankings, including 13 among the Top 50.
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 boasts some of the nation's best courses. The 185-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.
"There's a reason why we are known around the world as the Home of American Golf," said Phil Werz, president and CEO for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Golf is what drives our diverse economy, it's the reason why the USGA moved here, and we cannot wait to witness yet another U.S. Open in June when it will be played on the number one golf course in North Carolina - Pinehurst No. 2."
Among the 2024 rankings of the Top 100 Courses in North Carolina, a total of 16 are located in the Pinehurst area. Those rankings include: Pinehurst No. 2 (#1); The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood, #3); Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club (#4); Pinehurst No. 4 (#11); CCNC (Cardinal, #12); Pinehurst No. 8 (#13); Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club (#21); Dormie Club (#24); Forest Creek Golf Club (South, #32); Pinehurst No. 9 (#33); Mid South Club (#37); Forest Creek Golf Club (North, #39); Pinehurst No. 7 (#49); Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia, #67); and Southern Pines Golf Club (#69) and Talamore Golf Club (#77).
The panel also ranked the Top 50 Courses You Can Play and the Pinehurst area once again dominated the list with 14 locations, or nearly 30 percent of the clubs, including the top seven and eight of the top 12. The top seven include Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst No. 8, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, Pinehurst No. 9 and Mid South Club. Pinehurst No. 7 is 12th. Other golf clubs among the Top 50 include Southern Pines Golf Club (#18); Talamore Golf Club (#21); Pinehurst No. 6 (#34); Tobacco Road Golf Club (#38); Legacy Golf Links (#39) and Longleaf Golf and Family Club (#40).
"The Pinehurst area is like a fantasyland if you play golf and have an appreciation for great courses," said Kevin Brafford, executive director of the N.C. Golf Panel. "It would be akin to a fan of ballparks being able to see Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium all in one city. That's how blessed we are."
Pinehurst No. 2 will host additional U.S. Open championships in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. In 2029, Pinehurst No. 2 will once again host back-to-back men's and women's U.S. Open championships, a repeat of the only course in America to host that tandem of historic events in 2014.
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 2024, Top 50 Courses You Can Play and other rankings, visit NCGolfPanel.com. Or, for additional coverage, pick up the April issue of Business NC magazine.
Top 100 Courses for 2024 (second number is previous year's ranking)
- 1. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst
- 2. Grandfather Golf and Country Club, Linville
- 4. The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst
- 3. Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Southern Pines
- 5. Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte
- 7. Elk River Club, Banner Elk
- 6. Mountaintop Golf and Lake Club, Cashiers
- 8. Old Town Club, Winston-Salem
- 9. Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro
- 17. Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham
- 12. Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst
- 13. The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst
- 16. Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst
- 11. Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington
- 10. Old North State Club, New London
- 14. Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte
- 19. Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh
- 18. Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington
- 20. MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary
- 21. River Landing (River), Wallace
- 22. Mid Pines Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines
- 23. Forsyth Country Club, Winston-Salem
- 27. Country Club of Landfall (Dye), Wilmington
- 24. Dormie Club, West End
- 25. Rock Barn Country Club (Jones), Conover
- 26. Governors Club, Chapel Hill
- 31. Country Club of Landfall (Nicklaus), Wilmington
- 32. Prestonwood Country Club (Highlands), Cary
- 28. Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville
- 34. Starmount Forest Country Club, Greensboro
- 36. River Landing (Landing), Wallace
- 29. Forest Creek Country Club (South), Pinehurst
- 30. Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst
- 35. Champion Hills Club, Hendersonville
- 33. Treyburn Country Club, Durham
- 39. The Club at Longview, Waxhaw
- 37. Mid South Club, Southern Pines
- 38. Linville Golf Club, Linville
- 40. Forest Creek Golf Club (North)m Pinehurst
- 41. Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte
- 42. Trump National Golf Club, Mooresville
- 45. Bryan Park (Champions), Browns Summit
- 43. Balsam Mountain Preserve, Sylva
- 44. High Point Country Club (Willow Creek), High Point
- 47. Greensboro Country Club (Farm), Greensboro
- 49. Grandover (East), Greensboro
- 48. Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill
- 60. Occano, Merry Hill
- 51. Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst
- 53. Hound Ears Club, Boone
- 61. Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro
- 54. Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh
- 50. Country Club of Asheville, Asheville
- 46. The Hasentree Club, Wake Forest
- 52. The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Greensboro
- 57. Duke University Golf Club, Durham
- 56. Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head Island
- 62. Mimosa Hills Golf Club, Morganton
- 64. Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington
- 55. Gaston Country Club, Gastonia
- 59. The Currituck Club, Corolla
- 63. Ballantyne Country Club, Charlotte
- 58. Hope Valley Country Club, Durham
- 66. Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro
- 69. Carolina Country Club, Raleigh
- 65. Prestonwood Country Club (Meadows), Cary
- 68. Pinewild Country Club (Magnolia), Pinehurst
- 70. Cedarwood Country Club, Charlotte
- 75. Southern Pines Golf Club, Southern Pines
- -- High Meadows Country Club, High Meadows
- 83. Grandover (West), Greensboro
- 71. Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash
- 86. Blowing Rock Country Club, Blowing Rock
- 84. Croasdaile Country Club, Durham
- 72. Alamance Country Club, Burlington
- 73. Bright's Creek Club, Mill Spring
- 77. Talamore Golf Club, Southern Pines
- 67. Leopard's Chase, Sunset Beach
- 74. Jefferson Landing, Jefferson
- 76. The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis
- 78. River Run Country Club, Davidson
- 81. Providence Country Club, Charlotte
- 79. Tiger's Eye, Sunset Beach
- 80. Carmel Country Club (South), Charlotte
- 87. Mill Creek Golf Club, Mebane
- 85. Tanglewood Park (Championship). Clemmons
- 82. Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach
- 80. Crystal Coast Country Club, Pine Knoll Shores
- 88. Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point
- 91. Linville Ridge, Linville
- 89. The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh
- 99. Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville
- 92. The Peninsula Club, Cornelius
- -- Deep Springs Country Club, Stoneville
- 93. Lake Toxawat Country Club, Lake Toxaway
- 94. Benevenue Country Club, Rocky Mount
- 95. Morehead City Country Club, Morehead City
- 96. Bermuda Run Country Club (East), Bermuda Run
- 97. Stoney Creek Golf Club, Whitsett
- 100. Rumbling Bald Resort (Apple Valley), Lake Lure
Revised: 05/13/2024 - Article Viewed 611 Times
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About: Brian Weis
Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA) and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.
All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.
On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.
Contact Brian Weis:
GolfTrips.com - Publisher and Golf Traveler
262-255-7600