North Carolina's 7 Best Public Golf Courses

North Carolina has several options for a top-notch golf adventure. Whether you’re looking for a quick weekend getaway or a week-long trip with 10 rounds of golf on the books, North Carolina has a trip for you. Here are some of the best golf courses in North Carolina you can play.

In total, there are nine courses on the Pinehurst property, each with simply a number as opposed to a name:

• No. 1 (Donald Ross, 1901)
• No. 2 (Donald Ross, 1907)
• No. 3 (Donald Ross, 1910)
• No. 4 (Gil Hanse, 2018)
• No. 5 (Ellis Maples, 1961)
• No. 6 (George and Tom Fazio (1979)
• No. 7 (Rees Jones, 1986)
• No. 8 (Tom Fazio, 1995)
• No. 9 (Jack Nicklaus, 1988)

There’s much debate among repeat Pinehurst visitors as to which course is their favorite and why. With so much golf in one massive area, it’s nearly impossible to come to a clear consensus. Pinehurst No. 2, however, is the golden goose of the bunch without question. The Donald Ross design is a masterpiece that has hosted more golf championships than any course in America. No. 2 is an anchor site for the U.S. Open and will host five more U.S. Opens by 2047.

Beyond the nine regular courses, Pinehurst also has Thistle Dhu, an 18-hole putting course that is entertaining for all golfers. It’s one of the more popular places for guests of the resort to end their evening rolling the rock and having some laughs.

Also on property is The Cradle. This Gil Hanse-designed short course is a ton of fun. The course sits on only 10 acres of land and gives you some memorable looks. The fee is $50, but kids 17 and under play free when accompanied by an adult.

Pinehurst Resort has a number of dining options including our favorite, the Ryder Cup Lounge which offers casual dining. Accommodations are spread throughout five different options, all with stay and play packages attached to them. The resort is easily accessible as it’s just about equal distance between Charlotte and Raleigh.

After Pinehurst, Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club is perhaps the most popular North Carolina golf destination. In order to experience Pine Needles, you must be stay at the lodge, which is a treat in itself. With 74 guest rooms, Pine Needles is a true escape from reality. An abundance of indoor and outdoor lounge areas pair well with gourmet dining.

Pine Needles hosted the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open where Minjee Lee claimed victory. The course was actually awarded four such events, so Pine Needles will be on the major map for quite some time. Originally designed by Donald Ross in 1927, the course underwent renovations in 2017 by Kyle Franz to bring it into a more current state for today’s equipment and distances.

The peak time to visit Pine Needles is March-June when a greens fee run about $250, but there is plenty of time throughout the year to get yourself a non-peak time to experience this great layout. Pine Needles is located in the city of Southern Pines, just west of Pinehurst.

If you have any plans to visit Durham, North Carolina to catch a Duke game, consider packing your golf clubs. The Blue Devils have one of the best college golf courses in the U.S., and it’s open to the public. Duke University Golf Club is a product of Robert Trent Jones Sr., who was hired to design the course in 1955. Two years later, the course opened and remained untouched until Rees Jones completed a renovation in the mid-1990s.

Duke University Golf Club, today, has six sets of tees with the tips labeled as the “Blue Devil Tees.” Those play at 7,154 yards with a 74.8 rating and 142 slope. Professional golfers who have graduated from Duke include Kevin Streelman, Joe Ogilvie, Laetitia Beck, and Nate Smith.

If you drive from Pinehurst to Raleigh, you'll hit Sanford, North Carolina. That's where you’ll find one of the most unique and heralded golf experiences in the entire U.S. Tobacco Road Golf Club was designed by Mike Strantz who began his career on Tom Fazio’s course construction crew. He found the land in Sanford, which had been used as tobacco farm and mining and sand excavation. Putting his artistry to the test, Strantz created one of the top courses, public or private, in the country.

When you arrive at Tobacco Road you enter through some very unassuming farmhouse gates before being led to a peaceful clubhouse with stone patios complete with rocking chairs and a fireplace. The course incorporates many sandy waste areas that test you off the tee. Visually, there’s something to look at on every single hole as if each hole has its own story to tell. For example, the par-5 11th has a massive bunker that requires you to walk down a flight of 20 stairs to get to your ball. The Tobacco Road site notes that it was Strantz’s goal to test “a player’s eye, determination, and wits.”

You can typically play Tobacco Road for $225 or under, depending on the time of year. To say it's well worth it would be a massive understatement.

If you love golf and you love seafood, you’ll fall in love with North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands. This area is off the beaten and crowded path of golf tourism but has some of the best courses in the entire state. Leopard’s Chase is a Tim Cate design that opened in 2007 and has over 220 acres of coastal land with native grasses, wetlands, and plenty of visual distractions along the way. From the back tees, Leopard’s Chase stretches to 7,155 yards with a 74.1 rating and 142 slope.

The course is part of the Big Cats collection which also includes Tiger’s Eye, Panther’s Run, and Lion’s Paw. Truthfully, any of the four courses is an absolute thrill to play. Leopard’s Chase, however, stands out from the pack simply based on its ability to turn your solid round on its head in only a few holes.

Your best route to Brunswick Islands is to fly into Myrtle Beach and simply cross into North Carolina. The city of Sunset Beach along with Calabash, Bald Head Island, and more make this entire area a true hidden gem.