My Quest to Check Off Golf's Best Experiences
The Golf Bucket List
Pinehurst Number 8 definitely pleasantly surprised me. I was a bit disappointed when I played Number 4, and I expected to feel similar about Number 8, but it definitely outperformed my expectations. Definitely a different feel not starting and finishing at the main clubhouse, but I really enjoyed the experience, even without the aura of playing Numbers 1-5 and walking down the hallways of the Pinehurst Clubhouse before and after. Tom Fazio often has a bad reputation in the golf club architecture community, but I thought this course had plenty of architectural and strategic interest. I would definitely recommend playing it if you're at the Resort and are looking to add a round beyond Number 2.
#18, Par 4, 417 Yards
#18 is as tough as #17 was easy. Uphill and to a huge multi-level green. The pin was all the way back on the day we played, on a shelf with very little room. The ideal shot shape into the green is a cut, bending away from the two greenside bunkers on the left and carrying the third bunker on the front right.
#17, Par 5, 464 Yards
An out-and-back finish for #17 and #18. #17 was a really fun short par 5 (only 500 yards from the tips) with a risk/reward shot on the second where short and right is in trouble. Loads of room to bail out on the left, and the angle of the green leaves an easy chip shot with plenty of green to work with if you lay up (or bail out) to the left. This should be an easy par, and a good chance for a birdie. Anything worse and you've missed a good opportunity this late in the round.
#16, Par 4, 332 Yards
Heading back to the clubhouse, this hole didn't require a driver from our tees, and probably wouldn't from any tees since those playing all the way back (402 yards) can probably hit a fairway wood long enough to keep driver out of their hands. A straight shot is what you're looking for to avoid the fairway bunkers on either side, which will leave a short shot into a green with only one bunker in the front left. A draw off the tee is the ideal shot shape, but isn't required since there's ample room on either side to fit in a cut or straight shot as well. Being too far right in the fairway will block some of your view into the green.
I wanted to note one other item at Number 8. Knowing that golf can be a family game, and Pinehurst can be a family resort, there are Family Tees throughout the Number 8 course, typically in the fairways around 150 yards or so from the green. A good idea to promote the game and make it a family affair.
#15, Par 3, 145 Yards
From the 14th green, it's a left-hand turn to the 15th hole. A good-looking one-shotter here with a fairly short iron to the green. A thin bunker on the right separates the green from the marsh/water area. Another bunker guards the back left of the green. Aiming at the right edge of that bunker is a good safe line. This is where it started to rain on us. After looking at the forecast for this Sunday in March, we were fortunate to get in 14 holes of dry weather!
#14, Par 4, 363 Yards
I'm not sure I've seen many holes where tee selection completely changes the complexion of the hole as much as this one. The white tees and blue tees play the exact same yardage, but the blue tees are probably 75 yards or more to the left and make the hole a dogleg left with a cape-style carry over the watery-marshy area. The back tees are even further left and further back and require an even longer carry. However, from the white tees, it's a straight hole with the water all the way down the left side. A totally different hole.
#13, Par 3, 165 Yards
Carry it all the way to the green and you'll be past all of the trouble. The green resembles one of the turtleback greens of Number 2 with rolls-offs all around. With a good shot from the tee, this one can be conquered. Loved the bench by the tee. Makes you feel like you're in a special place!
#11, Par 5, 547 Yards
Long and relatively narrow with a very minor bend to the left at the end. The trouble is to the right of the green, and keeping the second shot down the left side presents the ideal line. Other than that, everything is right in front of you on this one.
#12, Par 4, 320 Yards
Driver isn't critical, and hitting down the right half of the fairway is the appropriate line. Be careful of going over the hole when the pin is in the back. I almost did, and got lucky that it stayed on the back edge.
#10, Par 4, 387 Yards
Another blind drive, and another hole with a video screen to look at to make sure you're clear to hit. Basically, just aim down the middle...not a lot to this one. Two bunker in front of the green on either side.
#9, Par 4, 395 Yards
By now, it should be pretty clear that there are a lot of blind tee shots on Pinehurst Number 8. The 9th hole is no exception. I hit driver on the line of the edge of the bunkers and it worked out well, though it might be a been a bit bold of me. The hole bends to the right. This is one of the holes where playing the course a couple times would probably give me a better idea of the proper strategy. After this hole, it was a quick trip to the clubhouse for a breakfast sandwich and cup of coffee, and then on to the back nine.
#4, Par 4, 406 Yards
This is the first long par 4 on the course, and one of only two par 4's on the front side that stretch beyond 400 yards from the tips. Having played this course only once, I can't say exactly what line is preferred off the tee, as you're hitting to a landing area you can't see. The hole goes down and to the left, so I think carrying the waste area on the left is a good and realistic line to shorten the hole and leave a good line in. One cool thing about Number 8 is that the holes with blind shots have little video screens by the tees that show the landing areas so you know when the coast is clear to hit.
#5, Par 3, 116 Yards
Time for a one-shotter, and this one was a good looking one. Water on the left, but it really shouldn't come into play unless you hit a huge pull. Aside from one bunker in the front, there is no other trouble on this hole. It's only a wedge or short iron from every tee, so it should be a good chance to score for most.
