jimonious
New member
Mid Pines Golf Club, Southern Pines, NC
Introduction
I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend down to the Southern Pines/Pinehurst area to play and stay at the Pine Needles and Mid Pines Resort and Lodge. On Saturday February 14, 2015, I woke up to a chilly morning and loaded up the clubs for the short trip across the street to Mid-Pines Golf Course. On this day the course was under a significant frost delay, which meant that the all of the Bermuda greens were safely snuggled under their tarps to protect them from the cold temps. It was impressive to see the grounds crew moving across the course, peeling off the covers and reapplying them after the last group passed by.
Mid-Pines was designed by Donald Ross in 1921 and has maintained the many of the same characteristics that he designed into the course; including the famous Ross domed greens as well as the routing and numbering. Two years ago, the Owners of Mid Pines hired Kyle Franz, who had done the shaping on Coore and Crenshaw’s restoration of #2 and previously worked with Tom Doak. Franz used aerial photos of the course to cut back trees that had encroached the course and restore the course to its original vision while making it once again competitive with modern equipment.
Mid Pines Inn, which houses the Golf Shop and bag room. In the foreground is the approach to the 18[SUP]th[/SUP] green.
Practice area
The driving range is plenty long enough to accommodate your entire bag, although it is relatively narrow, especially compared to the massive three-sided driving range at Pine Needles. The range at Mid Pines is a gently uphill range with a handful of flags stuck in the ground. Range balls are yellow Titleist practice balls and players warming up can hit off of grass before heading over to the practice green adjacent to the first tee.
The practice green overlooks the 18[SUP]th[/SUP] green and more than large enough to accommodate multiple groups warming up. Unfortunately on this day, only half of it was uncovered, but the side that I did get to use was true to course conditions. The only thing that I missed was a practice bunker, which could be handy considering how much sand is on this course.
Grade: A-
Course conditions
The golf course at Mid Pines was generally in very good condition. Tee boxes were consistent with most public access courses with plenty of divots, although the teeing ground also showed signs of being used by mostly good players, as most divots were shallow and almost all were filled with sand.
Fairways were wide and gave up tons of roll. Some of this might have to do with the fact that much of the course was dormant. This was a mixed blessing though, as like Pinehurst #2 and a handful of other courses in the Sandhills, there is no rough at Mid Pines and the areas on the edge of the fairways are natural waste areas. Lining many of the holes in these waste areas are Dogwood trees and Azaleas that make the waste areas a little bit tougher to navigate than the natural areas at #2. The fairways themselves were a little splotchy in parts because of overseeding, but hitting off reall grass sure beat green paint dying the bottom of my cleats.
The greens at Mid Pines are a Bermuda strain that goes dormant on the winter and need to be covered on cold nights. Also, since the grass is dormant, and turns brown, they get a nice coat of green paint in the winter months. Though they were painted and dormant, the greens were lightning quick and in great shape considering that ball marks don’t naturally repair as they would when the greens were actively growing.
Grade: B+
Layout
Mid Pines is a Par 72 course tipping out at 6723 yards. While not one of the most challenging courses in the area, if you are not from the region, getting used to the waste areas and quick greens provides more than enough challenge. There are three other sets of tees and I found myself walking way back to the tips behind my playing partner who was playing from the White tees which played nearly 600 yards shorter at 6163 yards.
The view from the back tee on #16
I chose to walk the course and found it very accessible. While there was plenty of elevation change to keep the routing interesting, there were not any huge drops or long hikes between holes that left me winded.
Grade: A
Pace of play
On this day we absolutely flew through the course, although part of that had to do with being the first pairing off when they started letting groups go after the frost delay. I did make an effort to look behind me as we moved through the course and it began to fill up with groups and though it was fairly full (thanks to all the groups stacked up waiting to go off after the delay), there didn’t seem to be much in the way of waiting on other groups or backups at the tee.
Grade: A
You want waste areas? Try the par 5 tenth hole, seen here.
Price
The rate in the middle of February was $75, although it climbs in the spring to $175 and drops down a little in the summer when the heat kicks up. I’m not a high roller when it comes to playing golf and am definitely a bargain hunter, so paying full-price would be hard for me to imagine. That said, the course is fascinating and unlike anything I had ever played before. During the U.S. Open Matt Ginella spoke very highly of Mid Pines and said that it was a strong contender to #2 and at half the price, it is almost certainly worth a look.
Grade: B
Amenities
The pro shop is not huge, although the staff was very friendly and since I was coming straight from my hotel room across the street, I didn’t have a need to check out the locker room. If you come to play and stay at the Mid Pines Inn, you would be in a similar position, as all you need to do is walk down from your room to the practice green. Also, since the golf course sits at the foot of the hotel, you can make use of the full suite of services in the restaurant or bar while you wait for the round or hang afterward. When I was looking to kill time during the frost delay, the staff quickly set me up with a cup of tea and a seat in front of the tv. On the course there was a full service halfway house and bathrooms attached to it. The only detraction from the amenities was that the hotel is definitely starting to show its age, and the carpet and facilities looked a little worn from decades of use.
Grade: A-
Overall
This was my first trip to Mid Pines and I had read ahead of time that Mid Pines was a more interesting, accessible and affordable version of Pinehurst #2. What I found when I played it was a distinctly homey feel and an impressively maintained course that kept my interest and left me want to come back to take another pass at it – especially from my pathetic showing on the day of. Additionally, unlike some of the other courses I played this weekend, I felt like the staff actually wanted me there when I played and everyone made a good effort to make me feel welcome, including the starter, who chased me down on the first fairway to give me a pin sheet when I took off excitedly to start my round. I would definitely recommend Mid Pines and will be looking for an excuse to make the drive down there again very soon.
Overall Grade: A-
