Best golf courses near Sanford, NC

Tobacco Road took every idea that Strantz had been developing to that point in time (1999) and put it all in one place, specifically an old mining site of sand and pine 25 miles north of Pinehurst. The property is the secret star—yes, there are Strantzian trademarks like boomerang-shaped par 5s, greens and fairways notched blindly behind dunes, dramatic risk/reward shots played over deep chasms and putting surfaces stretched into stringy silly putty shapes. But without the elevation changes, depressions and contrasting textures of the rugged sand barrens, this would be True Blue 2.0. It’s much more than that: a master class in decision-making and composition that sits among the top 50 on the Golf Digest America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses ranking, a placement that’s at least 20 spots too low, at least in the mind of this editor.

Robert Trent Jones Sr. returned to the sandhills along Lake Trace to add a sister course, the Creek, for Carolina Trace Country Club. The rolling terrain and towering pines flanking the narrow fairways at the Creek make tee shots paramount. The semi-public facility boasts fees right around $100, making it a quality, affordable option.

Host to the U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifier from 2009-'14, this Robert Trent Jones Sr. design is a solid test of golf along the shores of Lake Trace. A renovation in 2015, which brought significant improvements to the bunkers and putting surfaces, helped restore classic Jones features to the course.