Pinehurst No. 2
Donald Ross spent a lifetime refining this par 70 in the Carolina sandhills, the course he called the fairest test of championship golf he ever built. Its crowned turtleback greens shed anything short of perfect, the restored sandy scrub frames every hole, and the U.S. Open keeps coming back. The most important course in American golf design.
Photo: Pinehurst No. 2 via Google.
The verdict
No course has shaped American golf the way Pinehurst No. 2 has. Donald Ross arrived in the Carolina sandhills in 1900 and worked on No. 2 for the rest of his life, opening it in 1907 and tinkering with it until his death in 1948, building the crowned, falling away greens that became his signature and a template copied across the country. He called it the fairest test of championship golf he ever designed, and the game has agreed ever since.
The genius is in the greens. There is little water and the fairways are generous, but the putting surfaces are domed turtlebacks that repel anything not struck with the right flight and spin, turning the chip from a greenside hollow into the hardest shot in golf. In 2010 and 2011 Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw stripped away decades of rough and irrigation to restore the firm, sandy, wiregrass character Ross knew, and the U.S. Open returned in 2014 and again in 2024. Named a permanent anchor site, No. 2 is now woven into the championship's future. If you play one course in the United States, this is the one that teaches you the most.
Pinehurst No. 2 at a glance
- Opened
- 1907
- Designer
- Donald Ross
- Type
- Sandhills
- Par
- 70
- Yardage
- To about 7,600 yds
- Access
- Resort guests
Designer, opening year, par and length verified June 2026 from the resort and leading course databases. No. 2 is a Donald Ross par 70 stretching to around 7,600 yards from the championship tees, restored by Coore and Crenshaw in 2011 and a U.S. Open anchor site. Access is reserved for Pinehurst Resort guests on a stay and play basis; package and surcharge pricing is indicative for the 2026 calendar. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
From the first tee No. 2 looks almost benign, wide corridors of fairway through the longleaf pines with sandy waste and clumps of wiregrass where the rough used to be. That openness is the trap. The whole course is built around the second shot and the recovery, because the greens fall away on every side and a ball that lands a yard off line trickles into a collection area, leaving the brutal little pitch that decides the round.
The fifth, a long par 4 that climbs to one of the most repellent greens on the property, and the par 3 ninth and seventeenth show Ross at his most exacting, each demanding a flighted approach that lands soft and stops. The closing par 4 eighteenth, where so many U.S. Opens have been settled, asks for one more committed swing to a green that gives nothing away. There are no tricks, only the relentless examination of whether you can control the golf ball.
Take a caddie. The reads, the run offs and the local knowledge of where to miss are worth every cent on a course where the difference between par and double bogey is a matter of inches around the green. Play it once and the lessons of American golf architecture start to make sense.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Pinehurst Resort guests only, two night minimum stay; usually played as a stay and play package |
| Rates | Packages that exclude No. 2 add it for a surcharge of around 250 dollars; a second round runs higher, caddie extra (indicative, 2026) |
| Booking | Book the resort stay well ahead; No. 2 tee times are limited and sell out in peak spring and autumn |
| On the day | Walking with a caddie is the classic way to play; carts available where permitted. Strongly recommend a caddie |
| Getting there | In the village of Pinehurst, about 75 minutes from Raleigh Durham airport |
| Best months | April to May and September to November for firm conditions and mild weather |
Access and indicative rates verified June 2026; they change without notice, so always confirm directly before booking with the resort or your trip planner. Check tee time availability.
Where to stay nearby
Because No. 2 is reserved for resort guests, the answer is simple: you stay at Pinehurst. The Carolina Hotel is the grand option, the historic Holly Inn sits in the village, and the resort's villas and condos suit groups, all of them unlocking access to No. 2 and the ten other courses on the property, including the acclaimed No. 4 and the newer No. 10.
Beyond the resort, the village of Pinehurst and the wider sandhills offer further inns and rental homes, and the cluster of courses in the area makes a multi day buddies trip easy to build around a stay and play package. Raleigh Durham airport, about seventy five minutes north, is the usual gateway.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts in Pinehurst and the sandhills.
Build a Pinehurst golf trip
We build the Pinehurst stay and play around a round on No. 2, add No. 4, No. 10 and the sandhills classics, and sort caddies, lodging and transfers. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Pinehurst No. 2 questions
Who designed Pinehurst No. 2 and when did it open?
Pinehurst No. 2 was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1907, the course Ross called the fairest test of championship golf he ever built. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw restored its sandy native areas and firm playing character in 2010 and 2011.
What is the par and length of Pinehurst No. 2?
No. 2 plays as a par 70 and stretches to around 7,600 yards from the championship tees, though most resort guests play it considerably shorter. Its defense is the crowned turtleback greens rather than sheer length.
How do you play Pinehurst No. 2, and what does it cost?
No. 2 is reserved for Pinehurst Resort guests, with a two night minimum stay, and is usually played as part of a stay and play package. Packages that exclude No. 2 carry a surcharge of around 250 dollars to add it, and a second round runs higher still. Caddies are extra. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
Has Pinehurst No. 2 hosted the U.S. Open?
Yes. Pinehurst No. 2 has hosted the U.S. Open in 1999, 2005, 2014 and 2024, staged the men's and women's Opens in back to back weeks in 2014, and has been named an anchor site that will host the championship repeatedly in the decades ahead.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, opening year, par and yardage verified June 2026; indicative access and rates verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.