As for UNC, i guess I was thinking in terms of the "Raleigh-Durham" area and an hour away from P'hurst, I stand corrected for my lack of specificity.
I have not seen the Whispering courses, Seven Lakes, or either of the Foxfires, although I have seen pics of the Keith Hills course and it looks worth a trip someday.
As for National, much of my angst comes from the fact that I have always gone down to NC in March, which is obviously still off-season for many of the courses down there. I have played National each time I've gone down due to it's convenience of location and welcoming nature to college golf team spring breakers. It has always been dormant yellow in color, and slightly sparse in nature when we played it. It obviously would be brilliant green in season, so I've tried to discount this from my feelings on the course.
However, there are things going on there with the design that just don't fit my eye. It was built in the middle of Jack's (or the company's, hi Jim
) aerial attack stage, which was an admittedly hotter style at the time. Many of the greens at National are heavily defended and elevated, often in front of the green. This happens on #1 (slopes, bunkers), #2 (water), #3 (3 tiers), #4 (two tiers, bunkers, elevated), #5 (creek, shallow green), #6 (elevated, tiered green), #8 (pot bunkers), and so on. I have to say it is different and more challenging than many of the area courses, but to me it doesn't allow you to think your way around the course like most of the other Sandhills courses. There seems to be quite a few high flight, high spin shots that must be hit to succeed here.
Also, I thought it interesting that throughout the course there are many bunkers, most deep and well-landscaped. However, on #8 this deviates to pot-bunkers, and on #15, to several small round "sand traps" no deeper than a foot and generally out of play on the right side before the green. I like the waste bunkers that start on hole #7, and pop up on #11, #14, #16, as much of the scrub in the sandhills probably looked like that at some point, but the pots and traps seem out of place.
Maybe my thoughts are due to the fact that the course has always beaten me up (my best being 78 as a scratch), and I was used to taking apart the likes of Talamore, Mid-South, and Little River, but I would guess that the mid-high marker would have an even tougher time getting around National. The other courses above, while some aren't that fantastic, are more fun.
I don't find National offensive, and I probably will end up there again sometime, I personally just have more fun at the others on the list. Maybe we'll say some of the same things about the minimalist courses in 15 years when the new hot courses fit our eye!!