PINEHURST, N.C. — If you’re at home and watching the best players in the world play approaches from sandy waste areas and hit tricky putts from off greens that roll up slopes and fall back down to their feet, you are in luck! You can play this diabolical course too.
Pinehurst No. 2, host of this week’s U.S. Open in Pinehurst, N.C., is one of the most iconic golf courses in the sport. And it’s also public. It’s ranked 21st on GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World ranking, 12th on the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. ranking and 2nd — behind only Pebble Beach — on the best public courses in the world list.
Pretty good, right?
But it’s not easy. The Donald Ross design in the Carolina Sandhills carves through longleaf pines and, while there’s no rough, is surrounded by sandy waste areas sprinkled with tufts of long, wispy grass. If you find that stuff, it’s usually best to take your medicine and punch out.
But the greens are where it can get really troublesome. The crowned Bermuda putting surfaces will kick any balls on the edges down into runoff areas, where you’ll be lucky to get up and down from there. You’ll have options — putter, wedge, iron or wood — but any slight hiccup and those golf balls will stop in their tracks and roll back off the green. (It already happened to both Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick just two holes into their first round on Thursday.)
But despite its difficulty, it’s still a bucket-list experience. And like we said, you can play it, too.
There’s no off-the-rack rate here, though. Pinehurst Resort has 10 courses (plus the nine-hole Cradle short-course), and to play a handful of them you need to be resort guests. Pinehurst No. 2 is no exception.
To play No. 2, you have to stay on property for a two-night minimum, and your greens fee will be bundled with things like lodgings, meals and other tee times. (For example, one three-night package currently promoted online includes unlimited golf — including rounds on No. 2 and the newly unveiled No. 10 — lodging, breakfasts and dinners with the price ranging from $3,002 to $3,530 per person.)
Many packages include a No. 2 tee time, but, according to a Pinehurst reservationist, those that don’t require a $250 surcharge to add it to your itinerary. They also said a second round on No. 2 is $595 peak season and $360 off-season (caddie not included).
In November 2023, GOLF.com ranked the most expensive public tee times on our newest Top 100 Courses in the World ranking. At that time, when asked what a No. 2 tee time might be on its own and stripped of packages, a Pinehurst spokesperson provided a figure of $470.
For more information about Pinehurst No. 2 and the other courses, click here. And to browse stay-and-play packages, click here.
