Mid Pines & Pine Needles, NC, USA

The landmark hotel at Mid Pines.

When the Donald Ross Society first convened in 1990, Pinehurst was the logical place. After all, Donald Ross's most intricate, complex design and the one that he lavished the most attention over a 45 year period (!) is found here.

Yet, to gain a true sense of Ross's design philosophy of bringing pleasure to the greatest number of golfers, the golfer is well served to cast his eye further a field than just Pinehurst No.2. Located in nearby Southern Pines, there are three Ross gems that embody Ross's general philosophy of golf as a pleasurable pursuit: Southern Pines (which makes for a wonderful study on how to route a course), Mid Pines and Pine Needles, which hosted the 1996 U.S. Women's Open with such success that it was quickly awarded the 2001 U.S. Women's Open during the closing ceremony! Indeed, Pine Needles just successfully hosted the 2007 U.S. Women's Open as well.

The origins of Mid Pines and Pine Needles trace the growth of golf through the early decades of the twentieth century. After the conclusion of WWI, Richard Tufts found his resort turning away as many as 15,000 guests during the peak season of February and March. Realizing that his first four courses at Pinehurst Country Club could not keep pace with the game's growing demand, Tufts (accompanied by Ross) searched for more land. At this point in 1920, they had their pick and found 5,000 acres of ideal terrain in what could be described - this time fairly - as the sand hills of North Carolina.

Located five miles from the village of Pinehurst, the terrain takes on a distinctly more rolling nature than that around the village itself. The soil was of such sandy nature that indeed many people referred to the area as the sand barrens. Whether one calls it the sand hills or sand barrens, Ross was a happy man regardless and went straight to work on Mid Pines.

The diversity of the property leads naturally to variety within Mid Pines' hazards. Holes that traverse across the flatter interior of the course like the sixth, eleventh and seventeenth holes feature shallower bunkers. Ross's bunkering schemes create the playing interest at such holes.  The bunkering at the majority of the other holes tends to be deeper and more expansive as the bunkers are cut into the hillocks or built-up green pads.

The fourteenth green is benched into the hillside, providing the perfect opportunity
for Ross to create a deep bunker at the basis of the built-up green.

The factors that conspired to make Mid Pines a success when it opened in 1921 are evident to this day. First, the course sits on a contiguous block of property. As for the characteristics of the land itself, Ross clearly thought highly of it as he himself selected it for his first course away from the Pinehurst village. The sides of the property are in general high and the course sits in its own secluded bowl. The inspired set of Ross greens are a particular highlight. Save for the 9th green, the size and contours of the greens are identical to the days when Ross lived here.  

 Holes to Note at Mid Pines

First hole, 380 yards; What an appealing sight. From the elevated tee, the golfer sees a broad fairway handsomely framed by mature long leaf pine trees that are well back from play. The green is located on the far hillock with four bunkers cut into the hillside. The rolling green is one of the deepest on the course at 43 yards and the golfer needs to note the day's location from the tee before descending down into the fairway.

The inspiring view from the elevated first tee.

Second hole, 180 yards; Working from one high point to another high point approximately 180 yards away, one imagines Ross finding this one shotter fairly quickly as he went through the routing process. Unusual for such hole, the green is crowned and thus falls away on all sides. When taken as a group - the sharply downhill eighth, the tightly bunkered eleventh, and the monstrously long 230 yard thirteenth - the one shotters at Mid Pines are a varied set where even the best are happy to make par.

The crowned second green is a tough target to hit and hold.

Fourth hole, 330 yards; This innocuous looking hole is a fooler thanks to the most severe green complex on either course. The plateau green angles away from the golfer to the right, and narrows toward the back. The approach shot with a short iron must be unusually precise, and a ball can easily hit several feet onto the green only to spin off. This is a must-see hole for golf architecture fans.

As with many great holes, first appearances can be deceiving. Avoid the bunker and all would
seem well. However, the bunker is actually five paces short of the green and
shouldn't be in play on one's short iron approach.

Unbeknownst to the golfer as the bunker hides it, the hole's real
menace is the green's five foot drop-off to the right.

The tiny target of the fourth green is illustrated in this view from behind the green.
This back hole location is especially taxing as the effective hitting area
is a mere eight paces wide.

Twelfth hole, 380 yards; This long narrow angled green complex appears to be unique within the Ross family of courses. Protected by bunkers right and left, the sliver of green, which angles from front left to back right, is nine paces wide in parts. Any approach from the right of the fairway is at an awkward angle into this shallow green.

The golfer must contend with this impressive bunker on the left of the
fairway to gain the optimal angle into the narrow angled twelfth green.

Fifteenth hole, 480 yards; Routing holes across broadly sloping terrain is a tricky proposition. Without plenty of width, the golfer may be made to feel a bit like a billy goat. Fortunately, Ross had width at his disposal and he made the most of it here. Instead of an awkward hole around the higher edge of the property, Ross designed a hole that is fun to play. A drawn tee ball over the left edge of the right bunker takes the fairway slope and runs for forty plus yards. Advances in technology have brought this green into reach for many golfers and hitting the green in two is quite satisfying.

A draw over the right bunker built high on the hillside takes the right to left pitch of the fairway
and bounds toward the green, hopefully bring it within reach on one's next shot.

Sixteenth hole, 400 yards; Moore County is famous for both its sandy soil and its rolling topography and Mid Pines features both. The sixteenth tee is high on the rim of the property and the tee ball down into the valley below makes for one of the prettiest ball flights to follow in Moore County. Despite the big feel of the hole off the tee, the domed green with its high middle section is where strokes most likely add up.

Teeing off from the rim of the property, the golfer standing on the sixteenth
tee feels level with the top of the distant pine trees.

Seventeenth hole, 390 yards; A highly regarded dogleg hole, this one sweeps to the right. A power fade is handsomely rewarded off the tee, as the golfer has a clear view of the green. The golfer who plays more cautiously to the left from the tee must confront a pair of bunkers at the left front of the green.

The classic bunkering pattern of the dogleg right seventeenth is evident from the tee.

The strategy is obvious: contend with these bunkers on the inside of the dogleg 
and be rewarded with an ideal angle into the green that is bunkered on its left.

Eighteenth hole, 410 yards; David Eger, the 2000 North South Champion, considers this to be the finest finishing hole in the state.

The clubhouse and hotel at Mid Pines provide an impressive backdrop to
the eighteenth green which sits in its own natural amphitheater.

With golfers flocking to Mid Pines, still another course (a sixth) was going to be required, and thus Tufts instructed Ross go to work across Midland Road on building Pine Needles in 1926. According to Khris Januzik of the Tufts Archives, 'I have never seen anything yet where Ross discusses Mid Pines and Pine Needles directly but..... judging from what the early advertisements of the two courses say and you know he had a hand in what was written about them; I would say that Pine Needles was to be the Championship Course while Mid Pines was to be the more relaxed, fun course.'

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