GOLF'S BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST
- TOBACCO ROAD
GOLF CLUB
by ROBBIE WOOTEN

The North Carolina Sandhills
has the most storied golfing
past of any place in the
country.  Site of US Opens, a
Ryder Cup, and the North-
South Amateur, the Pinehurst
area and its golf are
legendary.  I have played the
great Pinehurst No. 2, Pine
Needles, and countless other
golf courses that were at the
top of my most favorite links. 
That was until the opening of
Tobacco Road.  The name
itself invokes a certain
mystique.  An almost eerie
feeling as to what is to come
when you make your way
from the rustic farmhouse-like
clubhouse to the first tee.

There is a placard in the golf
shop that quotes the yardage
guide from the Old Course at
St. Andrews.  The last
sentence reads, “I’ve brought
you to the ring.  Now you
must dance.”  The late
architect Mike Strantz relished
in Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s
style.  Build a course that when finished appears as if it had been there forever with natural movement in the terrain, bunkers with rough edges, and sloping greens that fit their surroundings.  When Strantz walked the property for the first time he knew there was something mysterious, yet absolutely perfect for his vision.  The result has been one of the most talked about golf courses in the world.  Strantz provided the test.  It was now up to me to dance.

As I approached the first tee I definitely was not prepared for what I was about to see.  Two enormous love grass-filled mounds some 225 yards away guarded each side of the fairway.  What was on the other side?  I could see a sliver of fairway between the two and what appeared to be a small landing just over the mounds, but what was my aiming point?  Intimidating?  Yes.  Breathtaking?  Most definitely!  I was about to experience the most exciting round of my golfing life and I knew it.  My second tee shot split the two mounds and found the fairway, which happened to be very expansive despite the view from the tee.  As the round played out, I found this to be a typical Strantz design characteristic.  At times it appeared there was no fairway to hit to at all, but after each shot I was amazed by the course’s forgiveness from the tee.

The club provides a yardage guide to navigate your way over and through the sandpits and manicured fairways.  Use it.  Trust it.  It will save you many shots and heartache.  In the simplest of terms, every shot at Tobacco Road will lull you with its unimaginable beauty.  Every shot is exciting.  Every hole is a signature hole.  But it’s what lies in wait that test one’s shotmaking prowess.  Mine unfortunately was not very good and my score paid the price.  With
sand and love grass mounds
everywhere you turn, Tobacco
Road offers fierceness many
courses lack.  This beauty can
definitely turn into a beast
with one poor swing.  Not
overly long, this course will
test you from 150 yards and
in.  Bring a creative short
game and you can score. 

With each passing hole I
found myself wanting more.  I
could not believe how every
hole, every shot, was more
exciting than the last.  As I
walked off the 18th green my
mind was abuzz with what I
had just experienced.  I knew
immediately I had to have
another chance at golf’s
beauty and the beast.  There
are many great courses in the
North Carolina Sandhills, but
you would be hard pressed to
find another track here or anywhere else in the country that can deliver such an adventure.  Tobacco Road now sits atop my favorites list. Make the trip to the Pinehurst area and give “The Road” your best shot.  It will be your favorite too.

For more information on golf packages at Tobacco Road check them out @ www.tobaccoroadgolf.com.

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