North Carolina's
Top 100 Courses
Unlike the
upheaval produced by last year's balloting, there was
relatively little movement this year in the ranking of
the state's Top 10 courses by members of the North
Carolina Magazine Golf Panel. Last year's balloting put different
occupants in eight of the 10 spots. This year's coveted
top 10 keeps its membership intact, although there was
some shifting. Pinehurst No. 2 is again No. 1, as it's
been each year since the magazine began the poll in 1995.
And for the fifth consecutive year the Old North State
Club ranked second.
The Country Club of North
Carolina's Dogwood course moved up two spots to No. 3,
and Pine Needles, site of this year's U.S. Women's Open,
improved a notch to No. 4. Grandfather Golf and Country
Club was the casualty, dropping two places to fifth. The other shifts in the
top 10 saw the Charlotte Country Club move up one spot to
sixth, switching places with the Linville Golf Club.
The biggest move came from
Pinehurst No. 4, which profited from a Tom Fazio redesign
and rebuilding to go from 41st a year ago to 11th. Not
surprisingly, No. 4 also garnered Best New Course honors. More than 100 panelists
voted, and more than 200 courses from the mountains to
the coast received votes. Panelists can only vote for
courses that they have played. Below is the Top 10 list, followed by the
Mighty Ninety:
North
Carolina's
Five-Star Courses |
Opened |
Par |
Back
Tees |
Course/Slope
Rating
|
Score |
| |
| 1.
Pinehurst No. 2 |
1907 |
72 |
7,020 |
74.1/131 |
3,145 |
This
was the signature work of famed designer Donald Ross and
reportedly his favorite.
The world saw why in the 1999
U.S. Open and will get a reminder in 2005. |
|
| 2. Old
North State |
1992 |
72 |
7,102 |
74.4/132 |
2,678 |
| Immaculate
grounds and impeccable service highlight this Tom Fazio gem on
Badin Lake in Montgomery County. Its
trio of finishing holes is unsurpassed in the state. |
| |
| 3. CCNC
(Dogwood) |
1963 |
72 |
7,154 |
74.9/136 |
2,493 |
| Clearly
one of Ellis Maples' best works, this is the more difficult of
the famed Pinehurst country club's two layouts. A shotmaker's
delight, it requires every club in the bag. |
| |
| 4. Pine
Needles |
1927 |
71 |
6,708 |
72.2/131 |
2,313 |
| The
nation is learning what we've known for years -- that there's
nary a bad hole on this Donald Ross classic. The U.S. Women's
Open returns for a second visit May 31-June 3. |
| |
| 5.
Grandfather G&CC |
1967 |
72 |
7,010 |
74.7/136 |
2,223 |
| Ellis
Maples was fond of letting the land dictate his design, and
nowhere was that more evident than here. The mountain views
are gorgeous, making bogeys more tolerable. |
| |
| 6.
Charlotte CC |
1910 |
72 |
6,726 |
74.9/136 |
2,003 |
| This
was among the first of the 413 courses Donald Ross designed;
it opened near the celebration of his 38th birthday. The
nation's top senior amateurs staged their championship here
last year. |
| |
| 7.
Linville |
1924 |
72 |
6,780 |
72.7/135 |
1,835 |
| Donald
Ross didn't confine his North Carolina works to the Sandhills.
This one did take more work, however, as it was carved from
the mountains using mules and drag pans. |
| |
| 8.
Pinehurst No. 8 |
1996 |
72 |
7,092 |
74.0/135 |
1,631 |
| This
Tom Fazio design is his tribute to Donald Ross, and it opened
to rave reviews in 1996, earning Best New Course honors from
the Golf Panel that year. |
| |
| 9. Elk
River |
1984 |
72 |
7,008 |
72.8/131 |
1,594 |
| The
desire and attention to detail that marked the remarkable
playing career of Jack Nicklaus are evident in his design of
this beautiful layout high up in Banner Elk. |
| |
| 10.
