Each year, North Carolina Magazine’s Golf Panel votes to determine the state’s Top 100 golf courses. The panel has emerged since its founding in 1995 as the most authoritative and only statewide source of golf course rankings in a state that boasts some of the world's best courses.
The 130-member panel has a unique composition: There are about three dozen print and TV golf writers, including writers from most of the daily papers in the state. Also on the panel are the golf coaches at several leading colleges and universities, some former touring pros, club pros at many fine courses, as well as several accomplished amateurs. Rounding out the panel are 40 business executives that include high handicappers and club champions.
By averaging the rankings of players from such different backgrounds, the panel arrives at ratings that are fair and which can be appreciated by a broad spectrum of golfers.
The panel’s rankings are published as a special supplement of the March issue of the North Carolina Magazine. The award-winning magazine, published since 1943, has a statewide readership of about 50,000 and is read mostly by business people, 90 percent of whom play golf.
| Course Name | Year Opened | Par | Back Tee Yardage | Slope/Rating | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PINEHURST NO.2 | 1907 | 72 | 7,020 | 74.1/131 | 5,351 |
| By most accounts, the signature work of famed designer Donald Ross was also his favorite. Golf fans were mesmerized by No. 2 ’s diabolic greens in the 1999 U.S. Open. An encore performance is set for 2005. | |||||
| OLD NORTH STATE | 1992 | 72 | 7,102 | 74.4/132 | 4,932 |
| Immaculate grounds and 18 memorable holes highlight Tom Fazio’s best work in the state, a gem set on Badin Lake in Montgomery County. Its finishing stretch will leave you thirsting for more. | |||||
| PINE NEEDLES | 1927 | 71 | 6,708 | 72.2/131 | 4,693 |
| The nation has discovered what we already knew -- that this Donald Ross classic is, as its slogan says, “golf the way it was meant to be.” The U.S.Women’s Open has visited twice and will return in 2007. | |||||
| CCNC DOGWOOD | 1963 | 72 | 7,154 | 74.9/136 | 4,381 |
| Undoubtedly one of Ellis Maples' finest designs, this is the more difficult of the legendary Pinehurst country club’s two layouts. A shotmaker’s delight, count on pulling out every club in your bag. | |||||
| GRANDFATHER | 1967 | 72 | 7,010 | 74.7/136 | 4,309 |
| Ellis Maples was fond of allowing the lay of the land to dictate his designs, and this gorgeous setting no doubt brought him many smiles. The only thing better than playing 18 here is the chance to play 36. | |||||
| CHARLOTTE CC | 1910 | 72 | 6,726 | 74.9/136 | 4,285 |
| There aren’t many more private courses than this one, which rests inside a chain-link fence in a historic section of Charlotte. Once inside, golfers enjoy a Ross layout that has been played for more than 90 years. | |||||
| LINVILLE | 1924 | 72 | 6,780 | 72.7/135 | 3,648 |
| Ross didn’t confine his North Carolina works to the Sandhills. This scenic track did require a little more effort, however, as it reportedly was carved from the mountains using mules and drag pans. | |||||
| ELK RIVER | 1984 | 72 | 7,008 | 72.8/131 | 3,463 |
| Some Jack Nicklaus course designs have been criticized for being too difficult — tracks that only the Bear could tame. Panelists find this picturesque layout high up in Banner Elk, however, to be just right. | |||||
| PINEHURST NO.4 | 1920 | 72 | 7,117 | 74.5/136 | 3,270 |
| This Ross design was renovated by Tom Fazio in 2000, changes significant enough to merit it being named that year’s Best New Course by the panel. It improves from 11 th in last year’s rankings. | |||||
| PINEHURST NO.8 | 1996 | 72 | 7,092 | 74.0/135 | 3,260 |
| This Fazio design, the last course built at the famed club, is his tribute to Ross and was honored as the state’s best new layout for 1996. Ranked ninth last year, a few of our raters think it’s Pinehurst’s best. | |||||
***** Courses
| Name | Location | Score |
| Forest Creek | Pinehurst | 3,100 |
| Quail Hollow Club | Charlotte | 3,094 |
| Mid Pines | Southern Pines | 2,931 |
| Wade Hampton | Cashiers | 2,767 |
| National | Pinehurst | 2,501 |
| Biltmore Forest | Asheville | 2,470 |
| Treyburn | Durham | 2,412 |
| Tanglewood (Champ.) | Clemmons | 2,355 |
| CCNC (Cardinal) | Pinehurst | 2,254 |
| River Landing | Wallace | 2,119 |
| Landfall (Dye) | Wilmington | 2,006 |
| Finley | Chapel Hill | 1,969 |
| Governors Club | Chapel Hill | 1,795 |
| Tiger's Eye | Sunset Beach | 1,773 |
| Duke University | Durham | 1,762 |
| Sedgefield CC | Greensboro | 1,705 |
