There are a lot of reasons why I consider Tobacco Road Golf Club to be the best out of the 100+ public golf courses I’ve played but the primary reason is its truly unique layout gives you a golfing experience you just can’t find anywhere else.
The course was designed by the late Mike Strantz, a golf course architectural genius who sculpted perfection out of the sand hills of central North Carolina; the very same sandhills upon which sits some very venerable Pinehurst Resort courses. But what Strantz did differently 20 miles to the northeast was to build a course that simultaneously encourages creative strategy and play while presenting you with masterful deception off the tee. By building up mounds of fescue and brush, he plays with your sense of depth perception and will make you second-guess your yardage book and even your caddie.
Visual trickery aside, the creative aspect comes in the form of innumerable strategic options with a wide variety of tee and pin placements that will have you using all of the course and all of your bag. The par-3 6th is a classic example where depending on which tee you use, the green goes from being 40 yards wide and 10 yards deep to 10 yards wide and 40 yards deep. And with the latter option, a different day’s pin placement can change the yardage enough to force your club selection up or down two or three.
Perhaps the most famous design element is the par-5 13th with its “castle green” that is guarded on all sides by steep embankments and bunkers. To achieve a green-in-regulation here is a feat worth remembering, not unlike hitting the green on 17 at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course. But the 13th isn’t the only hidden green and the greens aren’t the only aspects of the course that Strantz hides well. The entire 16th and 18th fairways go unseen from the tee box. But venture up to them and you’ll find each to be plenty wide and welcoming. Like many shots on the course, you just have to know where to aim.
But there’s more to Tobacco Road than just hidden fairways and greens. The course conditions are as good as Pinehurst or anywhere else with blazing-fast, smooth greens, immaculate fairways and tees, and vast, sandy waste areas which somehow look both naturally unkempt and well-maintained at the same time. There’s a lack of lush green you might find in other premium courses but rather a rustic feel is infused throughout the property from the summer lodge-esque clubhouse to the abandoned mine shaft opening randomly between the tees and green of the aforementioned 6th hole, to the old-school tool tee markers.
The staff is a shining highlight of this course and each member you encounter is even more helpful and pleasant than the last. There’s a personalized touch of customer service they give you that you won’t find at even more expensive golf destinations and it doesn’t go unnoticed here. Be sure to hire a caddie for your first round, he’ll be the most important and most helpful ally you could ask for.
The practice facilities are exactly what you’d want before having every aspect of your game tested, from the driving range to the chipping/pitching area to the putting greens, they’ve all be designed to help acclimate you to the challenge ahead. You might think the 10-ft slope on the putting green is a bit silly until your approach on the par-4 7th ends up at the bottom of the severely tiered green. And remember that local rules allow you to ground your club (and drive your cart) in the waste areas, so be sure to take a few practice swings before each (of what will likely be several) sand shots.
Whether I’m spending $15 or $300 on a round of golf, I still want to see my money going that extra mile and despite a greens fee, caddie, and gratuity exceeding $200 here, Tobacco Road is still a good value. You can spend more than twice that and end up with an inferior golfing experience. I can’t recommend this place highly enough. Just go in with an open mind and don’t expect to score well and you’ll have a fun time.
