Pinehurst and the North Carolina Sandhills

Had the wee Scottish golf pro Donald Ross not emigrated to the United States and taken up residence in the Sandhills of North Carolina, perhaps the area would still be the barren wasteland it was at the turn of the twentieth century. You could certainly make an argument that without Donald Ross’s imprint, the region around Pinehurst may still have golf, but not the golf it has. Ross was a talented player brought to Pinehurst by the town’s founder, James Tufts, a decision that changed golf not only in Pinehurst but throughout America.

During the 1880s, Tufts, tired of brutal New England winters, used the profits of a successful soda fountain business to head to the warmth of southern places like Florida or the Bahamas. Concerned that working-class New Englanders didn’t have the resources for such a trip, he looked for a place where he could re-create everything rich and charming about New England—minus the winter cold. He was a regular on the north-south train route, getting off at various destinations, until one day in 1895 he disembarked in Southern Pines. He met brothers Henry and J. R. Page, and they cut a deal for 4,703 acres of sandy loam, thick with towering pines but thin on promise. Tufts had just sold his share in the American Soda Fountain Company for $700,000, a pittance of which he used to pay the Pages’ asking price of $1.25 per acre, although some locals said he was swindled, claiming the land was worth only 85 cents an acre.

Tufts, not a robust man physically but quite robust in business, probably didn’t care about the price per acre. He heard the Sandhills had a natural healing quality and was determined to build a town where New Englanders, many of whom suffered from tuberculosis and other ailments, could come to get healthy.

The oddity of the topography of south-central North Carolina—beach-like sand sprouting towering longleaf pine trees—would be otherwise insignificant if it weren’t for the fact that the terrain, like the linksland of the British Isles, is so ideally suited for golf, which was no more in Tufts’s original plan than a 16-story hotel. But Tufts’s love of the wholesome, small-town virtues of New England transplanted into the more hospitable climate of North Carolina would evolve to become one of the world’s great golf destinations.

He commissioned Ross to build four courses at his new resort in Pinehurst, and the young pro found his calling. Today, those four courses, including U.S. Open venue Pinehurst No. 2, remain the centerpiece of golf at the resort that has grown to 10 courses, while his work at nearby Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, and Southern Pines Golf Club creates the attraction golfers gravitate to, complete with the charm of New England and the hospitality of the South. Thankfully, Ross ventured out from the Sandhills to design courses around the country, including all-time greats like Seminole Golf Club in Florida, Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit, Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia, Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, and East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. In all, Ross designed about 400 courses around the country.

Since his death in 1948, dozens more modern courses have been built to supplement Ross’s Pinehurst classics. Places like Talamore Golf Resort, Mid South Club, Tobacco Road Golf Club, and Legacy Golf Links have all become great complements to the main features. And it all started inadvertently when Tufts lured Ross to what was once considered a sandy, god-forsaken wasteland.

South Carolina Coast

If Myrtle Beach is a smorgasbord of cheap seafood restaurants and gentlemen’s clubs, perhaps it’s only because the South Carolina coast needs a balance to the abundance of classy establishments of Charleston and Hilton Head Island. I’m not knocking Myrtle Beach; I’m just saying it’s different. Clearly, its formula for drawing groups of golfers year-round has worked for decades. It is time-tested and proven, and without Myrtle Beach, American golf would lose a major appendage. But the entire coast of the Palmetto State is an attractive destination to the golfing population of the Northeast, Canada, and beyond.

Along the Grand Strand, which includes the entire Myrtle Beach area and even spills into southern North Carolina, there are more than 80 courses, although that number is down from more than 100 at Myrtle Beach’s peak at the beginning of the century. Those left in the culled herd are largely the ones proven to be the best over the decades, from the historic Pine Lakes Country Club (1927) to the wonderful Dunes Golf and Beach Club designed by Robert Trent Jones in 1949, to modern gems like the four courses at Barefoot Resort and Golf and the Mike Strantz–designed Caledonia Golf and Fish Club. The Grand Strand’s deep bench, improving food scene, and always-prevalent nightlife keeps it among the world’s greatest golf destinations.

The southern extreme of the Grand Strand almost melts into the northern reaches of Charleston, and if there is a classier city, I haven’t been there. Charleston teems with history, museums, fine dining, beaches, and a downtown area with something interesting on every corner. Even the golf seems to be more stylish than in most cities. That’s largely thanks to three islands:

• Kiawah Island is famous for its Ocean Course, which hosted the “War by the Shore” Ryder Cup in 1991; its four supporting layouts are outstanding as well.
• Seabrook Island is more subdued and home to Robert Trent Jones’s Crooked Oaks and the more modern Ocean Winds, both roaming through marsh, maritime forests, and centuries-old moss-hung oaks.
• On the Isle of Palms, the Links Course at Wild Dunes Resort rolls through dunes to the climactic oceanside finish. The Harbor Course isn’t quite as wild but is a fun routing nonetheless.

The mainland is anchored with courses like Dunes West Golf Club, RiverTowne Country Club, and the Links at Stono Ferry. And if there’s any way you can possibly finagle a starting time at the private Yeamans Hall Club, you won’t be disappointed by the reinvigorated Seth Raynor design from the 1920s.

Everything is considerably more modern on Hilton Head Island. In 1969, Jack Nicklaus helped a former insurance salesman from Indiana clear golf holes through the maritime forests of the island to create Harbour Town Golf Links at the Sea Pines Resort. It became a classic almost immediately. The PGA Tour event now known as the RBC Heritage has been played on the course since its opening. Much of the rest of the island—little more than half the size of Nantucket—is crammed with 29 courses, and there’s not a slouch among them.

