“I love the golf course. It is, I have to say, one of my favorite Open golf courses.”
– Nancy Lopez, LPGA Hall of Fame member
Pine Needles - Donald Ross' Glorious And Favorite Course
In 2001 when theUSGA contested its U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles, Kendra Graham, director of women’s competitions for the USGA, summed it up best. Pine Needles, she says, “is a classic; it’s such a memorable golf course. You need every club in your bag and you remember every hole after you play it one time. The holes feel like they’ve been there forever.”
The Bell family, owners of Pine Needles, as well as Mid Pines, has always treasured this course laid out by 
famed Scottish born architect Donald Ross and have maintained it with loving care for you and their other guests. Now, golf architect John Fought of Scottsdale has restored the course to its original glory. “We want to remind people that this is a Donald Ross golf course, and it will remain a Donald Ross golf course,” Fought says. “We’re getting back to Ross in every way we can. Some elements had been lost, and we’ve had to step back in time to rediscover some of the things he did.”
Part of the plan is returning the greens to their original Ross design while rebuilding the greens foundations using USGA specifications. “Over the years, they became smaller and more oval shaped,” says Kelly Miller, Pine Needles president, about the greens. “Originally they were much larger and quite varied in shape.”
Following the restoration, the Pine Needles course measures more than 7,000 yards in length because some holes have been “stretched to return the shot values that Donald Ross intended for this course,” says Chip King, PGA, Director of Golf for Pine Needles & Mid Pines.
For example, fairway bunkers are now placed so that they serve as the kind of hazard that Ross intended from the tees. The short par-5s that had begun to feel like par-4s for those using modern equipment feel like par-5s again. All 18 greens have been rebuilt and planted with the modern A-1 Bent grasses.
Whatever the changes, you’ll be playing your round on a rolling landscape dotted with maples, holly trees, azaleas, dogwood, blackjack oaks and loblolly pines. Although the course is always meticulously groomed, it remains naturally scattered with gentle sandy hills and hollows. You’re going to find wide fairways with multi-directional slopes.
You will start your round on Pine Needles with a par-5 gentle dogleg to the right that requires an uphill drive that moves from left to right. Your shot to the green must watch out for bunkers left and right.
The par-4 No. 2 has been one of the harder holes on the course, although it has a straightaway downhill fairway. There’s a generous landing area for your drive, but the second shot needs to be a long one, and the green slopes slightly away from the shot, making it tough to hold. If you can hit your drive down a speed slot on the left, your ball may be able to get more roll out of it.
“No.3 is one of our signature holes,” says King. “There are probably more pictures taken on this hole than anywhere else on the course. It’s a very pretty hole.”
On this short par-3, you need to make a precise tee shot over a small pond and wetlands area. The putting surface slopes sharply from back to front, making three putts a possibility. If the pin is placed directly over the front bunker and short of the back bunker, your shot will be tough to place.
Pine trees lining the fairway require an accurate drive on the par-4 No. 4. Picking a club is tough as you make your uphill approach to the green because the hole plays longer than it looks. The right front bunker is deceptive because it might make you think it’s right beside the putting surface when it’s actually 20 yards in front.
On the par-3 No. 5, you find yourself at the highest elevation on the front nine, with tee boxes that are often plagued by swirling winds. Consider the winds when choosing your club. The green is domed in shape with its high point in the middle of the putting surface. There’s also a false front to contend with.
On the par-4 No. 6, long hitters can catch the down slope of the fairway and get 30 yards extra roll out of their tee shot. If your shot is a bit short, however, you’ll catch the upslope and your ball will stop dead, requiring a long iron or fairway wood on your approach shot. The ground falls sharply away from the green which also has a deep bunker below it.
If you can, hit a draw off the tee of the par-4 No. 7 to provide a good angle of approach and get the most roll on a long hole. The green has a false front that repels shots that don’t fly at least 15 feet onto the putting surface. It’s very hard to roll the ball up onto the green even though there are no bunkers in front of it.