| Tobacco Road | Sanford | 1,701 |
| Pinehurst No.7 | Pinehurst | 1,517 |
| Pinewild (Magnolia) | Pinehurst | 1,463 |
| Mid South Club | Pinehurst | 1,444 |
| Linville Ridge | Linville | 1,412 |
| Old Chatham | Durham | 1,308 |
| Anderson Creek | Spring Lake | 1,288 |
| Willow Creek CC | High Point | 1,232 |
| Grandover (East) | Greensboro | 1,131 |
| Mt.Mitchell | Burnsville | 1,032 |
| The Point Lake/GC | Mooresville | 1,030 |
| TPC at Piper Glen | Charlotte | 988 |
| Ballantyne Resort | Charlotte | 950 |
| Bald Head | Bald Head Island | 940 |
****1/2 Courses
| Name | Location | Score |
| Porter's Neck | Wilmington | 933 |
| River Run CC | Davidson | 923 |
| Bermuda Run CC | Advance | 920 |
| Old Town | Winston-Salem | 917 |
| Rivers Edge | Shallotte | 887 |
| Gaston CC | Gastonia | 861 |
| Legacy | Aberdeen | 844 |
| Crow Creek | Calabash | 820 |
| Cape Fear CC | Wilmington | 812 |
| Brier Creek CC | Raleigh | 804 |
| Myers Park CC | Charlotte | 779 |
| Forest Oaks CC | Greensboro | 776 |
| Mimosa Hills | Morganton | 775 |
| MacGregor Downs CC | Cary | 759 |
| Eagle Point | Wilmington | 754 |
| Hope Valley CC | Durham | 742 |
| Forsyth CC | Winston-Salem | 736 |
| Champion Hills | Hendersonville | 715 |
| Raleigh CC | Raleigh | 709 |
| Tot Hill Farm | Asheboro | 676 |
| The Challenge | Graham | 675 |
| Landfall (Nicklaus) | Wilmington | 642 |
| Peninsula Club | Lake Norman | 635 |
| TPC at Wakefield Plntn. | Raleigh | 629 |
| Mill Creek | Mebane | 622 |
| Sea Trail (Jones) | Sunset Beach | 572 |
| Cardinal CC | Greensboro | 540 |
| Carolina National | Bolivia | 528 |
| Heritage Club | Wake Forest | 521 |
| Pinewood CC | Asheboro | 505 |
**** Courses
| Name | Location | Score |
| The Preserve | Chapel Hill | 504 |
| Trillium Links | Cashiers | 491 |
| Catawba CC | Newton | 482 |
| Bryan Park (Champ.) | B.Summit | 480 |
| Hound Ears | Blowing Rock | 478 |
| Pinewild (Holly) | Pinehurst | 474 |
| The Pit | Pinehurst | 471 |
| Grandover (West) | Greensboro | 423 |
| Farmstead | Calabash | 411 |
| Carlson Farms | Greensboro | 402 |
| Jefferson Landing | Jefferson | 395 |
| Southern Pines Elks | S.Pines | 381 |
| Verdict Ridge | Denver | 374 |
| The Thistle | Sunset Beach | 356 |
| Magnolia Greens | Leland | 345 |
| Starmount Forest | Greensboro | 336 |
| Asheville CC | Asheville | 326 |
| 88.Birkdale | Huntersville | 317 |
| Rocky River | Concord | 315 |
| Carmel CC (South) | Charlotte | 312 |
| Alamance CC | Burlington | 287 |
| Marsh Harbour | Calabash | 283 |
| Highlands Cove | Highlands | 280 |
| Etowah Valley | Hendersonville | 274 |
| Boone GC | Boone | 259 |
| Nags Head GL | Nags Head | 259 |
| Currituck | Corolla | 241 |
| Blowing Rock GC | Blowing Rock | 231 |
| Tillery Tradition | Mt.Gilead | 215 |
| The Neuse | Clayton | 212 |
Mountains Top 10
| Course | Location | Overall |
| 1. Grandfather | Grandfather Mountain | 5th |
| 2. Linville GC | Linville | 7th |
| 3. Elk River | Banner Elk | 8th |
| 4. Wade Hampton | Cashiers | 14th |
| 5. Biltmore Forest | Asheville | 16th |
| 6. Linville Ridge | Linville | 31st |
| 7. Mt. Mitchell | Burnsville | 36th |
| 8. Champion Hills | Hendersonville | 58th |
| 9. Trillium | Cashiers | 72nd |
| 10. Hound Ears | Blowing Rock | 75th |
Sandhills Top 10
| Course | Location | Overall |
| 1. Pinehurst No. 2 | Pinehurst | 1 st |
| 2. Pine Needles | Southern Pines | 3rd |
| 3. CCNC (Dogwood) | Pinehurst | 4th |
| 4. Pinehurst No. 4 | Pinehurst | 9th |
| 5. Pinehurst No. 8 | Pinehurst | 10th |
| 6. Forest Creek | Pinehurst | 11th |
| 7. Mid Pines | Southern Pines | 13th |
| 8. National | Pinehurst | 15th |
| 9. CCNC (Cardinal) | Pinehurst | 19th |
| 10. Pinehurst No. 7 | Pinehurst | 28th |
Coastal Top 10
| Course | Location | Overall |
| 1. River Landing | Wallace | 20th |
| 2. CC of Landfall (Dye) | Wilmington | 21st |
| 3. Tiger’s Eye | Sunset Beach | 24th |
| 4. Bald Head | Bald Head Island | 40th |
| 5. Porter’s Neck | Wilmington | 41st |
| 6. Rivers Edge | Shallotte | 45th |
| 7. Crow Creek | Calabash | 48th |
| 8. Cape Fear CC | Wilmington | 49th |
| 9. Eagle Pointe | Wilmington | 55th |
| 10. CC of Landfall (Nicklaus) | Wilmington | 62nd |
Piedmont Top 10
| Course | Location | Overall |
| 1. Old North State | New London | 2nd |
| 2. Charlotte CC | Charlotte | 6th |
| 3. Quail Hollow CC | Charlotte | 12th |
| 4. Treyburn | Durham | 17th |
| 5. Tanglewood (Champ.) | Clemmons | 18th |
| 6. Finley | Chapel Hill | 22nd |
| 7. Governors Club | Chapel Hill | 23rd |
| 8. Duke University | Durham | 25th |
| 9. Sedgefield CC | Greensboro | 26th |
| 10. Tobacco Road | Sanford | 27th |
Reprinted with permission from North Carolina Magazine