#6, Par 5, 565 Yards
The most difficult shots on this hole are the 2nd and 3rd, with bunkers all around and a hole that bends toward the left between the 2nd and 3rd shots. The green has some big contours, from right to left, so being on the correct side of the hole can be important, and like the 2nd hole, there is a big falloff to the left of the green.
#7, Par 4, 323 Yards
A relatively short par four. While the drive is blind again, staying down the right side will present the easiest line into the green, which has a front bunker that guards the left side. If you can hit it far enough, there is a huge swale that will run your ball all the way up to the right edge of the green and leave an easy up and down. Otherwise, it will be a pitch off of a downhill lie to a green with loads of trouble long.
#8, Par 3, 177 Yards
Tons of room to bail on the left of this hole, but all carry if you're going to the green. The White tees are definitely given a break, as it is 201 yards from the Blues, and 238 yards from the Golds. Having played it the day before, this one reminded me a lot of #7 at Dormie Club.
#3, Par 4, 357 Yards
Uphill and back to the clubhouse we go. Hugging the bunkers on the left leaves the best angle into the green, but the fairways slopes away from them, making that shot difficult. It's a pretty short par 4, so at least you won't be hitting a very long club into the green no matter what. Just don't miss your drive too far right. I love the contrast between the green fairways and the dormant Bermuda in this picture.
#2, Par 5, 502 Yards
A family of deer greeted us on this par 5 on an early Sunday morning. Again, I thought I hit a good drive, but it ended up in a right-side fairway bunker. A good recovery followed by a nice approach shot to the green and a good putt yielded my only birdie of the day. The trick to avoid trouble and a high number is to avoid the left side on the approach to the green as it rolls down toward the woods.
#1, Par 4, 321 Yards
The ball was in the air at a little before 8:00 AM on this crisp March morning, and with no warm-up swings, a drive down the middle was all I was trying to achieve. I achieved my goal, only to find out that a drive down the middle isn't the perfect shot! Of course, I could have hit less club off the tee so that my driver shot wouldn't go through the fairway and be blocked by trees. Knowing what I know now, a fairway wood down the middle would have been a better move. Going into the green, a greenside bunker on the left prevents a run-up shot. Avoid this bunker and blocking yourself off the tee, and this should be an easy opening hole.
The Pinehurst Resort considers itself to be the home of American golf. It certainly wasn't the first location of 18 holes of golf on American soil, but it was indeed one of the first places to offer golf to the public, outside of the country club community, and is still, to this day, among the best collections of holes in America. Pinehurst No. 2 gets all the publicity, but the Pinehurst Resort actually includes eight golf courses, and by acquisition, added a ninth to its portfolio in 2014, and is rumored to be adding a tenth in the near future. Outside of Mission Hills in China, as far as I know, Pinehurst has the largest collection of golf holes in the world. The eight current courses have some variety in origins and designers, however, move of the courses that were not designed by Donald Ross, still include some tips of the hat to Mr. Ross in their design.
When you go to the Resort, there are five courses (#1 - #5) that begin and end at the main clubhouse. However, there are an additional three (soon to be more) courses that originate elsewhere and each have their own clubhouse. The courses that get the most attention from the serious golfer are numbers 2, 4, and 8. Number 8 was the last course I had to check off, which I did in March of 2014, on a golf trip that included rounds at Tobacco Road, Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Dormie Club, and Number 2, all in the matter of four days.
While some renovations could get in the way of truly deciphering when each course first opened, we'll say for the sake of argument that the 8 courses at Pinehurst were built in order (it's mostly true, though you can argue that Number 4 has gone through so many changes that it current routing came after some of the others). Number 8 was built as "The Centennial Course," since ground was broken in 1995, on the 100 anniversary of Pinehurst. The course actually opened in 1996 with President Gerald Ford and Byron Nelson among those were were there to celebrate opening day.
Tom Fazio was the one engaged to built Number 8, and he did a masterful job creating a unique layout, over 420 acres, that gave a nod to the famous Number 2 course in some ways, while presenting a unique and interesting collection of holes. Five sets of tees comprise the Centennial Course, with the tips playing 7,092 yards and a rating / slope of 74.1 / 138. These tees have been used in a number of big tournaments that have come to Number 8, including the PGA Professional National Championship that was played there in 1997 and 1998. For the rest of us, the Blue Tees would be plenty of challenge at 6,698 Yards. Playing golf in weather that was in the 40's and 50's with rain in the forecast, my buddy and I decided that the ball wasn't going to fly very far, and that the white tees at 6,302 would be enough challenge for that day. Those tees played to a rating / slope of 70.2 / 130 and the same par of 72 that the tips face. Were we a bit cowardly here? Maybe. But the USGA wants us to "Play it forward," right?
Pinehurst (No. 8)
Pinehurst, North Carolina
http://www.pinehurst.com/golf/courses/no-8/
Checked off the Bucket List March 16, 2014
Golf Magazine:
#97, Top 100 Courses You Can Play (2012)
#6, Best Public Golf Courses in North Carolina (2012)
Golf Digest:
#57, America's 100 Greatest Public Courses (2013-2014)
#19, Best in the State of North Carolina (2013-2014)