Pinehurst No. 4

Donald Ross designed the original No. 4 in 1919. Tom Fazio renovated it in 2000. Gil Hanse tore it apart and started again in 2018. The timeline alone tells you something about the course's trajectory: each generation of architect recognized the site's potential and attempted to realize it. Hanse succeeded in a way that made the previous iterations feel like drafts.

Golf Digest named the 2018 redesign its Best New Course in America, a recognition that typically goes to entirely new builds. The award acknowledged what Hanse accomplished on an existing footprint: a course that plays as modern, strategic, and visually compelling as anything built in the past decade while occupying land that has hosted golf for more than a century.

The design philosophy diverges from No. 2 in important ways. Where Ross's masterwork concentrates its defence in the greens, Hanse distributes challenge across the entire hole. Tee shots matter. Fairway positioning matters. Approach angles are not merely preferable but consequential. The fairways are wide enough to accommodate a range of strategies, with mounding, bunkers, and native sandy areas creating internal structure that rewards golfers who study the hole from the tee box before reaching for a club.

The greens are large by Pinehurst standards, running on Champion Ultradwarf Bermuda, and they accept a wider variety of approaches than No. 2's crowned surfaces. That does not make them easier. The putting surfaces carry significant contour, and pin positions on the edges of tiers can produce putts that require genuine imagination. The difference is that Hanse gives you multiple ways to play each hole. The result is a course that feels fair even when it is demanding.

The par 3s are frequently cited as the strongest collection on the resort campus. Each plays to a different length and demands a different ball flight. The variety within a single shot type across four holes demonstrates the depth of Hanse's routing, which uses the natural sand ridges and pine corridors to create distinct environments within a compact property.

The 2019 U.S. Amateur, held on No. 4 just months after the reopening, validated the design under competitive conditions. The course produced drama through strategic decision-making rather than sheer difficulty, which is the mark of architecture that will age well.

No. 4 carries a $395 additional-round surcharge beyond the base package, placing it in the premium tier of the resort's pricing structure. It is the second most expensive course on the campus after No. 2, a ranking that reflects both the quality of the Hanse redesign and the demand it generates. For golfers visiting Pinehurst on a two or three-course trip, No. 4 belongs in the rotation. It offers a different challenge from No. 2, a more contemporary aesthetic, and a round that rewards the full range of a golfer's game rather than concentrating the test in one area.

Returning players who remember the Fazio-era No. 4 will find a fundamentally different course. The redesign was not a renovation. It was a reimagining that used the best of the site's natural features while imposing a strategic framework that feels both of the moment and durable enough to remain interesting for decades.

Know before you go

Resort guest access only. Champion Ultradwarf Bermuda greens, Tifway Bermuda fairways. Walking encouraged. The course rewards study from the tee box; spending a moment reading each hole before selecting a club is time well invested.

What stands out

The completeness of the test. No. 4 challenges driving, iron play, short game, and putting in roughly equal measure, which distinguishes it from courses that lean heavily on one phase of the game. The Hanse redesign feels modern without being gimmicky, a balance that very few architects achieve.