Sandhills Golf Destination Guide

Sandhills Golf Transportation

If you're flying into central North Carolina's Sandhill region, you might be able to get a flight into the Southern Pines/Pinehurst Airport, but more than likely you'll fly into Charlotte. Charlotte/Douglas International Airport has daily flights to and from most major cities. The Sandhill Area is then just a short drive east.

If you are driving to Central North Carolina from the North, you'll take I-85 south until I-73/74 which runs into Pinehurst. Interstate 85 also runs north from Atlanta. If you are driving from the West you'll probably take I-40 which runs east to Charlotte.

Sandhills Golf FAQ

1. What area makes up the Sandhill region of the Carolinas?

East of Charlotte, in the center of North Carolina, the Sandhills are made up of a collection of small towns. The area is anchored by Pinehurst and its assortment of world famous courses. Cameron, Southern Pines, Aberdeen and Seven Lakes are other Sandhill cities.

2. What has made Pinehurst so famous?

Pinehurst has a place in the annals of golf because it has a long and storied history. Besides Donald Ross' classic No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 courses, the hotel is a National Historic Landmark. Many of the world's rich and famous have crossed the thresholds of Pinehurst - the Rockefellers, DuPonts and Morgans to name a few. John Philip Sousa, Will Rogers, Bing Crosby, Mary Pickford, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and others have vacationed at Pinehurst. Amelia Earhart even landed her plane at the resort's airstrip. As far as golf goes, the resort's famed No. 2 golf course is the proud home of the North and South Open and Amateur Championships as well as host of the 1991 and 1992 PGA Tour Championships, 1994 U.S. Senior Open, and 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open Championships.

3. What should I expect if I play No. 2 at Pinehurst?

You should expect to play one of golf's basic standards that every course built after it has been judged against. It's character and tradition alone make it one of top courses in the country, but Donald Ross's design has proven timeless. You have to drive the ball well here and hit long irons well. And most of all, have a precise and razor-sharp short game. Balls hit less than perfectly on the greens will trickle off around the edges into dips and swales. This said, you should also expect to pay upwards of $300 for a round during golf season.

4. What's the best course besides those at the Pinehurst Resort ?

There's one course that seems to have set itself on the same tier as Pinehurst. It should come as no surprise that Donald Ross also designed Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. Ross's courses have come to define the area and Pine Needles exemplifies Sandhills golf as much as Pinehurst. Rolling through the longleaf pines and over numerous streams and lakes, Pine Needles puts everything in front of you and has no gimmicks.

5. What else is there to do in the Sandhills?

As beautiful as the golf courses are, the unadulterated setting around them is even more impressive. You can experience all of it at the Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature preserve. Just a mile southeast of Southern Pines, you find 600 acres of preserve where you can walk or ride a horse across pine covered sand ridges. You can also learn about the endangered species that live on site, like the red-cockaded woodpecker, the pine barren tree frog and the bog spicebush.