Pinehurst #10 & 11 Sandmines: No. 10
Pinehurst, NC•Private
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Pinehurst #10 & 11 Sandmines: No. 10
Highway 5
Pinehurst, NC 28374
United States
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Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 Greatest / Best In State Scores
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Pinehurst No. 10 has a distinctly modern take on shot options and risk/reward and with that, I mean that there is often a single shot on a hole that stands out as the risky shot or the chance to make up ground on your opponent. Examples of this are the approach into #3, but the tee shot is pretty bland; the tee shot on #4 faces you with a decision, but the approach shot is bland; the tee shot on #9 allows for some options, but the approach shot isn't as strong; the tee shot on #15 is thrilling but leave you with a boring approach. There are a couple of really good par 3s for shot options (7, 11, 14) and others are relatively weak (2, 17). The par 5 are really strong in terms or risk/reward and shot options, particularly 10 and 12 with high marks on the tee shots, approaches and around the green - just a shame that there are only three of them! There are a couple of really great par 4s in holes 1, 4, 6, and 8: all medium or short distance but offering a variety of risks and rewards with each shot. There are a ton of fun shots around Pinehurst No. 10 and I think this will make it a fan favorite and must-play for those traveling to the resort. The greens are interesting enough to keep your engagement from round to round, the tee shots are fun and challenging and there are great approaches scattered throughout the round. There are ridges, ramps, and swales throughout the round that you can use to move the ball once on the ground. There are a number of blind or semi-blind drives that are engaging and make you want to play over and over. Its a nice walk with caddies and you can't help but have a good time. Many of the shots play uphill or land into a hill to make the course play longer than the scorecard yardage (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18). Layups on the par 5s are often difficult with No. 3 continuing to narrow as you close in on the green, No. 10 has expansive bunkers in the layup zone and huge undulations in the fairway and No. 12 has waste cutting through the fairway before plunging downhill. The par 3s are typically challenging and some are both long and challenging. Hole 14 is more like a short par 4 than a par 3. If you make it through 13 and 14 in 9 strokes, you haven't done too bad. The greens have a lot going on both around the greens and internally on the greens. Only 3 par 5s so there aren't as many scoring opportunities. The holes on SE portion of the property feel more intimate and tied together while the holes on the NE portion of the property feel large, brawny and more secluded. The front 9 is kind of back-and-forth for the first 8 holes, along with 18. Theh back 9 is more separated and the routing utilizes large ridges and hills. Overall the routing is very good and you don't notice any repeat directionally because of the undulation changes, differing doglegs and variety used in the green sites. The greens and green surrounds are standouts on this course. Robust bunkering that is varied in type, location and severity. The same features that you find elsewhere at Pinehurst (exposed sandscapes, wire grass, contours and huge pines) are all present and make you feel connected to the rest of the resort's main paddock (like No. 2, No. 4 and others), even though you're miles away at the Sandmines site. The view from the tee on hole #10 is one of the best on the course with the huge 10th hole laying out in front of you, the cool bridge left, and a couple of the back nine holes behind and left of you. The atmosphere at the congruence of holes 8, 9, 14 and 15 is also a cool spot with cool views back up number 8, the water on 15 and the corridors of 9 and 14. The bumps, humps and hills in the fairways and around the greens are very picturesque at dusk and dawn. The course is firm throughout because it is both built on sand and is very new. The greens are firm and balls bounce forward - short irons and wedges take a hop and then spin. The greens roll smooth, not perfect but really good. The grass around the greens is probably a little long of intention and allows you to use more wedges where I think the intention is to make the golfer think about taking putter, hybrid or wedge. The fairways are firm and bounding, especially down wind - to the point that if you're slightly offline, you often look well behind where the ball ends up. They're developing another area at Pinehurst and it is set to be awesome. The redevelopment of an old sand mine and how they used some of those sandscapes is exceptional and makes for great golf. There used to be another course in this location and the design didn't just reuse corridors and stick with the status quo - they found new holes, created interesting features and used a new piece of land that has some of the courses best holes. This course is going to be a great addition to an already all-star cast of courses at Pinehurst - it is big, bold, fun and extremely engaging."
Read More2026
Review
“Interesting routing and several memorable holes. A few demand long tee balls, and become penal when the player is either not capable or fails in the attempt. Par 3's and 5's are particularly entertaining, especially the 175-yard 17th. #14 can play as either a par 3 or par 4. The average player would really love playing the back tee as a par 4. Greens have many slopes, with most putts over 15 feet having multiple, subtle breaks."
Read More2026
Review
“This course has Tom Doak written all over it, with its main emphasis on playability tee to green. The course is laid out on rolling land with holes of different lengths and elevations as well as straight and doglegs. There are some blind shots and a lot of waste area and hazards, but the fairways are mostly very wide. The main challenge here comes on the greens which border on diabolical. They are large, very undulating, have varying internal features and are very difficult to read. In fact, without a caddy here even the best of players would undoubtedly suffer multiple 3 putts. Memorability here is more of the general look rather than the individual holes. The best of them come in the middle of the course between the 6th and 14 holes. For example, #6 is a challenging par 4 dogleg right with an approach over a depression into a difficult green complex; # 8 is a medium length par 4 with a drive over a mound followed by a crumpled fairway and then another huge mound in front of and blocking the green; #10 is a monster par 5, relatively straight with a drive over a chasm of waste and the approach over a fairway sloping right and a bunker placed strategically in front of the green. The aesthetics here are very good, although very repetitive. It is a walking only course and it plays longer than the stated yardage, but is manageable (with a caddy to read the greens!)"
