[PCCraig]

If I were Bogey, I would set up a round at #2.


It's no doubt a special course and I know plenty of not-so-great golfers who love it.


A morning round followed by either a round on #3 or a couple Loops on the Cradle would be a lovely day.


It's pricey, but I'd rather spend $450 on #2 (don't think caddies are required anymore?), than $250+ on #4, $100+ for #1, etc.


As everyone as said before Mid Pines, Pine Needles, and Tobacco Road should be must-plays. Sprinkle in a round at #2, Cradle, and #3 and that's a great trip. Eventually I think you're going to want to add Southern Pines to that list as well.

[Steve Lang]

I am surprised there is no mention of #4 which certainly an exceptional course although I don't know how much they are charging for it.  I went to the US Am at Pinehurst where they played #4 as well as #2 in both the stroke play qualifying and in the finals of the match play.  I saw how some top amateurs played it including a group that included the defending Mid Am, Senior Am and Junior Am Champions.  The challenges they faced included the importance of position off the tee and the difficulty of recovery shots around the green which they found extremely difficult at times.  It is interesting how much more the land rolls on #4 compared to #2.

For Bogey's group I would 100% play Tobacco Road over #4, as one example, almost every time. TR is a more fun/interesting course for a lot less $$.

... and I doubt the Sr Tour guys will be dealing with the same course challenges as "top am" players.. 


Bogey, do the boys play 36+ a day? 

[John Kavanaugh]

If you want me to set up you and your friends at Dormie club slide into my DM.

[David Ober]

I am surprised there is no mention of #4 which certainly an exceptional course although I don't know how much they are charging for it.  I went to the US Am at Pinehurst where they played #4 as well as #2 in both the stroke play qualifying and in the finals of the match play.  I saw how some top amateurs played it including a group that included the defending Mid Am, Senior Am and Junior Am Champions.  The challenges they faced included the importance of position off the tee and the difficulty of recovery shots around the green which they found extremely difficult at times.  It is interesting how much more the land rolls on #4 compared to #2.

For Bogey's group I would 100% play Tobacco Road over #4, as one example, almost every time. TR is a more fun/interesting course for a lot less $$.

... and I doubt the Sr Tour guys will be dealing with the same course challenges as "top am" players.. 

Not sure of the implication here?

[Steve Lang]

   David,


I know Bogey, but I don't know any of his Sr Tour Guys, so implications derive from his setup, saying 6 of 8 won't break 90 and they don't have any GCA interest.  It appears they're going to get a seriously good dose of Ross, which should be for the better, and I sincerely wish them good weather and good golf.  Guess they'll have great stories on how gentle a handshake the first holes are versus the rest at those venues, whether they could settle in or not.


Top ams certainly are considering angles, landing zones, and how to get at pins or avoiding big numbers.  I'm not so sure the Sr tour guys will have the foresight, strategy or games to succeed unless they play 36 a day and get a second chance at things after they've seen the lay of the land and challenges presented. Now if they're doing their homework and using Google Earth and measuring things to note, plotting  shots or getting yardage books in advance, I'd have different expectations. 


That's all.

[David Ober]

  David,


I know Bogey, but I don't know any of his Sr Tour Guys, so implications derive from his setup, saying 6 of 8 won't break 90 and they don't have any GCA interest.  It appears they're going to get a seriously good dose of Ross, which should be for the better, and I sincerely wish them good weather and good golf.  Guess they'll have great stories on how gentle a handshake the first holes are versus the rest at those venues, whether they could settle in or not.


Top ams certainly are considering angles, landing zones, and how to get at pins or avoiding big numbers.  I'm not so sure the Sr tour guys will have the foresight, strategy or games to succeed unless they play 36 a day and get a second chance at things after they've seen the lay of the land and challenges presented. Now if they're doing their homework and using Google Earth and measuring things to note, plotting  shots or getting yardage books in advance, I'd have different expectations. 


That's all.

Oh, so we're talking a random "Senior Tour" group, not the actual, PGA Tour Champions??? That's why I was confused!!!

[Jay Mickle]

If you want me to set up you and your friends at Dormie club slide into my DM.

