Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club

This course came highly recommended . Last course of our 4 day trip. Greens where great condition, staff was friendly and welcoming, but there was hardly any grass on tees on fairways. Quite honestly this place looked tired.

Despite the two reviews before mine the course and staff were awesome. The only issues I noticed in the course conditions were a handful of thin tee boxes. The fairways, waste areas, (there are no sand traps here by local rule they are waste areas) and what rough there is are all in good shape and fair. The greens are near perfect right now. They are rolling true, smooth and on the faster side. This is consistent with all the others time I have played here. For a more in depth review you can read my June 2017 review. The staff have always been top notch every time I have been here. I truly love the more natural feel to the course with the native grasses, the pine straw and again the waste areas in place of rough and bunkers. The food is delicious and I didn't feel it was overpriced for what you get. I have walked this course with a caddie, which I highly recommend, and used a cart. Either way you should give this historic Donald Ross design a play. This is still one of my favorite places in the Pinehurst/Southern Pines area.

We played this course on June 9th, 2018 and I was shocked at how poor the course was compared to my expectations. I heard and read good things, but the course just didn’t live up to it. Fairways, rough, tee boxes, and sand were all in poor shape. Reminded me of a muni course back home.

We played Mid South earlier that day and it is no comparison...Mid South is waaaaay better. If you get the choice, play Mid South over Mid Pines every day of the week. Funny thing is, the guys in the clubhouse asked where all we played and we said Mid South...they said it’s a nice course, we are better. Pretty confident in a course that just is average.

If you are going down to golf this course, please be aware of slow play, poor conditions, overpriced green fees, and overpriced food ($12 for a hot dog and chips). I would think they need to figure it out before the public realizes there are much better courses in the area and not relying just on the name.

Wow-got my car window busted while in parking lot with 20 other cars. Somebody hit over the driving range net. They need to address that issue. My complaint: no compensation for the wind shield. How about a discount on our package, or free drink in bar? Really! My group spent $8000 for 3 days at the resort. WE WILL NEVER RETURN!!! Too much competition-how about some customer service?

WOW!

Our group of 20-24 has been doing an annual golf trip at a different location for the last five years. This year the group went to Mid Pines and Pine Needles. It did not disappoint. The trip was incredible.

It starts with the customer service. Tyler Yancey, the head pro, and Tyler Mishler, the group sales director, did a fantastic job of making us feel welcomed and taken care of. No detail went unaddressed. We do a 4 day Ryder cup style tournament. They set up scoreboards, made sure our pairings were right, checked in on us all of the time, and generally did everything they could to make sure the group was happy. I'm so thankful to them. We will definitely be coming back.

The courses. The courses. The courses. What can you say? Dont go into either course looking to shoot your best score ever. It aint going to happen! Particularly on Mid Pines, you need to get a feel for the golf course. Greens that you swear break one way end up breaking the other. Putts that you think are slow end up being fast. And, while you may think you have a nice sized green to hit into, in reality, unless you are on the correct 1/3 of it, you could be in jail. The course requires tremendous strategy, patience, and shot making ability. Every single golfer began the round at mid pines with the same question: "Really? We're only playing from 6150 yards?" Every single golfer came in with the same look of defeat on their face, haven just gotten their butt kicked by every inch of what they thought would be a short challenge.

The conditions were absolutely perfect. Azaleas and dogwoods were blooming. The fairways were like carpets. The greens were fast but not insane. During the late afternoons, the light creeps through the tall pines illuminating parts of the fairway. It's almost surreal, especially given the lack of housing or development along the course. Even better given that the finishing four holes at Mid Pines may be some of the best four finishing holes I've ever played. 16 is a beautiful dogleg left down from the most elevated tee on the course. 17 and 18 require perfectly shaped drives (a fade on 17 and a draw on 18), in order to put yourself in position to make par.

Mid Pines is much more of a shot-makers course than Pine Needles, where you're more free to grip it and rip it. When I polled the group as to their preference between the two, it was about even. I think the better golfers appreciated more the challenge of Mid Pines, while the higher handicappers enjoyed being able to make a few pars at Pine Needles.

The practice facilities are great. The people are super nice. You just cant go wrong.

