Brian Oar
Tot Hill Farm Golf Club
Tot Hill Farm Golf Club
3185 Tot Hill Farm Rd
Asheboro, NC 27205-9543
United States
Telephone
Overview
Architects are usually only as good as their sites, or at least their budgets—Tom Fazio would certainly agree with that, which is why he only agrees to projects that give him the resources to push the land around until it’s the way he wants it. Strantz, who began his career working for Fazio, was just getting to that level of prestige when he passed away, but Tot Hill Farm, opened in 2000, was a relatively low-budget design on a central North Carolina property that was too rugged and rocky to yield a Tobacco Road-level course. Strantz used what he had to shape some of his wildest greens, working around the site’s obstacles the best he could. The course is a staggered mix of daring, often outrageous holes (the par-3 13th) dotted with moments of sublime brilliance like the par-5 eighth and the par-4 17th. Golf Digest named the third hole, a downhill par 3 with a green wrapped around a rock outcropping, the best third hole built in the U.S. since 2000. Over the last few seasons, new ownership has invested in ongoing course improvements, including tree removal and new turf, and as of 2024, the course has never been better. What used to be a “lesser” Strantz design due to conditioning challenges is now one of the country’s best showcases of his eccentric, some say genius, architecture.
About
Awards
Panelists
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
“Tot Hill Farm is a fun course that leaves defined holes in its character and layout. The course was a touch soft, but otherwise in well condition. Each hole it seemed like had a different challenge to it. It could be a massive boulder in the center of the fairway, to a creek lined par 3, to a dogleg going up or down a large mountain slope. The course has seen a great restoration in the condition of the playing surface from others I played with, and it showed. I enjoyed the layout and fun aspect Tot Hill Farm brings to destination golf."
Read More2025
Review
“If Tobacco Road is your jam, Tot Hill Farm is a natural next stop, another Mike Strantz original that replaces blind shots with equally bold visuals and rugged Carolina scenery. Strantz shaped the course directly into the land’s natural rock formations, ridges, and creeks, creating a dramatic routing with adjoining greens, wild bunker complexes, and several visually intimidating tee shots. The layout features Strantz’s signature creativity: five par 3s, five par 5s, and constant elevation changes that challenge depth perception and shot commitment. Many approach shots offer multiple strategic options, while the greens are heavily contoured with severe collection areas that punish imprecision. Recently restored to Strantz’s original intent, Tot Hill Farm plays firm, fast, and more refined than ever, with Prizm Zoysia greens and revitalized bunkers. The course’s beauty is rugged rather than polished, but that’s its charm, rock outcroppings, narrow corridors, and dramatic shaping make the round feel like an adventure carved straight out of the landscape. It’s demanding yet fair to good shots, rewarding players who think their way around rather than overpowering it."
Read More2025
Review
“Tot Hill Farm offers a very challenging test of golf near the Pinehurst area. A bold display of two tiered and adjoining greens, unique bunker complexes, rock walls, rock formations and outcroppings all play a role with that challenge. Green complexes possess many undulations with severe collection areas for errant shots. Many tee and approach shots are visually intimidating and possess a myriad of shot options thru the green. Its well worth the drive from Pinehurst to play this Mike Stranz design."
Read More2025
Review
“Perhaps the most penal golf course I've ever played. A collection of interesting par 3 which which based on their mostly reduced yardage play fair. A lot of very forced holes and a very uncomfortable feel throughout. Other courses by Stranz like Tobacco Road (less severe property) seem to flow better with more opportunity to score/recover and to be rewarded for good shots. Many good shots at THF are penalized when they shoudn't be."
Read More2025
Review
“Tot Hill Farm is a unusual. It is a eccentric. It is a maverick. It plays across and around ridges, past and over rock outcroppings, and along creekbeds. It is a bit of an engineering marvel but does not look overly manufactured. Many holes, including the terrific Alps #15, make use of classic strategic elements and templates. The course was saved and restored by the current owner and is a must-see for anyone who wants to experience the genius of Mike Strantz, who left us all too soon."
Read More2025
Review
“Tot Hill Farm is a unusual. It is a eccentric. It is a maverick. It plays across and around ridges, past and over rock outcroppings, and along creekbeds. It is a bit of an engineering marvel but does not look overly manufactured. Many holes, including the terrific Alps #15, make use of classic strategic elements and templates. The course was saved and restored by the current owner and is a must-see for anyone who wants to experience the genius of Mike Strantz, who left us all too soon."
Read More2025
Review
“Not my style of golf course, but could appreciate the routing and imagination."
Read More2025
Review
“Very fun golf course on a hilly site. Most of the dififcult is around the greens. Definitely worth playing, but not near the Tobacco Road golf course, if that's what you are looking for."