A must take opportunity. You will see some of the best by C&C, Strantz and Ross.

[Joe Bausch]

Bogey, use the power of your personality to persuade the group to do No. 2!


I took my usual group of guys from school (none of us are very good golfers but we love to play golf!) to the PH area in March of 2015.  We played the following four courses and all were liked (with the preferences from high to low):


PH #8
PH #4
Dormie Club
PH #2


Take that FWIW.


Here are photo albums for all four (of course, that for No 4 before Hanse visited):


http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/PinehurstNo8/index.html


http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/PinehurstNo4/index.html


http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/DormieClub/index.html


http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/PinehurstNo2/index.html


Joe

[Ronald Montesano]

I played it with my mother years ago, and she's a golfer you'd recognize.

Is your mom Uma Thurman?

[Mike Hendren]

First, thanks for the responses.  A childhood friend of mine hosts a tailgate each year in Knoxville around a Volunteer football game.  Mrs. and I always attend. He summed it up years ago by saying "if it was about the football we would have quit coming years ago."  That's similar to how the "Other Senior Tour" rolls.  Top priority is finding a place that will house us with 8 beds and common space. Tour by-laws prohibit spooning.

This year we're returning to the RTJ Trail in Auburn - site of the inaugural tour, as there is a brand new house just outside the gate  with 8 queens, 4 baths and plenty of leather sofas and a big screen.  We stayed there last year.  Three nights there plus 5 rounds of golf totals $716/man.  These guys can easily handle more but I don't like spending other people's money.   Another note:  I don't recall a single complaint from anyone about anything over the past 23 year of the tour. 


We've been to Pinehurst years ago and played Tobacco Road and Pine Needles.  Nobody raved.  I can't see bothering to spend $450+ to play #2 when there's plenty of Ross nearby.  My days of trophy hunting are long gone, though I do hope to play one of the Captain's layouts in California one day. (I hope that is not a trolling violation.)


Barney, I have no idea what a DM is but might indeed contact you next year regarding Dormie.  I can't get enough of Bill and Ben and they do not disappoint. 


This thread has been insightful and perhaps will help others in their trip planning.


All the best, folks.


Mike Hendren

[Eric Smith]

Boger,


I recall reading that you fell in love with the Sandbox, and, as a fellow SB lover, I think you will find playing the Cradle at Pinehurst time well spent. On a whim, I drove over there two days ago, thirsting to walk on dry sandy soil and played 9 holes carrying a 9 iron and putter. It was, as they say, just what the doctor ordered.

[Jerry Kluger]

To give you even more thought for who much golf should cost, a friend recently played TPC Sawgrass and the cost was $550!

[John Foley]

Bogey


We've taken the trip to Pinehurst w/ a similar group a few times. As a group we've never played #2 (or #4) as a few of the guys are not comfortable paying the full freight for the experience. By not staying on property, it was tough to get tee times for the other courses (1/3/5) which were priced more amenable for our group. As others have mentioned, there are a ton of great options in the area that wont break the bank.  Being the fan of architecture which you are,  you should not miss #2. It's one of the top experiences in golf I've had. Make sure to get to the Cradle. Late in the day will be tough but AM's as a day kick off worked great.


We went to Tobacco Road and I was concerned about it being too polarizing and everyone LOVED it. We've  had a great time at Longleaf as a local option.

[John Kavanaugh]

Barney, I have no idea what a DM is but might indeed contact you next year regarding Dormie.  I can't get enough of Bill and Ben and they do not disappoint. 




Mike Hendren

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/slide+into+my+DMs


Just replace date with access.

[A.G._Crockett]

What an intriguing question, and a condensed version of what GCA geeks face all the time as we talk to golfers whose eyes quickly glaze over...
There are a lot of variables here that I don't know, like the finances of the individuals, and I don't know if any or all have been to Pinehurst before, or will be likely to go again, or if this is a "one and done" trip.  But there is a historical component to #2, beyond the GCA, that sort of makes it a "must play" for guys who love golf, regardless of what they shoot or whether or not they care about GCA at all.
So if you went to St. Andrews to play golf, but didn't play the TOC, or you went to Monterey to play golf, but didn't play Pebble Beach, or went to Kiawah to play golf, but didn't play the Ocean Course, and IF you put money aside, then what kind of a golf trip would that be?  If you tell other golfers that you went to Pinehurst but opted not to play #2, well...

