Pinehurst No. 8

Tom Fazio's 1996 Pinehurst No. 8, 'The Centennial,' built to commemorate Pinehurst Resort's 100th anniversary. Fazio was the architect of the moment in 1996, and his directive here was to create a course honoring Donald Ross's legacy while giving each hole its own identity, a design challenge Fazio executed with characteristic restraint. The front nine is mostly tree-lined, the back more open, with both touching ponds, marsh, and Pine Valley-like sandy wastelands. Fazio built crowned greens with greenside swales intended as a direct salute to Ross and No. 2, the kind of architectural homage rarely seen executed by a Top-10 Fazio. The signature 18th is a 445-yard par-4 that ascends to a green set at the base of the iconic southern-style clubhouse, framing the round's closing image. #76 Golf Digest America's 100 Greatest Public Courses. Audubon Signature Sanctuary designation, genuinely environmentally conscious routing with very few houses bordering holes. Widely considered the third-best Pinehurst Resort course behind No. 2 and the Gil Hanse-refurbished No. 4.