Pinehurst Resort & Country Club - No. 9

This is Jack's stamp on Sandhills golf and it does not disappoint. Surprisingly close to the main resort, it has a completely different feel than the other courses that share its name. 9 sits in a quiet unassuming setting and has the feel of a laid back country club.

The layout is tricky with several seemingly demanding teeshots and daunting approaches that don't seem to let up until the seventh hole. For me the routing was fun, as someone who plays a cut off the tee I found a lot of fairways. Every hole presents a new challenge with plenty opportunity to score if you can find the right angles to the flag.

The conditions were spectacular, the greens are interesting, and the setting is amazing as you work your way amongst the mirrored lakes and wooded hilly terrain. Even with the changes in elevation the course is walkable, and definitely recommend it.

Pinehurst 9 was a welcome change of pace on a great golf trip in the Sandhills. I could argue that after 2 and 10, 9 would be squarely in third place amongst the collection of courses at the resort. Play it if you can!

Justifiably, Pinehurst is known for its excellent classic golf. Its latter-day courses are good, but they’re not the main attraction. Not originally part of the resort but rather acquired more than a decade ago, No. 9 offers a different take on golf in the Sandhills.

Nicklaus’ 1980s courses are famously difficult, and this is no great exception, but from the right tees, it’s manageable for most. The greens are the main curiosity here; some of them have a stunning amount of contour, especially for the era in which they were built. The par-4 3rd green alone might be worth the trip, though the scenic lakeside 9th and 18th holes help justify the green fee as well.

Beautiful layout, excellent conditions, competes with any course in the area.

Walked 18 in less than four hours. Terrific conditions and fun, challenging greens. More modern course than some others in the area, with larger greens and more terrain changes. Highly recommended!

What a disappointment. No one to greet you after struggling to find the Clubhouse. Your first sighting is the sales office for what you’ll later see - a lot of cookie cutter houses (they do try to disguise them with different finishes) jammed on top of each other. This is a money grab not classic charm like the other 8 courses.

Carried our bags to check in staging. Girl at desk had no idea what our rate was and was shocked at how much we were paying (230 pp). Paid but not thanked-she literally walked away and we followed her thinking there’d be some sort of handoff like instructions to driving range etc…found that on our own. Starter literally had not one thing to share. Said no one was playing (1:30pm on a Sunday). Said their members like afternoon football and Sundays are slow. Ok. Thought it might be good pace of play until third hole running into two bag carrying people we waited on the rest of the day. It tuned out they were waiting for the two ahead of them. A single behind us. Why allow twosomes if pace of play is going to be so slow? Saw players assistance at hole 3. No hello. Just looked at us- slowed-and kept going. Finished at dusk. No one in sight. Drove bags to car and returned cart and still not one person to welcome us back. Nothing.

Total waste of money. Would have rather been on any other course in area. Course condition btw was just ok. No comparison to any other Pinehurst course but same price. Go elsewhere!

After reading others' reviews of #9, I was excited to play it. Course was very wet, and greens were marked up a lot. Every green complex was a challenge, and almost every hole was unique and pretty.

The trouble is that when paying 200+ dollars, I expect course conditions to be immaculate and they were not. bunkers weren't raked, and there were many instances of casual water. This is the 2nd time in a year Pinehurst has disappointed in this regard. I was glad to check the course off my list, but honestly it isn't worth the money to play.

The course is well manicured, great layout and the greens were awesome!!!! They were not rolling as fast as the first time I played them. This day they were rolling around a 10, and they looked as if they were recently rolled. You will not be disappointed when you play this course.

This course is everything you could ask for. Challenging holes, water, incredible clubhouse, nice warm up driving range and practice greens. Course is very well kept as well. Favorite course I’ve ever played

I loved everything about it! So much so that I cancelled my next round somewhere else and played it again the next day.

