Golf Digest's "Best Places to Play" Ratings - 2008

For 2008, 31 of the 43 golf courses in the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area were rated. Those that weren't did not receive enough ballots because the course was either too new or it was a private or semi-private course.

Only 17 U.S. golf courses garnered the coveted 5-star rating. Pinehurst No. 2 has achieved this distinction since these ratings began in 1992 and is the only course in North Carolina to be designated with the 5-star rating.

All 31 golf courses in the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area (100%) were rated 3-stars or greater. Based on the 2008 ratings, no other U.S. mainland golf destination offering 25 or more rated courses can claim this high a percentage. Twenty-three of the courses in the area were rated 4-stars or better (74%) - again the top U.S. destination with 25 or more courses.

The cumulative rating for the destination - 4.0 - designates North Carolina's Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area as one of the top three highest aggregate rating of any U.S. golf destination offering 25 courses or more.

And the golf quality in the Sandhills is only getting better as 14 courses in the area saw their rating improve by a half star or more between 2006 and 2008. Now is a great time to visit and enjoy NC golf.

Pinehurst No. 2, Donald Ross - 1907
7,189 (CH) yards	par 71	135 slope	75.3 rating
Little River Golf & Resort , Dan Maples - 1996
6,909 (CH) yards	par 72	133 slope	73.6 rating
Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, Donald Ross - 1921
6,528 (CH) yards	par 72	127 slope	71.4 rating
Pinehurst No. 4, Tom Fazio - 1999 (Redesign)
7,117 (CH) yards	par 72	136 slope	74.5 rating
Pinehurst No. 6, George Fazio/Tom Fazio - 1979
7,157 (CH) yards	par 72	139 slope	75.6 rating
Pinehurst No. 7, Rees Jones - 1986
7,126 (CH) yards	par 72	144 slope	75.5 rating
Pinehurst No. 8, Tom Fazio - 1996
7,092 (CH) yards	par 72	135 slope	74.2 rating
Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Donald Ross - 1927
7,015 (CH) yards	par 71	135 slope	73.5 rating
The Pit Golf Links, Dan Maples - 1985
6,600 (CH) yards	par 71	139 slope	72.3 rating
Talamore Golf Club , Rees Jones - 1991
7,020 (CH) yards	par 71	142 slope	72.9 rating
Tobacco Road, Mike Strantz - 1998
6,554 (CH) yards	par 71	150 slope	73.2 rating
For more information on these and our other golf courses click here.
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The Golf Digest star rating for golf courses provides the most comprehensive information on public access golf courses, helping compare golf destinations and courses. Golf Digest conducts the only objective, comprehensive survey of golfers in creating this biannual rating. It is the standard by which public access courses are judged.