Read More2026
Review
“Pinehurst # 10 is a wonderful addition to the Pinehurst complex. It has a natural feel to it, similar to # 2 or even Sand Hills in Nebraska. Pinehurst # 10 was in excellent condition on the day that I played it, especially considering that it is relatively new, but also has a wonderful look and feel of nature with waste areas throughout the course. The course feels isolated, making it seem like you are just out enjoying nature while playing a round of golf. At times I feel that Tom Doak can get a bit too extreme on his green complexes (and he could have been easily tempted to be more punitive than # 2), but in this case the greens complexes were nearly perfect on the scale of easy to difficult. The course is challenging, but also rewards good play. When in the area, Pinehurst # 10 deserves to be played."
Read More2026
Review
“Pinehurst # 10 is a wonderful addition to the Pinehurst complex. It has a natural feel to it, similar to # 2 or even Sand Hills in Nebraska. Pinehurst # 10 was in excellent condition on the day that I played it, especially considering that it is relatively new, but also has a wonderful look and feel of nature with waste areas throughout the course. The course feels isolated, making it seem like you are just out enjoying nature while playing a round of golf. At times I feel that Tom Doak can get a bit too extreme on his green complexes (and he could have been easily tempted to be more punitive than # 2), but in this case the greens complexes were nearly perfect on the scale of easy to difficult. The course is challenging, but also rewards good play. When in the area, Pinehurst # 10 deserves to be played."
Read More2026
Review
“The new Pinehurst No. 10 feels like a Tom Doak design from the first tee box. Shot Options is one of the course’s biggest strengths. There is plenty of room off the tee, but where you place the tee ball matters greatly because of the approach shot angles. No. 8 is a good example. The safer play to the left can leave a partially blind approach, while taking on the more dangerous right side provides a better view of the green. Layout Variety was my highest-scoring category. The routing covers a large and varied piece of ground, and the holes change regularly in length and direction. Doak gave us five par 3s (unusual) which range from 150 to 264 yards from the back tees and play in different directions across the property. Challenge was one of my lower scores because the course does not depend heavily on forced carries or hazard/penalty areas. A player can reasonably expect to finish the round with the same ball. There is generally room to recover after a miss. The challenge comes more from positioning and decision-making, along with the green complexes. The dramatic green complexes were the focal point for me and contributed to the course’s strong marks for Shot Options and Aesthetics. The first green sets the tone. It sits at an angle on tilted ground, with a mound that can be used to feed a lower shot onto the putting surface. No. 2 has a memorable shelf and feeder slope that can help or hurt depending on the hole location. Later, the long par-3 14th plays to a large, multi-level green set at an angle behind the old mining features. Missing in the wrong place around these greens can leave a very difficult recovery, while at the same time there are lots of mounds that can be used to the player's advantage to feed the ball towards the hole. Conditioning was my lowest score, and parts of No. 10 still felt young. Even so, the course is already memorable and should improve as it matures."
Read More2026
Review
“This new Tom Doak addition to the Pinehurst Stable will rank among the best offerings in the Pinehurst area. It is built on hilly terrain, and Doak skillfully routed the course to enhance its natural features."
Read More2026
Review
“Sandmines is a top tier blend of intrigue, variety, challenge, and fun that enjoyably tests the golfer at their respective ability. The design's character is honest and true to the land's historical uses, naturally leading to a truly unique blend of design features that would feel out of place anywhere else. This course will be fondly claimed as yet another crown jewel of today's design era."
Read More2026
Review
“Magnificent....one of Tom Doak's best courses. Great variety in holes and required strategy. Great use of the land and choices of tees. Go!"
Read More2026
Review
“Pinehurst No. 10 is a bold, expansive, and terrain-driven design that fully embraces the wild scale and character of its Sandmines property. Tom Doak moves a significant amount of earth to open up the site, ensuring playability for all levels, while the opening holes ease you into a round defined by dramatic elevation changes, wide corridors, and strategic optionality. The course rewards imagination and commitment as much as execution, with large, expressive greens that favor ground play; however, their scale can make it easy to miss some of the subtleties on a first visit. Around the greens, Doak consistently presents risk-reward decisions, often with one side feeding shots in and the other falling away. While No. 10 lacks some of the refinement and polish of Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 4, it delivers a distinctly modern and highly social golf experience. The property’s scale and routing make it ideal for a memorable day with friends, and its willingness to challenge traditional resort expectations, favoring variety, strategy, and fun over symmetry, signals a refreshing new chapter for architecture at Pinehurst."
Read More2026
