Four Pinehurst Courses Named in Golf.com’s Top 100 You Can Play

It is another beautiful day in golf course rankings for Pinehurst Resort.

A week after the Tom Doak-designed Pinehurst No. 10 made its first Top 100 list, it makes another striking debut, rocketing to No. 15 on Golf.com’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the U.S. for 2024-25.

“Give a talented architect a sandy, rolling piece of land and place few restrictions on him or her, and it’s amazing what can be produced,” Golf.com explains in its ranking of No. 10. “Donald Ross did so with a flourish at this resort, and this time, it was Tom Doak’s turn — and he was bonused with not having to make an allowance for where homes might go or having the nines return. The result is a meandering tour that enjoys its own pacing. The first eight holes feature three par-4s — the drivable 4th, the burly dogleg-right 6th and the intermediate length 8th that plays into old mining spoils — that highlight the property’s diversity. Meanwhile, the run from the bruising uphill 468-yard 9th to the 264-yard 14th is one of Doak’s sternest stretches. Natural wetlands feature at two of the final four holes. This variety of obstacles ultimately make No. 10 an immediate stalwart among the resort’s offerings.”

Pinehurst No. 10 is just one of four courses at Pinehurst Resort to make the Top 100 You Can Play, with three of them featured in the Top 25: Pinehurst No. 2 is ranked second, Pinehurst No. 4 is ranked 25^th and Pinehurst No. 8 comes in at 82^nd.

In 2018, Pinehurst No. 4 was redesigned by Gil Hanse and his partner Jim Wagner, returning the scruffy sandscape to a course that naturally aligns on the property next to and around famed No. 2.

“Originally designed by Donald Ross in 1919, Pinehurst No. 4 has been under the knife more often than Tiger Woods,” Golf.com writes. “But the procedure that stands to last was carried out by Hanse and Wagner, who were handed the tough task of working in the shadow of Pinehurst No. 2. Rather than attempt to mimic the course next door, Hanse and Wagner focused on reviving No. 4’s distinctive sense of self. For starters, they eliminated mounds and other excesses that had been tacked on in the decades since Ross’s death. They also built a diverse and compelling set of greens that owe little in the way of inspiration to the famous turtlebacks of No. 2. When marquee courses sit side by side, comparisons are inevitable. But No. 4 is better thought of as a complement, with more land movement than No. 2 and a personality all its own.”

Following an agronomic restoration in 2022, Golf.com praised Tom Fazio’s Centennial course at No. 8, writing that it “has never shined brighter” and that its design is significant for its uniqueness to Pinehurst’s array of courses. In May, No. 8 will make for an even better golf experience when new, luxurious cottages with sweeping golf course views open for guests.

“The eighth course built at Pinehurst honored the resort’s centennial anniversary. Tom Fazio used 450 acres of undulating pine forest to route a course unique from the other seven, which mostly play over flatter land,” Golf.com writes. “A natural wetland plays a strategic role at the par-4 14th, acting as a cape-like hazard. During a 2022 renovation, the course upgraded its irrigation and drainage, re-grassed the holes and reworked the bunkering. No. 8 has never shined brighter, confident where it stands in the ever-expanding pantheon of Pinehurst offerings.”

No. 2, the site of the thrilling 2024 U.S. Open, remains the star of Pinehurst’s ever-growing stable, challenging as ever for the top players in the game and accessible and playable for resort guests and members.

“This is one of a handful of courses that presents resort guests with a fun test on which they won’t lose a single ball, and a week later can be ready to host a U.S. Open,” Golf.com writes. “That’s the flexibility of short grass — and Ross’ design genius.”

A week ago, Golf.com released its Top 100 Courses in the U.S. for 2024-25. On that list, No. 10 debuted at 88 and No. 2 at 13^th.

Since opening in early April, Doak’s No. 10 has been hailed as “rugged,” “mammoth” and with “holes that are unlike anywhere else,” by many major media outlets and players. Golf.com featured the course just a few weeks ago and Golf Digest did a flyover of each hole recently.

“Pinehurst’s newest golf course was everything it’d been billed to be: interesting, creative, eye-popping and thought-provoking,” wrote Golf.com’s James Colgan. “I thought its contours were friendlier than anything I’d encountered in the Pinehurst area, and found its variety unusually beguiling. In my mind, it easily achieved the difficult feat of being totally distinct to anything in the (already loaded) North Carolina Sandhills region.”