5, which opened in 1961 was designed by Ellis Maples, an understudy of Donald Ross and one of the leading figures in Pinehurst No. Pinehurst Resort No. 9 its own distinctive look.Designed by golf architect Gil Hanse, The Cradle features holes ranging from 56 to 127 yards. Shorter par fours with fairly wide fairways, each of these holes seem to be relatively straightforward from the tee. Their tee shots ranged generally from 275 to 300 yards. It makes the hole “feel” easier, even if it is the same score one might normally get. Despite their size, and they are often appear very large, there is rarely an easy putt both in break and pace. It was ranked as the world's largest golf resort by the "Tom Fazio's Pinehurst No. Anyone can play here, and when you're in the area, make sure you play Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Tobacco Road!The round is slow here due to the difficulty of the greens. Furthermore, hitting a proper yardage is critical as each green is extremely severe. Therefore, what might look like a large green is actually reduced to half of the size. Id put it up there as one of the top few places to play with a group of buddies who want great golf and a really enjoyable experience.9 – 191/174/148. The approach shot is blind to this green which is very sloped and undulated. (golf course only)I know of no other course in the world where the short game is as important as it is at Pinehurst #2.My No. This is a speedy green if one is above the hole. There is a substantial fall-off on the left side and back of the green. The story goes that upon first seeing the home and course, he pronounced, “This’ll Do.” It was translated into Thistle Dhu and the name stuck. This green is smaller at the front then widens. I would give the caveat that I did play very badly and this may have added to me feeling a little disappointed.17 – 205/185/162. There had already been two inches of rain and many bunkers had become small ponds. It has served as the site of more single golf championships than any course in America and hosted back-to-back U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships for the first time in 2014. Of the more than 400 courses Donald Ross designed, Pinehurst No. Elevated tees let you register the challenges that wait; elevated greens demand approaches struck with authority. There is a large bunker front left and then three narrower, bunkers set below the green on the right side. I consider this to be one of the top five holes on the course. We kept the old name, even the majority of Ross' original routing. The rankings attached above to this course—NC, USA, World—are tied to its identity circa 2018. There are always options near the greens with a decision to be made and then one simply must have confidence in their game to commit and execute a recovery shot. This green has tiers to it and small plateaus in it. It is basically a straight hole yet a fairway cross bunker on the left converts it into a dogleg left. The greens, after decades of top-dressing, are crowned perhaps as many as two feet higher than were built. 2 was where he made his home, continuing to tweak and perfect the course throughout his life. This is now one of the better holes on the golf course, due to the excellent visual of the fairway falling some 30-40 feet below you. Perhaps the weakest hole on the golf course, yet the sandy area of wire grass and pine straw is evident on both sides as well as the trees. Arthur Lees spared the British embarrassment by scoring 2 points and Jimmy Demaret retired from Ryder Cup competition with the best unbeaten record (6-0-0) in event history. There is a large, raised bunker about 70 yards from the green on the left that can come into play for the longer hitter playing too far up. Shots hit either too short into the bank or slightly too long will not find the green with the right side having a longer slope off the green with the higher left side being very difficult to come back onto the green and hold it. I've met many golfers who have come away disappointed from No. It has served as the site of more single golf championships than any course in America and,...No. 2 on the same day as the North South amateur event reached its final stages, and the course was set up with final day US Open pins and had greens running at 12-13 on the stimp. I once laid up to the middle of the 13th fairway and had roughly 145 yards into the green. Rating/Slope: 76.5/138. It is amazing how changing par on a hole changes one’s mindset when one tries to make a par, rather than trying to make a score. 8, No. 5 offers classic Pinehurst golf—more challenging than Nos. The hole turns to the left with additional deep, long bunkers flanking the fairway on either side. The back nine is among Pinehurst’s most challenging halves. On the other hand it is also very likely that you will not score very well at all if it is your first time around.