Country Club of North Carolina - Cardinal

The Cardinal was designed by Ellis Maples, the North Carolina native who learned his craft under Donald Ross and spent his career building courses deeply rooted in the Sandhills tradition. Like the best Pinehurst-area designs, it works with the native wiregrass and longleaf pine corridors that define this part of Moore County, asking players to think carefully off the tee and manage the firm, contoured putting surfaces that punish imprecision more than they reward power.

CCNC sits among the quiet residential roads of the Pinehurst community rather than on the resort's main campus, giving it the feel of a genuine members' sanctuary — serious golf without the tournament-week crowds that descend on the nearby village every few years.