The Monterey Peninsula

Hindsight being what it is, I now realize it was a mistake for me and three friends to fly across the country two days after New Year’s Day for a tee time at Pebble Beach. The post-holiday crowds and airline delays added up to a late-night landing, rental car fiasco, and a drive into the small hours to a cheap hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea—only to find it dark and locked up.

We ended up doing a full lap around 17-Mile Drive, pulled into the Pebble Beach parking lot, and tried to get some sleep in the rental car. Not in the guidebooks, but it worked. We got Pebble on a glorious blue-sky day; I made par on all its seaside holes except No. 8. Spyglass Hill was the surprise of the trip. The Links at Spanish Bay is a surprisingly delightful nature links along the Pacific.

It may be one of the more expensive bucket-list trips you make—but these days, that’s the norm with bucket lists.

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Why trade authentic links golf in the British Isles for an American impersonation? Because Bandon Dunes isn’t an impersonation—it’s true, pure, American links golf. Different ocean, different style, but every bit as good. If the soul of the game belongs to Scotland, its modern inspiration lives on this stretch of the Oregon coast.

The massive resort includes six courses that, like the great links, live in harmony with the land. Catch the 16th at Bandon Dunes on a clear late afternoon as the sun sets over the Pacific and you’ll know why you traveled. The Sheep Ranch has nine oceanside greens. Pacific Dunes may be the most natural. Old Macdonald celebrates classic design concepts. Bandon Trails works from atop a dune into maritime forest and back again. Bandon Preserve is a 13-hole par-3.

Other courses may call themselves “links,” but many are mere imitations. Bandon makes no effort to be anything other than itself—and that’s why it’s special.

Big Cedar Lodge

Johnny Morris struck it rich in the Ozarks and decided to stay—and golfers are grateful. The Bass Pro Shops founder poured resources into Big Cedar Lodge, creating luxury and golf in the rugged beauty of the Ozark Mountains. Payne’s Valley, designed by Tiger Woods’s firm, headlines five marquee courses also touched by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, and Gary Player.

Beyond golf, Morris’s vision connects guests with nature—fishing, lakes, endless outdoor activities—along with opulent, no-detail-overlooked accommodations. After a day on the courses, there’s plenty of pampering indoors. Sit a spell and enjoy the hospitality.

Northern Michigan

In 1947, Everett Kircher bought his “mountain” in Northern Michigan for $1 to bring skiing to the region. When snow melts, golf takes over. Kircher’s Boyne Resort now includes 10 courses across three properties, and the wider region has exploded with options.

Near Gaylord, the Gaylord Golf Mecca spans Treetops Resort (four great courses and a top-tier par-3), Garland Lodge and Golf Resort (four courses), and Otsego Resort (two). Around Traverse City—“Cherry Capital of the World”—you’ll find Shanty Creek’s five courses and Grand Traverse Resort & Spa’s three. The crown jewel is Forest Dunes Golf Club, a 36-hole destination built on inland dunes. And then there’s the exclusive Crystal Downs Country Club—if you get the invite, don’t say no.

Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail

In the late 1980s, David G. Bonner of the Retirement Systems of Alabama had a wild idea: invest pension dollars in golf to invest in Alabama. The result in the early 1990s was a brigade of bulldozers carving out courses across the state. Golfers came—by the hundreds of thousands.

Now the Trail stretches roughly 384 miles, with 26 courses (468 holes) at 11 sites—some with hotels, resorts, and spas. Expect variety: hills, valleys, marshes, and flatlands; names like Fighting Joe, Schoolmaster, Mindbreaker, Heartbreaker, and Backbreaker; and the Legislator, Senator, and Judge near Montgomery. It’s golf as economic engine—and as adventure.

The Southwest Desert

Seeking winter sun, we traded Florida wind and rain for the desert’s blue skies. Palm Springs averages 350 days of sunshine; its grid of streets frames oases of golf—Rancho Mirage, Desert Willow, Indian Wells, and PGA West.

Across the Southwest, designers used desert as hazard and drama. In Scottsdale, standouts include Greyhawk, Quintero, and We-Ko-Pa. In Las Vegas, Shadow Creek and Wynn are bucket-list splurges, with more affordable gems nearby—including Mesquite’s Falcon Ridge and Wolf Creek, where the desert rolls right to the edge of play.

The weather, scenery, and variety make desert golf easy to love.

Destination Kohler

Once an abandoned airfield slated for a nuclear plant, the land north of Sheboygan became Pete Dye’s canvas—thanks to the Kohler Company. Today, Whistling Straits is a marquee public course that has hosted two PGA Championships, a U.S. Senior Open, and the Ryder Cup. Its sibling, the Irish Course, offers a more forgiving inland test, while Blackwolf Run adds another 36 holes with major-championship pedigree.

Beyond the fairways, Kohler means spas, fine dining, five-star hotels and cabins, and ample après-golf appeal. But the siren call is the Straits Course itself—beautiful and brutal in equal measure.

Hawaii: Kapalua Golf Club

If any U.S. state defines the bucket list, it’s Hawaii. The Plantation Course at Kapalua hosts the PGA Tour’s season opener each January, where drives tumble down steep fairways for what feels like 25 seconds.

Built in the early 1990s, the course often evokes classic Northeastern design elements, but the views are all Pacific—whales and all. Wide fairways manage the wind and roll, yet trouble lurks in the craggy volcanic bluffs. The Bay Course offers a friendlier challenge. And off-course, there’s everything from beaches and cuisine to waterfalls and the sunrise atop Haleakalā. But don’t forget the golf.