Great trip. As far as the quality of golf I would put it behind Scotland and Bandon but on par with my trip to Sand Valley. Better than the RTJ trail but RTJ trail still wins the value for money.
Ranking of courses played
1.
No 2.
It lives up to the hype. Amazing day of golf. By dumb luck we got the last tee time of the day and that was amazing. If we go back I will try to get the last tee time again. No one behind us, course was clearing out, walking up 18 with the sunset was unforgettable (I made par)!
2. Tie
No 10
Played it in the rain so it would probably be alone at the second spot if I could have enjoyed it more. Never stopped raining the entire round. Really great layout. Reminded me a lot of Sand Valley. Hole 8 was my favorite but the whole course was great.

Pine Needles
Course was in amazing shape. Loved holes 1-15 but the finishing stretch of 16-18 is a bit of a let down.

4.
Tobacco Road
I have played here before and it is one of the most fun courses I have ever played. Just know it won’t be like anything else you have played. It is not that hard once you know the course.
5.
No 4. I played terrible so that is probably why I didn’t like it as much. A few of the greens are almost Mickey Mouse with the undulations. Probably the hardest course (including No 2) we played. Still a fantastic layout I would like another shot at.
6. Tie
Mid Pines and No. 8 are both great golf courses overshadowed by world class golf courses. Great rounds, great conditions but if you have a limited time I would skip these two.
8
No 3.
A fabulous warm up before playing No 2. Plays a little over 5000 yards, par 68. Greens play a lot like No 2. Really glad we played here and would do the exact same thing if we head back. Play No 3 in the AM, lunch and then last tee time on No 2.

Was hoping to play Southern Pines but the rain cancelled our afternoon round one day. One of the most fun rounds we had was a replay of Pine Needles late in the day. We loved it so much in the morning that after we had finished our afternoon round at Mid Pines we race back to Pine Needles for a third round. We played a scramble from the same tees the women used at the 2022 US Open and tried to beat the lowest round, a 64 (par 71). We ended up finishing 16 holes before it got too dark and were 6 under. We like to think we would have made at least one more birdie for the tie. It was a blast.
From a restaurant perspective I would say The Carolina Dining Room was very good. The lunch at Pine Needles and Mid Pines was awesome the lunch at Duece (restaurant at Pinehurst No 2) was average at best and a big letdown.