In 2023, The Donald Ross Society had the pleasure of visiting and playing a restored Southern Pines Golf Club. followed up by a lively panel discussion led by current Donald Ross Society President, Vaughn Halyard. Here are some thoughts on Southern Pines Golf Club shared by GolfClubAtlas.com founder and Southern Pines member, Ran Morrissett along with an additional excerpt from Donald Ross Historian, Chris Buie.

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Ran Morrissett writes:

Southern Pines GC enjoyed a small but loyal following for decades. Courtesy of an ownership change and the ensuing Kyle Franz re-do in 2021, its appeal has broadened considerably. Now, the architectural features rival the merits of the exquisite Donald Ross routing.

This profile is highly personal and biased as Southern Pines Golf Club has been my home course for over twenty years. It is the only place where I have stood on a first tee 1,000+ times. I have always returned home happier and more relaxed than when I left. Some of that is the charm of golf but a lot of it is the allure of this particular property and its holes.

As to the course’s history, no one better than Chris Buie to lend perspective. He has been my constant playing partner here, as well as the author of books on Pinehurst and Donald Ross. He grew up in the 1970s and 1980s playing Southern Pines and provides the following historical context:

Southern Pines Golf Club started out like so many others. There was a stretch of land not far from the town center and the locals decided to give it a go. Importantly, they enlisted the aid of a pair of Scotsmen, MacNab and Peacock. Both were Donald Ross proteges and the course, though rudimentary, was off to a good start. The 9-holes (golfers at the time played a par three from a tee left of today’s fourth green down to a green near the forward tee on fifteen) stayed that way until the man himself rolled all of seven miles over from the twin village. There were endless acres of hills and knolls on sandy soil some called Norfolk loam. The tumbling landforms galore truly comprised a dream canvas and Ross went to work, turning the holes in different angles, to change up the golfing propositions – right to left, left to right, side hill, uphill, downhill, longish, shortish and so forth – all meted out with an innate sense of rhythm.

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