The par-5 No. 10 is a dogleg left with a dramatic bunker hugging the inside of the corner of the turn. A well-struck tee shot, however, can clear the bunker and leave a long iron or fairway wood to the green. “This is a wonderfully challenging hole that rewards long hitters,” says King, who also notes that this is one of the most photographed holes on the course.
A tee shot that is shaped left to right out of a chute of pine trees works best on the par-4 No. 11. This is one of the tighter driving holes on the course. The topography of the hole – down off the tee, back up to the green – adds to its aesthetics and challenge.
You’re going to make your drive uphill to a wide fairway on the par-4 No. 12. But try to stay to the right side of the fairway near the bunker in order to get the best angle for your approach shot to the green.
The par-3 No. 13 requires a long downhill shot to the green. Pay attention to the wind and the drop-off from the tee in order to pull the right club for your tee shot.
As part of our effort to restore the course to its original layout, Nos. 14 and 15 have been reverted to their original pars as designed by Ross. No. 14 has become a par-4 again, and No. 15 a par-5. New tee boxes have been built to provide for the change.
The par-3 No. 16 provides players with only a glimpse of the green from the tee. The putting surface is well guarded by bunkers, but don’t be deceived. That bunker in front of the green has space behind it that will allow you to bounce your ball onto the green.
No. 17 is a left-hand dogleg par-4 that can be a toughie. Players who can hit a big draw over the bunker in the turn and around the pine trees can save themselves two to four clubs’ worth of distance on their approach shot. Those who can’t might end up in the woods and add strokes to their game.
On the par-4 No. 18 hitting a slight draw off the tee is the ideal. Players with length will be able to catch the fairway down slope and get a lot of roll. “The approach requires a downhill shot to the green that’s difficult to hold,” King says.
When the Women’s Open was played at Pine Needles, almost every golfer has raved about the course... We know that Pine Needles will please you, too.
Pine Needles Scorecard
Book a Room Resevation 
Book a Tee Time
“I love the golf course. It is, I have to say, one of my favorite Open golf courses.”
– Nancy Lopez, LPGA Hall of Fame member
Pine Needles - Donald Ross' Glorious And Favorite Course
In 2001 when theUSGA contested its U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles, Kendra Graham, director of women’s competitions for the USGA, summed it up best. Pine Needles, she says, “is a classic; it’s such a memorable golf course. You need every club in your bag and you remember every hole after you play it one time. The holes feel like they’ve been there forever.”
The Bell family, owners of Pine Needles, as well as Mid Pines, has always treasured this course laid out by famed Scottish born architect Donald Ross and have maintained it with loving care for you and their other guests. Now, golf architect John Fought of Scottsdale has restored the course to its original glory. “We want to remind people that this is a Donald Ross golf course, and it will remain a Donald Ross golf course,” Fought says. “We’re getting back to Ross in every way we can. Some elements had been lost, and we’ve had to step back in time to rediscover some of the things he did.”
Part of the plan is returning the greens to their original Ross design while rebuilding the greens foundations using USGA specifications. “Over the years, they became smaller and more oval shaped,” says Kelly Miller, Pine Needles president, about the greens. “Originally they were much larger and quite varied in shape.”
Following the restoration, the Pine Needles course measures more than 7,000 yards in length because some holes have been “stretched to return the shot values that Donald Ross intended for this course,” says Chip King, PGA, Director of Golf for Pine Needles & Mid Pines.
For example, fairway bunkers are now placed so that they serve as the kind of hazard that Ross intended from the tees. The short par-5s that had begun to feel like par-4s for those using modern equipment feel like par-5s again. All 18 greens have been rebuilt and planted with the modern A-1 Bent grasses.
Whatever the changes, you’ll be playing your round on a rolling landscape dotted with maples, holly trees, azaleas, dogwood, blackjack oaks and loblolly pines. Although the course is always meticulously groomed, it remains naturally scattered with gentle sandy hills and hollows. You’re going to find wide fairways with multi-directional slopes.