The only constructive feedback we had: while the breakfast and lunch at Pine Needles was great, the dinner totally underwhelmed. Dry ribs, thin steak...it just wasn't great. By contrast, the course set up a catered dinner for us at one of the villas we were staying in (the Holly Villa), and it was spectacular. They even pulled in a heating lamp because it was a bit chilly outside. Second, the caddies were for the most part excellent. But the course mistakenly gave us someone who could only forecaddy on the last day even though that was not requested. When the last group went to tee off, the guys at Pine Needles became somewhat aggressive in guilting the foresome to take the caddy, which was a disappointing way to end the weekend.

Finally, the value is absurd (in the best way possible). It is what brought us to Mid Pines and Pine Needles in the first place. While the rack rate is quite expensive, they have great deals for big groups and longer stays. And to think we almost spent twice the price going to Pinehurst...silly us. This place is a golf mecca. Anyone who enjoys the game should make coming here, and experiencing some of Donald Ross's best work, a requirement.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT MID PINES FOR ONE OF THE BEST GOLF EXPERIENCES OF OUR LIVES!

What can you say about this course that hasn’t already been said? What a wonderful course. Conditions were amazing especially considering there was a high of 40° in February. Fairways were over seeded and in fantastic shape. Greens rolled perfectly although tricky because of the hidden grain; especially for my first time around the track. The layout is very playable and fair. Not overly long but this Donald Ross design unsurprisingly has withstood the test of time! First but certainly not the last! Highly recommended!!!

Played Mid Pines 3 times in 2 days as part of a golf package through the Inn. Like Pinehurst #2, this course was recently restored. Waste areas are where bermuda rough once was and trees have been cleared. Despite the tree lining of one or both sides of the fairway, the trees don't come into play and the waste areas provide penalty. The result is a great Donald Ross design that plays how it should.
As with Ross courses, there are the wonderful green complexes. Not quite as turtlebacked as #2, but still plenty of domed greens to enhance and reward shot making.You need to be on the right tier or section-if you are not, then putting will be quite difficult to get down in two.
My favorite hole was the short par 4 fourth with a tree on one side of the fairway and a waste area on the other. Lay up and stay short or go for it? Being in the Sandhills, there are hills and many tee shots play downhill or uphill. Greens are elevated in many cases. The bunkering is great as there are only bunkers that are needed and not an abundance of them. The fairways are wide, but many holes dogleg so you need to be on the proper side for an approach that will have a chance at the targets.
Mid PInes was a pleasure to play and you can save money by doing a golf package (Depending on the season you can pay about $360 for two nights and six rounds of golf in three days) through the inn. They have everything you could want-proper bar, restaurant, putting green, chipping green and driving range. The service is top notch.
If you are going to Pinehurst, this should be on your itinerary. After Pinehurst, for me, this was next best full Ross experience.You can see his work has been restored to its full glory. Highly recommended.

Next to Pinehurst No. 2, it’s hard to beat Mid Pines, another classic Donald Ross classic course that has been restored to perfection. Mid Pines is actually less subtle than No. 2 and certainly has a different look, one that’s definitely all its own. If you’re a fan of Ross, you’ll love the greens complexes, of course, and probably get victimized a time or two by them if you don’t find the right part of the greens on your approach or miss a five-footer you simply couldn’t read. There are false fronts, of course, and greens that run away from you, meaning you definitely have to think your way around this golf course.

Great Ross design with excellent elevated greens and very cool bunkering and waste areas. Really enjoyed every hole. Played through a couple of foursomes and pace was good. They aerated 8-9 days ago and greens had already recovered very very well. Rolled smooth just a little slow as would be expected. Grounds crew was hard at work all over the place but never in the way. Great little bar to go to after. Nice view of course and great bartender. Best of the 6 courses I've played in the Sandhills area.

This Donald Ross design is beautiful, fun and challenging all at the same time. Played about 10 days after they punched the greens so we got a break on the price. Still things were awesome. Despite all the rain lately the course played true with some run in the fairways and greens that held and putted true. Reserved two caddies for our foursome and it was well worth it. They saved us strokes and were great company on the walk. This course may not be overly long but it will bite you if you end up in the wrong place. Truly a beautiful scenic walk on a great golf course. Practice facility was good and the practice green matched the greens on the course. The restaurant had good food. It was a little pricey but delicious. If you are in the Southern Pines/Pinehurst area this is a must play.