The thing about a Pinehurst area trip, of course, is that you can play wonderful golf until you run out of time and money without playing #2; that's not in question.  Heck, you can even play great golf without even going to the club at all.  But if you consider the main club at Pinehurst to be one of the absolute cathedrals of the game (and I do!), coming and going without playing #2, especially if you aren't likely to be back, is hard to swallow.  A walking round on that course with a good caddy is a special thing, regardless of the cost or the appreciation of the GCA.

[Jason Thurman]

A.G., I feel you. And I'm with you. But you kind of make the point yourself - I know SO MANY golfers who do trips to Pinehurst, even returning time and time again, who just love the place... but who never make it to #2.


I get the comparison to Monterey at least (haven't been to St. Andrews or Kiawah). But the difference in Monterey is that, if you don't play Pebble, you're probably still spending tons of money on lesser courses, or you're just hanging at Pacific Grove and that's not even a little bit the same thing... you end up with kind of a lame trip.


But Pinehurst? You can arrange, like, 10 awesome trips that everybody loves the hell out of without ever touching #2. Go stand next to the Payne Stewart statue, sure. Look at the course and feel the hallowed ground, definitely. Hell, my favorite run of my life might have been the one I took around #2 at dusk the evening before I played it... I kept waiting for somebody to tell me to get the hell off the course, but all I got were a few waves. So run it, walk it, have a drink and stare at it... or play it if it means something to you, definitely!


The dirty truth, though? Tobacco Road is much more of a must-play than Pinehurst No. 2, for the average golfer. That's a course you can have really interesting conversations about while sitting around any 19th hole east of the Mississippi, with people who have played it and have real opinions on it, regardless of how informed we might consider them among the illuminati here. Tobacco Road for me was $75 that bought a great four hours, and opened the door to some of my best golf friendships through the immediate shared experience it allows you to reference with any new golf acquaintance who has traveled even a little bit.


No. 2? I'm thrilled to have played it, but the average guy you drink a pitcher with after a round doesn't want to hear about the course that costs 3x more than everything else in the area. I have a dozen great conversations a year about each of Southern Pines, Mid Pines, and Pine Needles. Two-dozen about Tobacco Road. I can't remember the last interesting conversation I had about No. 2, prior to this thread.

[Kalen Braley]

As a high capper, with a mediocre chipping game, #2 does not look appetizing to play.

However, when/if I finally get there, I would certainly love to walk the course and observe and savor what was done there, and use that massive green fee for other rounds in the area.  I just can't see spending that much coin to get completely destroyed around those greens where several Xs would no doubt result.

[Stewart Abramson]

...Here are photo albums for all four (of course, that for No 4 before Hanse visited): ...


Joe

Here's a photo album from a winter round on #4 post Hanse  https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/albums/72157712279480736/with/49245290016/


Edited to fix link

[cary lichtenstein]

I'd play Tobacco Road over Pinehurst #2

[Jeff Schley]

As a high capper, with a mediocre chipping game, #2 does not look appetizing to play.

However, when/if I finally get there, I would certainly love to walk the course and observe and savor what was done there, and use that massive green fee for other rounds in the area.  I just can't see spending that much coin to get completely destroyed around those greens where several Xs would no doubt result.

But how is your putter? I choose to putt from off the green quite a few times, as chipping in tight lies is uh.......... "watch out!"

[Lou_Duran]

Another note:  I don't recall a single complaint from anyone about anything over the past 23 year of the tour. 

That is truly remarkable.  You're a blessed man.


#2 is a course the aficionados should play.  Since your guys are such an agreeable sort and not financially constrained, why not?


But if buyer's remorse can creep into the trip, there is a lot to be said for the other area offerings.  BTW, My son and I had a great time playing both big courses at Grand National some 20 years ago.  I have talked to a number of avid golfers who didn't get #2's hype (or the greenfee).  I've even heard a couple who liked the version prior to C&C's restoration better, probably in part due to the more moderate pricing and to what they were used to.

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