A Look at Best Golf Spots in North Carolina as the US Open Returns to Pinehurst

Pinehurst No. 2 will be home to the PGA U.S. Open for the fourth time in 25 years when the national championship returns to Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina in 2024.

As the only golf course to have hosted all five of the USGA’s most important events (U.S Open, U.S Women’s Open, U.S Amateur, U.S Women’s Amateur and U.S Senior Open), and one of the few golf courses that is available for amateurs to play on, Pinehurst No. 2 is a must-play for any golf fan in North Carolina. While the quality of all courses at Pinehurst is spectacular, the following options are also top-notch:

Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure

Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure features the epic Bald Mountain Golf Course. Rated one of the top courses in North Carolina by Golf Channel’s Golf Advisor, Bald Mountain was designed by George Cobb (architect of the par-3 course at Augusta National) protégé W.B. Lewis. Checking in at just over 6,300 yards, it is one of the only courses in the region featuring five par 3s and five par 5s. That includes both an opening and closing three-shotter, the 496-yard first hole and 479-yard 18^th.

Film buffs can also surround themselves in the lore of the Lake; the golfing scenes in Dirty Dancing took place on the 16^th hole of the Bald Mountain course. The famous lake lift scene was also shot in Lake Lure itself!

Nags Head Golf Links

For the quintessential Outer Banks golfing experience, there’s nothing quite like the Nags Head Golf Links. This 19-hole course is both a Golf Digest 4.5 star award winner as well as a Golf Week top 50 pick, yet it still retains its Outer Banks character with a cluster of sand dunes and acres of quiet sound side terrain in between. Because of its location along the sound in Nags Head, wind can be a factor and add to the challenge of the 6,126-yard course, but this element simply makes it more appealing for Outer Banks golfing regulars. The series of holes that border the Roanoke Sound featuring views that extend all the way to Manteo, have been dubbed by Golf Digest as “among the most beautiful in the Eastern U.S.”.