Thanks to a homegrown trip-planning service called Tobacco Road Travel, whipping up a wintertime escape to North Carolina’s sandhills region — which encompasses Pinehurst but offers so many more golf riches beyond that famous resort — is a snap. While the recently refurbished Pinehurst No. 2 will always top the list of must-plays for most travelers (and Tom Fazio’s No. 8 is right there, too), it’s a mistake to simply stop there.
Widen the lens and you’ll find two incredible, unique Mike Strantz creations in Tobacco Road and Tot Hill Farm; the Augusta-like splendor of Southern Pines Country Club; and both Mid-Pines and Pine Needles, which carry championship credentials of their own. Add in the latest Ben Crenshaw-Bill Coore creation at The Dormie Club — which is open to the public for a limited time — and you’ve got perhaps the East Coast’s greatest concentration of top-notch golf, more than enough for a week-long blowout.
“We have access to 40 golf courses, of which about 30 are located directly in the Sandhills,” says Joe Gay, Tobacco Road Travel’s director of golf and a Sandhills native. “Everything we have is within an hour’s drive of Pinehurst.”
And if you don’t mind the cooler temps of January and February, you can score some great stay-and-play deals. Play the classics in temperatures that range from the high 40s to 60s, discover places like Tobacco Road itself (one of the most fascinating tracks the Fairways + Greens crew has ever laid eyes or iron on), and stay well within your post-holiday budget. You’ll get that vaunted Southern-flavored service, too, plus a wealth of restaurants and lodging options to choose from.
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