The second of our three rounds in Pinehurst was at Southern Pines Golf Club. I played here back in 2014 and enjoyed my round so I was excited for return visit, especially since the course went through a restoration.

Southern Pines dates back to 1906 and was designed by the famed Donald Ross. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog I’m not a big golf course historian, so I have no idea how much “Ross” can be found in the course today, even after the updates. One focus of the restoration – done by Kyle Franz – was to restore the original design. So I’d think the course would have a similar look and feel to the original, although I could be wrong.

When I played here about eight years ago I thought the course was a decent mid-tier option with an interesting history, but nothing about it really blew me away. However, after my round today, I think the updates push the course into the must play category if you are in Pinehurst. Let me explain.

Before the 2021 changes Southern Pines had a hilly, parkland look to it. The course looked like your typical Mid-Atlantic course, with trees hugging the fairways. There was enough sand, but overall the bunkering was bland. Changes to the course included removing many trees and updating the bunkers. What you have now is a more open golf course that looks fantastic! The course has that sandy, rugged look that has become so popular in this area during the last decade.

Besides the appearance, the bones of the course felt the same to me – but my two rounds here hardly make me an expert. There is still a nice collection of golf holes, the terrain has plenty of movement and considering the course’s length – it can still play tough. The difficulty these days seems to come from the all the sand while before restoration the playing corridors were much more narrow.

We picked the blue tees which are 72.0/135/6308 (par-71) and if you find one of those sandy areas then it might be tough to get the ball back in play, especially for higher handicaps. The bunkers have tongues that twist in many directions and the new sand is very soft. The greens are still challenging to putt with all their contour, in typical Ross fashion.

I’m not sure there is a signature hole at Southern Pines, but at the same time I don’t think there is a weak hole either. The only thing I think the course is missing is a short par-3. The 5th is my favorite hole on the front nine. It is the longest of the three par-5’s (542 yards) and plays downhill, with a blind tee shot. The hole doglegs left and if you challenge the left side then the tee shot can catch a slot in the fairway and run out a long way.

On the back nine the 14th and 15th are my favorite holes. The 14th is a pretty par-3 over water that plays into a small hillside. The 15th is only a 481 yard par-5 and offers a great chance for a birdie. The tee shot is downhill to a surprisingly large fairway before the next shot or two go uphill to a green that slopes off in multiple directions.

I’ll call the conditions just average at best. I’m not sure if the overseed didn’t grow in or if the turf still needs to mature from the restoration, or what. But there were enough patchy, thin areas in the fairways and on the tees to disappoint. The greens were a medium pace and rolled great.

This time of year the rack rate at Southern Pines is $145 and actually goes up to $195 starting next week. To me, Southern Pines isn’t a $150ish or more course. The premium price, lackluster conditions and a five and a half hour round – yep, you read that right – resulted in less excitement than I anticipated going into the round.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):