Read More2024
Review
“Really enjoyed this place. Unusual, with a lot of undulations and large land forms you typically don't see. Some crazy greens, which are currently slow as they grow in from a recent renovation. If you like typical, standard, boring golf, stay away. But if you want to try something different, add this course to your list."
Read More2024
Review
“Tot Hill Farm is one of only 7 solo designs from the brilliantly quirky Mike Strantz. Located outside of Asheboro, North Carolina, Tot Hill Farm opened in 2000 with much acclaim and fanfare. Originally a 60 minute away must play staple of the I-want-to-experience-something-besides-Pinehurst Resort courses golf trip, Tot Hill Farm struggled after the 2008 financial crisis, gradually faded out of the golfing public’s consciousness and spiraled towards irrelevant obscurity with an empty pro shop, deteriorating conditions, and desperately discounted greens fee. Fortunately, native South Carolinian Pat Barber recognized the value of a Strantz design and rescued the course from the brink and injected millions of dollars into a renovation/restoration. After the project was completed in 2023, the course now plays 6,713 yards from the tips, a slight increase with the most significant the extra 40 yards on #10 that requires a visually intimidating tee shot over the adjacent road to a landing area with a blind second to an elevated, sloped green. Other improvements included new Prizm Zoysia greens, the removal of 1,500 trees to restore original playing lanes and de-gloom several greens, and the removal of arbitrarily placed bunkers. As with most Strantz courses, visual mind-fucking is a frequent event as many tee shots appear impossibly difficult (starting with #1’s concealed fairway, #2’s seeming sliver of fairway with hazards along both sides, and includes #3 to the back right pin, #10 short of the stone wall, #12 with a narrow ribbon of fairway and so much trouble left and right, #13 to the back left hidden pin, and #15 to the concealed back left pin). Approaches are often blind or obscured to potato chip greens with wild undulations or severely sloped runoffs. The erotically shaped green on the par 5 5th is guaranteed to frighten even top players with a tiny front which then rises to a wide but shallow upper plateau with it all surrounded by a rocky creek left and penal rock bunkers right. None of the greens at Tot Hill Farm are easy but the 5th, 8th, 9th, 14th, and 17th stand out as especially challenging. There is so much variety at Tot Hill Farm that sensory overload for first-time players is a real possibility. There are 5 uphill holes (4, 8, 9, 14, and 18) and 11 downhill holes (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, and 17) There are no dead straight holes other than the par 3s with 7 doglegs left (1, 2, 5, 7, 12, 17, and 18) and 6 doglegs right (4, 8, 9, 10, 14, and 16). There are long holes (par 4 1st and 14th), short par 3s (6, 13, and 15), short par 4s (7, 9, 10, and 12) and a plethora of mid-length tests which play dramatically different than the yardage due to significant elevation changes. Never one to follow convention, Strantz decided Tot Hill Farm should have 5 par 3s AND 5 par 5s, and it works. Tot Hill Farm is a very challenging course for any golfer, primarily through visual intimidation and devilish greens complexes. As one plays the course a second, third, or fourth time, it becomes less frightening and more playable as one learns that all but very poor shots will find a home and a manageable next attempt. Birdies are out there but they require patience and trust along with execution. Through the experience of several visits, Tot Hill becomes a course where it is almost as likely to shoot a stellar score as it is to shoot one that doesn’t factor in the handicap with good results possible but by no means guaranteed. If there is a weakness at Tot Hill Farms, it is the current lack of speed on the greens. The new Zoysia greens are not yet fully matured, so they are sloooow. They roll well and true, but the speed is not there. Expectations are that they will eventually run at a 10-10.5 so not Augusta but given the slopes, undulations and tiers, plenty fast enough. The fairways are firm and drain well. The bunkers were part of the restoration, so they are all consistent and well-sanded. Tot Hill Farm does not sit on the coast, boast scenic mountain vistas, or meander through pristine woodlands yet it is an attractive layout. Strantz used the natural topography and simply overlaid a golf course onto the rocky, rolling, stream crossed landscape. If a large rock was in the way, it stayed, and the hole was named The Rock (#3). The lack of artificial and contrived molding is Tot Hill Farm’s greatest aesthetic strength. Love or hate his courses, all Strantz designs inspire visceral reactions and vigorous post-round debate. Tot Hill Farm firmly fits into the Strantz pantheon along with the neighboring Tobacco Road. Some may complain about too many blind shots or gimmicky greens, but I am a fan of non-boring golf. Tot Hill Farm is a very fun golf course that garners more admiration with repetition and that is a hallmark of Mike Strantz. Thank you, Jim Barber, for saving Tot Hill Farm."
Read More2024