You will start your round on Pine Needles with a par-5 gentle dogleg to the right that requires an uphill drive that moves from left to right. Your shot to the green must watch out for bunkers left and right.
The par-4 No. 2 has been one of the harder holes on the course, although it has a straightaway downhill fairway. There’s a generous landing area for your drive, but the second shot needs to be a long one, and the green slopes slightly away from the shot, making it tough to hold. If you can hit your drive down a speed slot on the left, your ball may be able to get more roll out of it.
“No.3 is one of our signature holes,” says King. “There are probably more pictures taken on this hole than anywhere else on the course. It’s a very pretty hole.”
On this short par-3, you need to make a precise tee shot over a small pond and wetlands area. The putting surface slopes sharply from back to front, making three putts a possibility. If the pin is placed directly over the front bunker and short of the back bunker, your shot will be tough to place.
Pine trees lining the fairway require an accurate drive on the par-4 No. 4. Picking a club is tough as you make your uphill approach to the green because the hole plays longer than it looks. The right front bunker is deceptive because it might make you think it’s right beside the putting surface when it’s actually 20 yards in front.
On the par-3 No. 5, you find yourself at the highest elevation on the front nine, with tee boxes that are often plagued by swirling winds. Consider the winds when choosing your club. The green is domed in shape with its high point in the middle of the putting surface. There’s also a false front to contend with.
On the par-4 No. 6, long hitters can catch the down slope of the fairway and get 30 yards extra roll out of their tee shot. If your shot is a bit short, however, you’ll catch the upslope and your ball will stop dead, requiring a long iron or fairway wood on your approach shot. The ground falls sharply away from the green which also has a deep bunker below it.
If you can, hit a draw off the tee of the par-4 No. 7 to provide a good angle of approach and get the most roll on a long hole. The green has a false front that repels shots that don’t fly at least 15 feet onto the putting surface. It’s very hard to roll the ball up onto the green even though there are no bunkers in front of it.
The par-5 No. 10 is a dogleg left with a dramatic bunker hugging the inside of the corner of the turn. A well-struck tee shot, however, can clear the bunker and leave a long iron or fairway wood to the green. “This is a wonderfully challenging hole that rewards long hitters,” says King, who also notes that this is one of the most photographed holes on the course.
A tee shot that is shaped left to right out of a chute of pine trees works best on the par-4 No. 11. This is one of the tighter driving holes on the course. The topography of the hole – down off the tee, back up to the green – adds to its aesthetics and challenge.
You’re going to make your drive uphill to a wide fairway on the par-4 No. 12. But try to stay to the right side of the fairway near the bunker in order to get the best angle for your approach shot to the green.
The par-3 No. 13 requires a long downhill shot to the green. Pay attention to the wind and the drop-off from the tee in order to pull the right club for your tee shot.
As part of our effort to restore the course to its original layout, Nos. 14 and 15 have been reverted to their original pars as designed by Ross. No. 14 has become a par-4 again, and No. 15 a par-5. New tee boxes have been built to provide for the change.
The par-3 No. 16 provides players with only a glimpse of the green from the tee. The putting surface is well guarded by bunkers, but don’t be deceived. That bunker in front of the green has space behind it that will allow you to bounce your ball onto the green.
No. 17 is a left-hand dogleg par-4 that can be a toughie. Players who can hit a big draw over the bunker in the turn and around the pine trees can save themselves two to four clubs’ worth of distance on their approach shot. Those who can’t might end up in the woods and add strokes to their game.
On the par-4 No. 18 hitting a slight draw off the tee is the ideal. Players with length will be able to catch the fairway down slope and get a lot of roll. “The approach requires a downhill shot to the green that’s difficult to hold,” King says.
When the Women’s Open was played at Pine Needles, almost every golfer has raved about the course... We know that Pine Needles will please you, too.
Pine Needles Scorecard
Book a Room Resevation Book a Tee Time
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