As everyone knows the summer heat in the south ranges somewhere between barely manageable to downright unsafe.
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No matter how great the venue, playing golf in Dixie in the months of July-September is a challenge to say the least.
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But when the pumpkins start showing up on the Methodist Church lawn, golf in the south is back.
One of the truly great fall trips has to be Pinehurst, both the resort and the area.
We’ll start with your home base…in this case the Carolina Hotel. The Carolina is the hotel at Pinehurst Resort…the structure you think of when you hear “Home of American Golf”. It is without a doubt our St. Andrews, our beginning…and the best part? It’s open to anyone with a little room on their Visa card.
The actions of James W. Tufts, founder of Pinehurst, are only remarkable in our era.
In his day, the sort of risk, vision, and just plain onions to open a health resort in the middle of nowhere was much more common. It’s the way that generation rolled. Today we would need lawyers, researchers with feasibility studies, consultants of every brand.
All J.T. needed was a few thousand bucks and a dream.
Tufts was one of three heroes, and perhaps the most important, to early golf in America.
The second (and I personally love the irony) was a nobody golf pro from the north of Scotland who saw the sandhills as a place to plant what would become his masterpiece…and that’s saying something since by the end of his life there were 500 courses attached to the name “Ross”.
The third hero of Pinehurst, and therefore to golf ,was Robert Dedman, Sr. By the 70′s most everything old was being knocked down for the sake of progress. The progress that took place in Pinehurst was the building of hundreds of homes and condos which could be fixed easily…with the help of a few dozen bulldozers. 
Mr. Dedman saw Miss America, a crucial part of our history, in a polyester dress and fake pearls around her neck…and he fixed it. The cynic will say it was about profit…I prefer to think it was respect. He also saved The Homestead so enough said?
On to your trip…
First of course is the golf. These, in order, are the courses to play while in the area. As always, I would encourage you to spend the money for caddies…there are some beauties in the area as you would guess. For the accomodations, we’ve already established you are staying at The Carolina.
1. Pinehurst #2- home of the ’99 and ’05 U.S. Opens but more importantly the place where Hogan finally broke through and Arnie and E. Harvie Ward battled in the 50′s.
2. Pine Needles- go for a day trip just a few miles down Midland Rd. to the Bell family farm. Another Donald Ross classic, a course you might come off thinking is the best in town…you would be right until you played the Deuce a few more times…then you would see the light.
3. Pinehurst #8- A Fazio which, in my humble opinion, is perhaps his best…or at least Top 2 with Wade Hampton being pretty sporty as well…also, home of the Big Pine Incident.
4. The Elks Club a.k.a. Southern Pines G.C.- Another Ross that would never be called a classic 
but for the fact it’s where the local color hangs out…a true swinging screen door place which as all BIG readers know is an automatic 4-star to me. I take my kids there when we are in town for Thanksgiving…it’s just one of those things.
5. Pinehurst #4- Fazio again. A really fine golf course and site of next year’s U. S. Amateur.
6. Forest Creek GC- as always I’ll include a private club in the trip just in case you can wiggle access. This is a beauty, 36 holes of who else, Fazio, but awesome in it’s understated southern charm.
Where to eat? The breakfast at the Carolina is second only to The Homestead as The Best In Golf…and if they had the home-made doughnuts it would be a tie. Lunch of course is the least important meal on a golf trip so grab what you can. For dinner, a jacket and tie at the hotel is a great experience…or a burger in the bar at Pine Needles is pretty stout also.
But make sure one night to amble over to the Pine Crest Inn in the Village. Scotty or Carl will whip up a good martini for you followed by one of the best fillets in golf…an alternative, but only on certain nights, is the turkey dinner with all the trimmings…cranberries, stuffing, the works.
Neville’s Bar in downtown Southern Pines is unique for a few cold ones as long as you agree with Neville that Frank Sinatra was the greatest person ever, living or dead…you’ll see what I mean.
Fall is for football, pigs on the cooker, and Jack & Ginger Ale…but mostly fall is for golf…trust me you won’t spend a better 3 or 4 days than the trip listed above. Go do it…it’s The Best In Golf.
