Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club

Mid Pines sits on Midland Road in Southern Pines, roughly five miles from the Pinehurst Resort campus and directly across the street from its sister property, Pine Needles. Donald Ross designed the course in 1921 on gently rolling terrain through longleaf pines, and for decades it operated as a solid but under-appreciated member of the Sandhills golf community. That changed in 2013 when Kyle Franz completed a restoration that earned GOLF Magazine's Best U.S. Resort Renovation recognition.

Franz's work returned the course to Ross's original design intent. Bunkers were reshaped to match archival photographs. Green surrounds were stripped back to reveal the natural contours and collection areas that decades of overseeding had softened. Sightlines were cleared. The result is a course that plays shorter and less aggressively than No. 2 but communicates the same design philosophy in a more accessible register.

At 6,515 yards with a slope of 127, Mid Pines does not punish wayward shots with the severity of the resort courses. What it does instead is reward precise positioning with noticeably easier approach angles and putting opportunities. The golfer who places tee shots on the correct side of the fairway will find open lines to pin positions. The golfer who takes the fairway for granted will face approaches over bunkers to tucked pins, turning straightforward pars into scrambling bogeys. The margin between good and adequate is narrower than the slope rating suggests.

The green complexes, post-restoration, are among the most honest expressions of Ross's work in the Sandhills. They sit at natural grade, rolling with the terrain rather than elevated on pedestals. False fronts reject timid approaches. Collection areas gather anything that misses on the low side. But the contours are readable, the speeds are fair, and the surfaces reward a confident stroke. For golfers who find No. 2's crowned greens frustrating, Mid Pines offers a Ross green experience that teaches the same lessons with less punishment.

The par-3 holes are the course's quiet strength. Each plays to a different length and compass direction, creating variety in wind exposure and shot shape that keeps the one-shot holes interesting across the round. The routing through the longleaf pines provides consistent shade in summer and windbreak in cooler months, and the mature tree corridors frame each hole without crowding it.

The on-site inn offers 59 rooms, and stay-and-play packages combine lodging with golf at both Mid Pines and Pine Needles. Green fees for outside play run approximately $225 with cart. The property operates at a lower volume and a quieter pace than the Pinehurst Resort campus, which is part of the appeal. Four-hour rounds are common, the staff is attentive without being performative, and the overall atmosphere suggests a golf club that values the day's experience over its own marketing.

For groups building a Pinehurst itinerary, Mid Pines occupies a valuable position: it delivers genuine Ross architecture at roughly half the effective cost of a No. 2 round, in a setting that some returning visitors prefer. The course does not have championship history or USGA pedigree, but it has something that matters more on a Tuesday morning with a light breeze through the pines: it is a deeply enjoyable round of golf on a course that respects both the land and the golfer.

Know before you go

Located at 1010 Midland Rd, Southern Pines, NC. Directly across the street from Pine Needles. On-site inn with 59 rooms. Stay-and-play packages available. Green fee estimated at approximately $225 with cart. The Kyle Franz restoration (2013) returned the course to its original Ross design intent.

What stands out

The combination of Ross architecture, accessible difficulty, and a restoration that brought the original design back to life. Mid Pines plays as Ross intended: natural, strategic, and honest. The green complexes, in particular, demonstrate what Ross could achieve when the terrain cooperated with his vision.