The Venue
Southern Pines, North Carolina· Donald Ross (rest. Kyle Franz, 2021)
Southern Pines Golf Club is a Donald Ross design dating to 1906 in the heart of the Village of Southern Pines, now under the same ownership as neighboring Pine Needles and Mid Pines. Kyle Franz led an 18-month restoration completed in 2021 that removed roughly 700 trees, expanded the greens, rebuilt the bunkers with rugged Sandhills sand, widened fairways, and recreated Ross's original short par-3 'Lost Hole.' The result is a walkable, strategic, mid-length Ross course celebrated for its bold green complexes and rolling terrain.
| Out | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 35 |
| Yds | 375 | 565 | 200 | 435 | 580 | 445 | 205 | 390 | 195 | 3,390 |
| In | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Yds | 365 | 325 | 425 | 420 | 190 | 495 | 315 | 415 | 365 | 3,315 |
Par 4 · 375 yds
A wide opening fairway; a foreground bunker on the right creates an illusion of narrowness, so check the hole location to pick the best side off the tee.
Par 5 · 565 yds
An uphill par 5 where the drive must climb a crest; a diagonal cross-hazard forces a thoughtful lay-up before a short approach.
Par 3 · 200 yds
One of the most dramatic holes, played from an elevated tee to a contoured green with a false front; a draw favors middle-left pins and a fade the back-right.
Par 4 · 435 yds
Played over a hog's-back fairway with a bunker series right; flirting with the right bunkers opens the best angle into the uphill green, while shots short get pulled into a bowl.
Par 5 · 580 yds
A dogleg-left par 5 with a 25-foot drop around the 240-yard mark; a tee-shot draw gets a big downslope kick that can bring the green in reach in two.
Par 4 · 445 yds
A forced carry over water leads to an uphill power-fade hole; the lowered green front lets a long approach climb onto the surface for a rewarding finish.
Par 3 · 205 yds
Plays into a dramatic bowl to the course's largest green (about 70 paces deep) with a false front; avoid the right greenside bunker and its awkward downhill lies.
Par 4 · 390 yds
A slight dogleg right along a hilltop spine; drives right kick toward a lake and pulls feed into pines, while a left bunker-bowl funnels balls to left pins.
Par 3 · 195 yds
An unusual third front-nine par 3, ringed by short grass that only looks like bunkering; an extensive false front makes front pins especially tough.
Par 4 · 365 yds
Reworked back and left with a reverse-camber fairway sloping opposite the hole's flow, so a draw is ideal; a deep (6-foot) greenside bunker awaits.
Par 4 · 325 yds
A short, now wide-open par 4 with the lake in view; the tee shot tempts over-aggression, leaving a short, breaking wedge to a green higher on the left.
Par 4 · 425 yds
A cross-hazard sits directly in the line of play; the left fairway pocket gives the best angle but is hard to see from the lowered tee, and a right greenside bunker rewards driving left.
Par 4 · 420 yds
A central mound (rather than a bunker) fronts the green and creates uncertainty as the terrain tumbles toward the surface, unsettling aggressive players.
Par 3 · 190 yds
The shortest par 3, a quasi-reverse redan with a high left side that kicks the ball down and chases it toward back-right hole locations.
Par 5 · 495 yds
A dogleg-right that climbs to an elevated green; Ross's original tee (just behind the 14th green) sets up a long uphill approach of around 190 yards.
Par 4 · 315 yds
A short, drivable-type par 4 over rolling Sandhills terrain where position off the tee dictates the angle into the green.
Par 4 · 415 yds
A straight hole with a right-to-left fairway cant and bunkers both sides off the tee; the dream is a tee-shot fade for angle, then a draw into the green.
Par 4 · 365 yds
A short two-shot finisher with an inside dogleg defended by an outside fairway bunker; a central knoll about 250 yards out can leave an awkward approach stance.