This was our 2nd time playing No. 9 and we loved it just as much as the 1st time. The course is in fantastic shape. We were a twosome playing behind a foursome and still finished in under 4 hours. We didn't push the group in front of us and never got pushed from behind. There are lot of dogleg rights, as you would imagine considering Jack designed it. There are quite a few natural areas and just the right amount of water. We paid a member/guest rate, assuming the walk-on rate is much higher. We played No. 5 in the afternoon and wish we would've played No. 9 twice, that's how much we loved it.

This newer addition is a change of pace from all the rest of the courses at Pinehurst, but certainly a worthy play. There's no doubt it has Jack Nickluas' imprint all over it, from the shape of the fairways, undulations, water hazards and difficulty of the tee shots and approach shots. With lost of elevated greens complexes and difficult bunkers, this is all the course you can handle and certainly presents a worthy contrast to the rest of golf at Pinehurst.

Enjoyed the round here and conditions were good. Nice practice area and clubhouse. Tee shots were quite narrow in spots and this course is more difficult than No. 7. I prefer 7 but this is good and worth playing for sure when in the area. Greens are smaller and not as deep as other Pinehurst courses. This can make it hard to hold approaches on longer shots. I recommend playing a tee set shorter than you would usually play. Conditions were good and staff were nice. Of the courses I've played in the area, this wouldn't be in my top 3 but is still a good option and worth playing.

This is a typical Nicklaus course with hills all over the course forcing you to hit a lot of shots from lies that aren't flat. With scuttle evelation changes and optical illusions like bunkers in front of greens with 4-6 foot trees in them make it tough for you to feel comfortable over shots into the greens. He even makes you pay for hitting good tee shots on some holes, like 18, where I hit my tee shot left center in the fairway and ended up with the ball way above my feet as the fairway had a huge slope from left to right. The service was ok at #9, nothing to write home about. There is no snack area so you have to go wait st the bar to get anything, even a Powerade. The pace of play was not great as this was a five hour round and when we made the turn and headed to the 10th tee there were four groups on the hole, one on the green, one in the fairway and the we were the second group waiting on the tee. So, it wasn't the most enjoyable round for some of those reasons but I did enjoy the layout and the condition of the course.

Pinehurst #9 (formerly Pinehurst National) is a very challenging course for golfers at any level. You play from the tee boxes appropriate for your level and the challenge is appropriate for your level. You must use your golfing skills for Par, you can be satisfied with a bogey, and mistakes can lead to a double.
The fairways were in great shape, but some of the greens showed heavy use and some fungus/burn-out around the edges. patio outside the clubhouse is being upgraded, so the clubhouse area is in a bit of disaray
The Thoroughly enjoyed the course in the morning (played with some of the competitors hee for theus kids World golf competition and they were appropriately challenged by the course as well. It was a very enjoyable, challenging, but a bit pricey, round of golf.

This staff is top notch. A great way to start a round. Golf course is very good. Should be in top notch shape in a few months. Maintenance was being done to a few weak areas. Looks like this is a good fit for Pinehurst. This is one to put on your list.

Now "Pinehurst #9", National Golf Club is simply superb. Only "complaint" for some might be that it's very difficult (e.g. holes #1 and 4)... a typical pre-1990 Nicklaus killer. But very much worth a play if in the area. Suggestion: skip #2 with its silly greens and play #9 at less than half the price.

If you budget can stand it, this is a first rate course

The National Golf Club is a step above the average course. The course is very challenging and in great shape. Not your typical Nicklaus course, it really is a fair and forgiving layout. Highly recommend to play if you are in the area.

Loved the design. Generous fairways and receptive greens. Still need to make shots though. Each hole forces you to think. The greens are big and undulating, but you have to pay attention to pin position and try to hit the right part of the green or face a difficult breaking putt.

Staff was very friendly. The club house and locker rooms were top notch. Definitely a place I'd like to play again.

This course is always in the best of conditions. The staff is very friendly and the views on the course are great! I always enjoy the opportunity to play this Jack Nicklaus design for the challenge and the beauty of the great game of golf.