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And the Mighty 90

    

No news is good news, at least where Pinehurst No. 2 is concerned. The Donald Ross-designed masterpiece once again is the top course in the state, according to members of the North Carolina Golf Panel.

 

    No. 2 has been No. 1 every year since the panel was founded in 1995. This year, however, it’s by a wider margin over the second-ranked Old North State Club, the New London club near Badin Lake that was among Tom Fazio’s first great designs in North Carolina. No. 2 received 6,042 points in the balloting to 5,525 for the Old North State Club. That’s a margin of 517 points, an increase of 354 points over the previous year.

 

    “Panelists had the opportunity to play No. 2 in early August,” said Kevin Brafford, president of the N.C. Golf Panel. “It was the first time that some of our panelists had the opportunity to rate the course. For others, it was the first time they’d played it in years. The course has never been more beautifully maintained, and the greens complexes, even during the hottest part of the summer, were outstanding.”

 

    Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines remains as it was in the 2007 rankings in third, as does Grandfather Golf and Country Club in fourth. The Dogwood, one of two courses at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, moves up a place to fifth, while the South course at Forest Creek Golf Club in Pinehurst jumps three spots to sixth.

 

    The Elk River Club in Banner Elk remains seventh. Charlotte Country Club, in the midst of a renovation, drops from fifth to eighth, followed by the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, site of the Wachovia Championship.

 

    Rounding out the top 10 is Pinehurst No. 4, which leapfrogs one of its sister courses, No. 8j, to move into that spot.

 

    Debuting at No. 23 is Bright’s Creek near Mill Spring, a Fazio designed that also was recognized as the state’s Best New Course. Its competition, Leopard’s Chase – the new Tim Cate design at Ocean Ridge Plantation in Sunset Beach – is 34^th.

 

    The biggest jumps were made by Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, which underwent an extensive restoration from Kris Spence, from 62^nd to 22^nd, and Willow Creek Country Club in High Point, which improved from 61^st to 27^th. 

     Panelists can vote only for courses they have played. Rankings are determined by a points system, and among the factors panelists may consider are design, routing, fairness, condition, variety and aesthetics.