TheBossGolfs: Southern Pines Golf Club

Southern Pines Golf Course is the newest addition to the Mid Pines and Pine Needles family and is a true gem. The courses are located golf-rich destination of Pinehurst (Southern Pines), North Carolina, making the courses a true must play course just a few miles from Pinehurst. Southern Pines is a Donald Ross designed course with all the characteristics and beauty you would expect from his sandhills courses. Kyle Franz's recent renovations demonstrate this architect and renovation master's abilities make a course more enjoyable and return to a true Donald Ross experience. Southern Pines presents a solid argument to become my favorite course in the area, even with Mid Pines my current favorite. As Southern Pines matures, I envision the course becoming my 1B in the area. While not far from famed Pinehurst No. 2, Southern Pines is considerably different in topography, with more elevation change over rolling terrain. The course has beautiful corridors of tall pines, plenty of waste bunkers to challenge golfers, a great combination of short par 4s, challenging par 3s and reachable par 5s. The course is more inviting to a low score with greens that are more receptive to approach shots, yet well undulated to require a creative mind with the short stick. The green complexes are a challenge, especially if a green is missed. I have been coming to the Pinehurst area of North Carolina for more than a decade, generally visiting every other year or so but the addition of Southern Pines will definitely make this region a front runner for an annual trip.