Off to Pinehurst in the morning

[poppadon56]

First time going to Pinehurst, looking forward to it. Playing #4 on Thursday, # 8 on Friday and of course the newly designed # 2 on Saturday.

Gonna take # 2 down.

[jvincent]

Have fun, you picked the best three courses. Hit the practice bunkers before your round on #4.

I'm looking forward to playing the "retro-vated" #2.

[mpare]

You will definitely enjoy yourself. I was there last August and while the changes to #2 had not been completed many were well under way. I loved every minute of it. Have fun.

[poppadon56]

Just got back home.

We stayed at the Carolina, staff, food, hotel, golf memoribilia etc... 5*+.

We played #4 on Thursday and for me it was the best of the 3 we played, definitely a must play. On Friday we played #8, very nice, and on Saturday we played #8 with caddies. The layout is basically the same on #8, it's they restored some of the original Donald Ross design features, lots of waste bunkers and the greens are more undulating. The North South Classic championship match play final was a couple of hours in front of us so the pin placements were U.S. Open, Sunday pins, they just didn't have the speed that they will have in 2014. Tough day but it was more the atmosphere and having a great time with my son, my buddy of 40+years and my son's father-in-law.

The only con was the drive, it was 1-2 hours longer than I expected. Going down we drove it in one day, found that long. Coming back we left at 4:00 after playing # 2 and having lunch at the clubhouse and then drove for 6 hrs, then stopped for the night in Woodstock, VA. That left a 10 hr drive today back to Ottawa. Next time I might consider flying to Greensboro and renting a vehicle.

I highly recommend Pinehurst, a true golf mecca, to anyone thinking about a golf trip.

[mpare]

I agree with you fully about the courses as well as The Carolina. Service is also 5*. Everyone, and I mean everyone, treats you with respect and appreciation. If I ran a business, this is the way in which I would want to model my customer service.

As for your return trip, be thankful you took two days. On our last day, we played number 8, had lunch there, and hit the road after 1:30. We then drove straight through, only stopping for gas, to Welland, Ontario arriving at 03:30 the next morning. It took me a few days to recover from those 12 hours of high-speed driving.

[DewDuster]

I was there earlier this year and echo the sentiments. I knew the golf would be good, but the service was also outstanding and the food exceeded my expectations. It's amazing how much better #2 is than 1, 3 and 5 considering they are essentially at the same place. I've heard #8 is outstanding as well, but didn't get to play it.

It's a leisure 1 hour drive from Raleigh and about 2 from Charlotte which has a direct flight from Ottawa, both are serviced through US Air which does provide some decent fares now and then. You guys are tougher than me, don't think I could play after such a long haul in the car and would be very cranky arriving home.

[golfsparks]

Pinehurst #2 strategic layout tests both the long and short game. Because of its length, topography, unruly routing, water features or green size provide challenge to golfers in different skill level.