Forest Creek |
1996 |
72 |
7,067 |
74.6/143 |
1,524 |
| Tom
Fazio hit two home runs in the Sandhills in 1996, the
above-mentioned Pinehurst No. 8 and his design of Forest
Creek, a difficult 18-hole test that counts water among its
hazards. |
|
| North
Carolina's Mighty Ninety |
|
course,
location, points received |
| Four
and a half stars |
| Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst |
1,359 |
| Biltmore Forest, Asheville |
1,347 |
| Wade Hampton, Cashiers |
1,342 |
| Mid Pines, Southern Pines |
1,155 |
| Treyburn, Durham |
1,062 |
| Tanglewood (chmpnshp),
Clemmons |
847 |
| Quail Hollow CC, Charlotte |
839 |
| Landfall (Dye), Wilmington |
819 |
| Governors Club, Chapel Hill |
767 |
| Sedgefield CC, Greensboro |
645 |
| |
| Four
stars |
| National, Pinehurst |
603 |
| Finley, Chapel Hill |
591 |
| Plantation, Pinehurst |
523 |
| Duke University, Durham |
504 |
| Gaston CC, Gastonia |
485 |
| CCNC (Cardinal), Pinehurst |
472 |
| Linville Ridge, Linville |
450 |
| Tobacco Road, Sanford |
440 |
| River Landing, Wallace |
437 |
| Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst |
436 |
| |
| Three
and a half stars |
| Grandover (East),
Greensboro |
410 |
| Willow Creek CC, High Point |
397 |
| Porters Neck, Wilmington |
376 |
| Bald Head, Bald Head Island |
367 |
| TigerÕs Eye, Sunset Beach |
335 |
| Pinewild (Magnolia),
Pinehurst |
333 |
| Cape Fear CC, Wilmington |
319 |
| Landfall (Nicklaus),
Wilmington |
307 |
| River Run, Davidson |
302 |
| The Challenge, Graham |
294 |
| |
| Three
stars |
| Mt. Mitchell, Burnsville |
289 |
| Bermuda Run CC, Advance |
284 |
| Hope Valley CC, Durham |
280 |
| Mimosa, Morganton |
272 |
| Ballantyne Resort,
Charlotte |
270 |
| TPC at Piper Glen,
Charlotte |
268 |
| Old Town, Winston-Salem |
235 |
| Carolina National, Bolivia |
195 |
| Myers Park CC, Charlotte |
185 |
| MacGregor Downs CC, Cary |
177 |
| |
| Two
and a half stars |
| Forest Oaks CC, Greensboro |
175 |
| Champion Hills,
Hendersonville |
174 |
| Rivers Edge, Shallotte |
164 |
| Forsyth CC, Winston-Salem |
156 |
| Catawba CC, Newton |
153 |
| Hound Ears, Blowing Rock |
147 |
| Carlson Farm, Greensboro |
144 |
| Peninsula, Lake Norman |
143 |
| Asheville CC, Asheville |
142 |
| Cardinal CC, Greensboro |
142 |
| |
| Two
stars |
| The Point Lake & GC,
Mooresville |
140 |
| TPC at Wakefield
Plantation, Raleigh |
137 |
| Raleigh CC, Raleigh |
132 |
| Grandover (West),
Greensboro |
125 |
| Highlands GC, Highlands |
113 |
| Magnolia Greens, Leland |
110 |
| Mill Creek, Mebane |
109 |
| Crow Creek, Calabash |
108 |
| Bryan Park, Greensboro |
105 |
| Southern Pines Elks, S.
Pines |
102 |
| |
| One
a a half stars |
| Legacy, Aberdeen |
95 |
| Tot Hill Farm, Asheboro |
94 |
| Sapphire Valley, Cashiers |
93 |
| Birkdale, Huntersville |
83 |
| Eagle Point CC, Wilmington |
81 |
| Pinewild (Holly), Pinehurst |
81 |
| Thistle, Sunset Beach |
81 |
| Verdict Ridge, Denver |
78 |
| Roaring Gap, Roaring Gap |
71 |
| Oyster Bay, Calabash |
66 |
| |
| One
star |
| Currituck, Corolla |
64 |
| Highlands Cove, Cashiers |
62 |
| Salisbury CC, Salisbury |
62 |
| Benvenue, Rocky Mount |
60 |
| Marsh Harbour, Calabash |
60 |
| Carmel CC (South),
Charlotte |
60 |
| Jefferson Landing,
Jefferson |
59 |
| The Pit, Pinehurst |
55 |
| Boone GC, Boone |
52 |
| Blowing Rock GC, Blowing
Rock |
51 |
| |
| One-half
star |
| Hendersonville CC,
Hendersonville |
50 |
| Pinewood CC, Asheboro |
45 |
| Neuse, Clayton |
44 |
| Pinehurst No. 5, Pinehurst |
43 |
| Carolina, Charlotte |
43 |
| Trillium, Cashiers |
40 |
| Carolina CC, Raleigh |
40 |
| Sea Trail (Jones), Sunset
Beach |
39 |
| Etowah, Etowah Valley |
39 |
| Cypress Landing,
Chocowinity |
38 |
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