Pinehurst Resort & Country Club - No. 5

If you are playing multiple days and want to ease into things, No. 5 is the course to start with. If you are only playing one or two courses, I probably would not pick this one.
No. 5 has its challenges but overall is not that hard. It's not my favorite of the Pinehurst courses but it's fine. It's just not super interesting or super fun. Your muni back home probably has a similar vibe.
Our pace of play was fine - we finished in just over four hours.

If you have never experienced Pinehurst and want the experience of being there without the cost of staying on the resort, you’re only able to play 1,3,5. I chose 5 due to it being the full course. This was not the same quality course as the others are. It showed as well. It was average to above average conditioning, but nothing special. Greens were smaller, not much undulation. Many members were on the course which looked like a member’s type of course more than 2,4,8 would be. Just skip it, play one of the other places off of Pinehurst unless you want the experience of the putting course and Pinehurst.

No. 5 sits squarely in the middle of the arc of Pinehurst's history and in the general ranking of its courses. It's not the course that thousands of golfers flock to the resort to play, but it delivers an enjoyable experience, thanks to its clever, walkable routing that takes nice advantage of the terrain without too much fuss. An appropriate arrival- or departure-day course.

This course was a lot of fun with wide fairways but a challenging layout. There is plenty of variety on the course with elevation changes and dog legs, and down hill par threes over water. The fairways are wide enough to make them easy enough to hit, but there are plenty of trees, pine straw and OB to collect wayward shots. Greens had been sanded recently but still quite true. They hard to judge speed and the holes repel even good putts. Maybe they will be a little easier after the sand works but I wouldn't count on it.

greens and first cut around the greens were extremenly inconsistent.

once putt off the green would get stuck and another would fly.

I loved No. 5 for its playability, diverse design and, ultimately, what felt like a laid back vibe. The course features fairly wide corridors and gentle greens that we found pretty receptive and scorable compared to No. 8. The only warning I would give is that the conditioning in the fairways and bunkers is not on the level of some of the other courses (No. 4 and No. 9). I think this course would benefit from a mild facelift and you can see the potential on the 18th hole where they dressed up the fairway waste area and the green (the 18th hole looks more like No. 4 than the rest of the course). Overall, I had FUN which is the point really and you're not getting beat up over and over on No. 5. Will definitely play again and I think this pairs very well as an afternoon round after a round on No. 2 or No. 4.

Wow, what a great experience. On our way back down to Tampa from the Northeast, we stopped a a friends house in Pinehurst Village for a couple days for my wife's birthday. We did have any expectations of playing on such short notice. The Pinehurst staff member at golf registration was exceptional. He got us out at 4:30 pm at the twilight rate (1/2 price). The course is plenty tough from the back tees. The pace of play was excellent and the course conditions were magnificent; moreover, the water and ice machines around the course were fantastic. We finished in plenty of time to enjoy the Pinehurst area restaurants.

We played No. 9 in the morning and loved it. We played No. 5 in the afternoon and were disappointed. The course was in fair to poor condition and the pace of play was poor. There were 2 groups on the tee at each hole and we waited on every shot from the tee and fairway. The amenities at Pinehurst are 2nd to none though. We played the 18 hole putting course that was a blast and we wish we would've played The Cradle instead of No. 5 now. The Cradle looks like a blast and they had music playing all afternoon. We ate lunch at The Deuce. Sit at the right-side of the bar and you'll have a perfect view of the 18 Green for No. 2.

No. 5 doesn't have the reputation of No. 2 or 8, but should be incorporated into any trip to Pinehurst. If you play one of the championship courses, you can play 1, 3 or 5 for cart fee only. Challenging holes over rolling hills with several dog-legs and forced carries over water. Pay attention to the grain of the greens. With the grain, putts can be very fast. Against the grain, velcro. Played 18 holes in 2hrs and 15 minutes on a weekend. Awesome!
Look for the bale of turtles on the 12th tee.

Played #5 twice in a 3 day stretch and it was awesome both times. It is Pinehurst for goodness sake so the course is naturally in excellent shape. The staff is the best I've experienced from Kapalua in Maui to Couer'Dalene Resort in Idaho to any course in the Myrtle Beach area. There are plenty of scoring holes and some that are harder than they look. If they ever decide to reduce the rough and let it go natural like they have on 2,3 and now 7 it will add some difficulty. Worth the play if you are staying at the resort or just passing through.

Having had the opportunities to play #'s 2-4-5-6-7 I would put #5 right in the middle of that pack. One of the true joys of playing it was that my best friend and I split a caddie for the day. Having that feel of being a "pro" for the day upgraded my experience on #5. If you do decide to go with a caddie on any of the resort courses ask for Mark Rice, great guy and a really good caddie. As for the course, it had it's moments, with a lot of out of bounds you MUST hit the ball straight off of the tee. The course also had some scenic holes including the par 3 downhill #15 which had a carry over a greenfront pond. I would recommend this course as an "affordable" alternative to 2-4-6-7 or 8. At half the price it still gives you a GREAT Pinehurst experience.