Pinehurst No. 2, host of three U.S. Open Championships and future host of the 2024 event, is ranked third in the United States among Golfweek magazine’s annual Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play list.
The famed Donald Ross design is also ranked 15th in the country among the publication’s Top 100 Classic Golf Courses which includes designs prior to 1960. Other Pinehurst area courses ranked among the Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play list include Pinehurst No. 4 (41st), Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club (42nd) and Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club (55th) And Tobacco Road Golf Club (99th).
“These rankings simply reinforce that the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area is indeed the ‘Home of American Golf,’” said Phil Werz, president and CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “What is even better is our community embraces golf and the golf industry and supports everything from major USGA championships like the U.S. Open to events such as U.S. Kids World and Teen Championships and everything in between. Our destination understands how important golf is not only to those who live here, but also to everyone around the world that chooses to visit this special place 365 days of the year.”
Among all 50 states, North Carolina ranks fifth in the nation with the number of courses on the Best You Can Play list with seven, trailing only California (10), Florida (8), Oregon (8) and Wisconsin (8). When broken down by individual states, Golfweek includes 15 courses as Best Places You Can Play in North Carolina, nine of them located in the Pinehurst area. Those courses include Pinehurst No. 2 (1st); Pinehurst No. 4 (2nd); Mid Pines (3rd); Pine Needles (4th); Tobacco Road Golf Club (6th); Pinehurst No. 8 (7th); Pinehurst No. 7 (9th); Mid South Club (13th) and Southern Pines Golf Club (15th).
For a complete look at all of Golfweek’s 2020 rankings, click here. The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike.
In 2019, Moore County ranked as the eleventh largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $563 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county.
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