70 degrees in February! Course in great shape for that time of year. Lots of work going on, so looking forward to see what it looks like this spring/summer. Always a fun layout...

I thought I recalled someone telling me these greens were just put in, but not sure if that is correct. I thought they were incredibly hard. It seemed like nothing stuck on these greens and you had to account for tons of roll out, regardless of what you were hitting. I preferred Pine Needles to Mid-Pines, but both are absolute must plays. I didn't stick around to join the guys in the bar afterwards, but apparently it is incredible and worth sticking around for. Oh well. Next time. We'll be back.

What Kyle Franz did with this course is amazing. It truly is a "Poor Man's Pinehurst No. 2." The first two holes were strong before a bit of a lull, but the back 9 was stout and was extremely similar to No. 2. I really liked the par 3s. Downgrain putts were extremely quick and greens are still hard, so play for some release, even with wedges. There is no doubt in my mind that Mid Pines is clearly a better track than Pine Needles, despite what the current Top 100 rankings say. I look for MP to continue to rise up the rankings in the next few years as people rediscover it.

Mid-Pines has a lot going for it. The Inn is classic and expansive. The staff is super nice. The starter is a real laid back, funny, and flexible guy.

Tons of maintenance folks are out in the mornings like bees to get the course ready for the day.

The course is a real challenge. The greens are the real killers. They are turtle backed and very unforgiving. Hard as a rock and difficult to read, they played tricks on my all day.

Visually, it is a gorgeous layout. It blends right in with the natural surroundings as if it was made to be there.

A lot of really nice looking holes, but boy is this a tight, compact course. Most reminds me of Merion in that it's not very meaty (Bethpage Black) and that there's trouble everywhere, including on and around the greens. I'd call it a little bit "tricky" (a little bit). But no doubt there are many very interesting holes, and the overall conditions are excellent. If you have good control of your golf ball off the tee and can hit it 225+, you'll enjoy a day at Mid Pines. Nice staff.

Ridiculous that greens fees were $145. Course design and layout are nice. Greens are typical Ross design and in decent shape. However, course conditions were sub-par. Espaecially when you can go right down the road and play Dormie Club for $100. Would have expected much better and Mid-Pines left us extremely disappointed. I wouldn't pay more than $50-$60 for this course. Too many nice tracks in the area to waste your money here. Donald Ross would rollover in his grave if he knew one of his designs looked like this.

Visited Mid Pines during a spring break trip with a golf team. This course was very challenging but extremely fun to play. The layout was absolutely beautiful and one of the top courses I have ever played. The condition of the course was excellent as well. If I get a chance to come back to the Pinehurst area this will be one of the courses I come back to.

Mid Pines was a VERY late addition to our itinerary and it was one of the best decisions we made on this trip. We played Pinehurst #6 early one morning and at noon decided to play another 18 in the afternoon. We had been told at their sister course Pine Needles that Mid Pines was aerated the week before and doing a $50 aeration special. We called and got a 2pm tee time. What an amazing course, from the practice area to the Donald Ross layout itself this was one of the best courses layoutwise I have ever played. The waste areas come into play on every hole just like #2 and EVERYTHING is a waste area. Mid Pines has no bunkers just waste areas, including greenside. This was a true test of golf and though I did not score well it really didn't matter. I walked off of our 18th hole satisfied that I played a great golf course in the way that Donald Ross wanted it played.

Much like the celebrated U.S. Open host down the road, Mid Pines has returned to its Donald Ross roots after a recent restoration. This original Ross routing dating to 1921 reopened in August, 2013, after a restoration project by architect Kyle Franz, who used aerial photos from the Tuft Archives as a blueprint to uncover sandy native areas lining in the fairways that had been lost over the years. All the rough has been mowed away, resulting in wide fairways.
Shrunken greens, now covered in Bermuda grass, expanded by 20 to 25 percent to bring back their original shapes. Bunkers were redone or removed. Subtleties were recaptured. A tall pine tree was removed from the seventh hole to follow a Ross creed that trees shouldn’t be a significant hazard.
The graceful Georgian-style Inn still frames the final green. Some like Pine Needles across the street better. I'll take the new Mid Pines every time.