Anywhere you look in the rankings of the best golf courses in America and the Carolinas, you’ll find Pine Needles, Mid Pines and Southern Pines Golf Club in the thick of the conversation. 

All three Donald Ross designs are highly regarded and among the best public-access courses in the nation, and Pine Needles tends to get the higher nod in the rankings by virtue of its lofty profile with having hosted four U.S. Women’s Opens (1996, 2001, 2007 and 2022). Nowhere else can you find three vintage Ross courses under one ownership umbrella, and their proximity to one another is another drawing card (it’s just two miles from Pine Needles and Mid Pines on the western edge of the town of Southern Pines to Southern Pines Golf Club on the southern boundary). 

The North Carolina Golf Panel lists Pine Needles as the No. 3 course in the state, Mid Pines as No. 24 and Southern Pines as No. 64. 

Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses ranks Pine Needles as No. 60, Mid Pines at No. 88 and Southern Pines at No. 98. In the magazine’s Best Courses in Every State, Pine Needles comes in at No. 15, Mid Pines at No. 21 and Southern Pines at No. 22. 

GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 You Can Play lists Mid Pines at No. 41 and Pine Needles at No. 44. 

“Set on a contiguous block of property, Mid Pines is a tightly knit Donald Ross course that has been wooing fans ever since Kyle Franz worked his restoration magic in 2013,” GOLF raves. “The sandscapes that he exposed and created are gorgeous, and combined with the original Ross green contours, have design aficionados wagging their tongues. Distinctive features include the slender, angled greens at 4 and 12, and the compelling finishing stretch from 15 through 18 guarantees this to be a Sandhills favorite.”

And of Pine Needles, the magazine offers: “Ross fanned the holes out in every direction and draped the fairways with great creativity across the rolling landscape. Pine Needles’ collection of par-4s is especially sturdy. The winning scores in the Women’s Open here are never far from par as birdie options are scarce.”Golf Week’s listing of the 100 Best Public Access Courses in the nation puts Mid Pines at No. 56 and Pine Needles at No. 62. Within that magazine’s best courses in each state, Mid Pines is fourth, Pine Needles fifth and Southern Pines eighth.