Plenty of us are feeling poor at the moment
. Thus, it is especially with delight that we post this update on Southern Pines Golf Club. Owned by the Elk's Club and managed now by Avestra, it represents one of the great bargains in golf. I am a member and a guest costs something like $30 this time of the year. Look at the new photos and tell me if you don’t agree that represents value (!) for money.
Ross’s eighteen holes were done in two stages (a nine hole loop in 1906 which was expanded to eighteen holes by the early 1920s) and today’s playing corridors remain identical to those in Ross’s day. His routing over the rolling sandy topography is still the highlight. The green locations are nice and varied with some at the high point of the hole (e.g. the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 12th, 15th, 16th and 18th) and some at the low point (the 5th, 8th, 13th, and 17th). The elevated greens make the course play longer than the 6,300 yards would otherwise suggest and the deepest bunkers on the course are found at such green sites.
Many of the first nine holes that were built fall across the land in an appealing - though conventional - manner. Some of the holes that were built ~ fifteen years later (especially the 8th whose fairway plays along a spine that falls away on both sides and the 10th with its wonderful sidehill architecture) utilize the land in different manners. Perhaps this shows how Ross was developing as an architect?
The net effect is a pleasant walk through broad corridors of tall pine trees. If we catch it late in the afternoon when it isn’t crowded, we are around in under three hours :)carrying our bags. Though the architectural features might not blow you away (the greens and bunkers have been modified through the years), the property/routing and the experience of getting change back for your $50 will undoubtedly put a smile on your face.
Come have a round with me sometime and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll also wish that this country had many more like it – the sport would be in immeasurably better shape if we did as such courses allow people to reconnect to nature without breaking the piggy bank.
Cheers,