Pine Needles
1005 Midland Rd, Southern Pines, NC 28387, USA
Tap a hole for its details · gold dots = bunkers, blue = water · the Wind and Elevation buttons color each hole by today’s wind and by climb · OpenStreetMap
The lay of the land.
How the course above sets up: its routing, character, and what to expect.
Pine Needles is an 18-hole golf course in Southern Pines, NC, playing 4,897–6,917 yards from 5 sets of tees (slope 109–134, course rating up to 73.9).
It's a gently rolling walk, roughly 295 feet of total climb over 18 holes.
Expect 72 bunkers, with water on 2 holes; the back nine plays tougher.
The word on the course.
How golfers talk about it, summarized from public reviews. Their opinions, not our scoring.
A celebrated Donald Ross design golfers consider one of the best public courses in the country, prized for its classic routing, complex crowned greens, and emphasis on strategy and playability. A multiple U.S. Women’s Open host with a stable bucket-list reputation.
Consistently praised
- Vintage Donald Ross greens with false fronts, slopes, and tricky collection areas.
- A strategic, varied routing that rewards creativity, with a well-regarded caddie program and strong walk.
Worth knowing
- The crowned greens punish long misses, so recovery from over the green is brutal, and it is a premium, big-name round.
Golfers recommend
- Play the right tees and favor below-the-hole approaches into the Ross greens.
- Walk it with a caddie if you can, for the full classic experience.
Tee fit & expected score.
Set your handicap for the right tees, a realistic score, and the holes where you'll get a stroke.
Play the Regular Tees tees, 5966 yds (or Ross Tees)
How to play it
- Scoring chances at #1, so make your birdies count.
- Card-wreckers at #2, #6, #7, #14, #17. Bogey is fine here; don't compound mistakes.
- 4 par 4s over 440 yds, a course that rewards length off the tee.
Tagged scorecard.
Per-hole tags for hazards, length, and scoring chances from your selected tee.
| Hole | Par | Yds | SI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1• | 5 | 500 | 11 | Reachable |
| 2• | 4 | 465 | 5 | Long 4 |
| 3• | 3 | 145 | 17 | |
| 4• | 4 | 395 | 9 | |
| 5• | 3 | 209 | 7 | Long 3 |
| 6•• | 4 | 450 | 1 | Long 4Tough |
| 7•• | 4 | 445 | 3 | Long 4Tough |
| 8• | 4 | 352 | 15 | Birdie |
| 9• | 4 | 377 | 13 | |
| Out | 35 | 3338 | ||
| 10• | 5 | 521 | 4 | |
| 11• | 4 | 412 | 12 | |
| 12• | 4 | 431 | 14 | |
| 13• | 3 | 204 | 16 | Long 3 |
| 14•• | 4 | 439 | 2 | Tough |
| 15• | 5 | 523 | 6 | |
| 16• | 3 | 177 | 18 | |
| 17• | 4 | 455 | 8 | Long 4 |
| 18• | 4 | 417 | 10 | |
| In | 36 | 3579 | ||
All tees & ratings
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medal Tees | 6917 | 73.9 | 134 | 71 |
| Ross Tees | 6372 | 70.8 | 129 | 71 |
| Regular Tees | 5966 | 68.6 | 126 | 71 |
| Executive Tees | 5341 | 65.5 | 115 | 71 |
| Forward Tees | 4897 | 63.9 | 109 | 71 |
Conditions & terrain.
Today's wind by hole, the climbs and drops, and a seven-day playability outlook.
Wind today
Climbs & drops
Tee→green elevation change, estimated from terrain.
7-day outlook
Best window this week: Wed 07-15 · 83/100
Where the trouble is.
Sand and water by hole, plotted from OpenStreetMap.
Most bunkered: #1 (8) · #15 (8) · #8 (7) · #2 (5). Water on 2 holes: #3, #10.
Frequently asked.
- How long is Pine Needles?
- Pine Needles plays 4,897–6,917 yards across 5 sets of tees, to a par of 71 from the back tees.
- How difficult is Pine Needles?
- Its slope rating ranges 109–134, with a course rating up to 73.9. The back nine plays tougher.
- Which tees should I play at Pine Needles?
- A mid-handicap golfer (around 15) best fits the Regular Tees tees at 5,966 yards. Match your own driver distance or handicap with the tee selector on this page.
- Is Pine Needles walkable?
- It's a gently rolling walk, with roughly 295 feet of total elevation change over 18 holes.
- How many bunkers does Pine Needles have?
- Pine Needles has 72 bunkers, and water comes into play on 4 holes.
Nearby & similar.
Other courses within reach, and the closest matches by difficulty and length.