I had the good fortune to visit North Carolina for a week or so. Of course, golf was on the cards; revisits to revamped Mid-Pines and Old Town plus a look at Dormie Club and a local Raleigh course - Wildwood Green. I visited a few interesting tourista sights along the way. Some of it enlightenining and some downright puzzling. Lets just say the Scots ain't got nothing on the Carolina folk when it comes to deep fried "food"
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The day after landing at RDU we made our way to Southern Pines. First up, Mid-Pines. I think of all the Donald Ross courses in the Sandhills, Mid-Pines remains the only example whereby all the holes are in the same place and order as Ross designed; this is quite remarkable considering Mid-Pines opened in 1921. The other extraordinary aspect of the course are the greens; they were never changed, so for the most part what we have are essentially the greens that Ross floated out. Of course, the K Franz renovation recaptured some of the lost greenspace which in many cases reveal the best or most difficult hole locations. The sense of space and width offered on what I think is about a 100 acre golf course is truly spectacular. In addition to the greens, the renovation saw the removal of trees, the creation of short grass around tees and the reintroduction of sandy areas on the periphary of the holes.
MID-PINES I&GCThe card reflects the simple demeanor of the course.
Map of the course.
The course says hello in spectacular fashion with a moderate length down n' up par 4.
The green is deceptively uphill. At least one extra club will be needed for the approach and (hopefully) the uphill putt.
The short 2nd too is a very good hole without being exceptional; an apt description for the entirety of Mid-Pines.
The funky third has serious drainage problems which will hopefully be sorted out in the next few years. As of now, the hole merely serves as a gateway to the 4th, possibly the best and only great hole on the course. Playing uphill for its entire 330 yards (from the tips), the green is reachable, but a high number is there for the ill-advised golfer.
Many tee shots will roll to the extreme right side of the fairway leaving a heroic shot to anywhere on the green, although a back hole location as seen in the photo is especially dicey.
5 & 6 are back to back 5s which so far as that concept goes works alright as a couplet. The water is quite jarring on #5 as it can come into play for big hitters.
A very attractive tee shot, one can just make out the mess of bunkers protecting the approach and 6th green.
By the 7th I noticed a preponderance of left to right doglegs. Wondering if the course was going to follow this pattern throughout, I discovered the front mainly plays left to right while the back plays right to left. Generally, the fairways are wide enough to negate much of the advantage either way, but there is always the preference to the eye issue which is often overlooked.
The 8th is a curious short hole, very reminiscent of the style one would find in the UK. The hole is innocent looking until a sideview of the green reveals its true nature.
Nine is a short two-shotter heading back toward the house. At the turn and down the 10th the golfer can admire the outbuildings. Instead of upgrading to a modern homogenized resort style, the buildings have retained the charm of yesteryear. The 10th plays blindly over a crest, but it is the second which is interesting. There is a nest of bunkers/waste areas protecting the lay-up and green, but its difficult to make out their precise positions. A word about the bunkers and waste areas, apparently there are (I believe) 13 or 14 bunkers and these are identified as islands amonst grass. The waste areas run into the pine needles; in these areas the club can be grounded. I thought this was a clever way to delineate the two and make rulings simple. One question though, we had a player jammed under the lip of a waste area. There was some question as to the possibility of taking a penalty drop two club lengths no closer to the hole, but outside the waste area. That sounded right to me, but we never had the idea confirmed. Anyway, the approach to the 10th after a lay-up.
#11 is another short hole and one that reminded me a bit of a simplified version of Old Town's 6th.
I have a lot of time for the 12th; a sharpish legger left with probably the most severe green on the course.
The next four holes don't really do much for me as a group. All are very competent holes, but don't add much to the course. The 13th is a banger par 3. 14 runs just below a ridge and calls for a right to left tee shot. The fifteenth is a three-shotter with an oddly circular green. It seems to me the green should spill left down the hill a bit. 16 is a sweeping downhill legger to the left. It is the 17th which really gets the course back on track. Turning hard right, there are great deceptive waste areas to the right. The prime driving zone is down the right for the green will not accept a shot from the safe driving zone to the left.
The approach from the left of the fairway seems harmless, but that is far from the case.
The home hole too is terrific. Not quite as severe a turn to the left as the 16th, but less generous off the tee.
The green seems as if it broke free of trees and rests in a natural amphitheatre.
While very impressive, Mid-Pines does have a repetitive nature with the left/right waste areas featured so often. Additionally, the length of the fours seem to be lacking in variety. On the positive side, the greens are very good, the walk is splendid, there are handsome views on offer, there is plenty of width to get all classes of players around the course in a timely manner and perhaps most of important of all, Mid Pines now feels like a Sand Hills course. Prior to the recent restoration and as is the case with many other courses in the area, the sandy nature of the site(s) were allowed to hibernate. While I am not keen on too much sand, it has to be better than wall to wall bermuda rough. Finally, I am impressed the design not only offers two loops of nine holes, but one can also play a few boozers loops which include 1-4; 1, 6, 17-18; 1, 6-9; 10-12, 7-9 and obviously a few longer loops. This must be a great boon for the members looking to bounce around visiting parties. The resort should be heartily commended for their efforts and lets hope the work eventually includes the awkward water hazard and drainage on #3. If Mid Pines were private, I reckon it would make an outstanding members course. 1* 2013
Ciao