Tobacco Road Golf Club

Tobacco Road was Mike Strantz's wild design in Sanford, North Carolina — 30 minutes south of Pinehurst on land that was once a tobacco farm and then a sand quarry. Strantz, the self-taught architect who died at 50 in 2005 before he could add to his short catalog of six courses, spent weeks walking the property before a single machine moved dirt, then lived on-site through construction. The result divides golfers more than almost any course in the country — you either love Strantz's unrestrained vision or you walk off swearing. Nobody leaves neutral. The course throws everything at you: blind shots, elevation changes that feel un-North Carolina-like, waste areas the size of small parking lots, and greens that break conventions and putts in equal measure. Critics have long declined to name a single signature hole because every hole is competing for the title — though the par-5 13th, a double-dogleg whose green hides between sand berms, gets votes. Golf Digest currently ranks Tobacco Road #44 on America's 100 Greatest Public Courses and #13 in North Carolina for 2025-26. Golfweek puts it at #75 Best Public in America and #6 in the state; Golf Magazine also has it #6 in NC. Tobacco Road pairs naturally with Pinehurst — it's a day trip from the village and a tonal counterweight to No. 2's classical Ross restraint. If you're building a Pinehurst itinerary, treat it as the course that forces the group to argue all the way back to the hotel.