TheGrint HQ
5 minutes
Updated
October 25, 2026
The best golf course in North Carolina, according to golfers on TheGrint, is Pinehurst No. 2 (97.1), No. 6 on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public list. Diamond Creek (97.0) and Eagle Point (96.8) are the top-rated private clubs. North Carolina has nine courses on the 2026 Top 100: five public and four private.
This guide covers all nine, the highly rated public courses just outside the Top 100, and how hard each one plays. Rankings come from golfers who played the courses, not a panel.
Every course links to its page in TheGrint's directory of 534 North Carolina golf courses, with the full scorecard for every set of tees.
The best public golf courses in North Carolina are the five on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public list, led by Pinehurst No. 2. Three of the five are at Pinehurst Resort. Here they are with their rank on the list, TheGrint Rating out of 100, and TheGrint Difficulty:
| Rank (U.S. Public) | Course | City | TheGrint Rating | Plays harder than |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Pinehurst Resort: No. 2 | Pinehurst | 97.1 | 99% |
| 34 | Tobacco Road | Sanford | 94.9 | 94% |
| 49 | Pinehurst Resort: No. 10 | Pinehurst | 94.3 | 82% |
| 51 | Pinehurst Resort: No. 4 | Pinehurst | 94.2 | 94% |
| 76 | Pine Needles | Southern Pines | 93.5 | 98% |
All five are within about 30 miles of each other in the Sandhills, which makes Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Sanford an easy golf trip to plan. Pinehurst Resort lists as Semi-Private in the directory, so check how to book tee times as a resort guest or visitor.
Four North Carolina private clubs are on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Private list. All but Old Town Club play harder than 99% of rated courses:
Private clubs need a member invitation. The full list is on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Private list.
These public and resort courses rate highly with golfers on TheGrint but aren't on the 2026 Top 100. Each ranks in the top 80 of the 480 well-reviewed courses in North Carolina:
For a short course, The Cradle at Pinehurst, a nine-hole par-3 course, rates 92.8 and plays easier than almost every rated course on TheGrint.
Pinehurst No. 2 is the hardest public course in North Carolina's Top 100 group, playing harder than 99% of rated courses on TheGrint. Diamond Creek, Eagle Point and Wade Hampton also play harder than 99%, as does Pinehurst No. 7 just outside the list.
TheGrint Difficulty tops out at 99%, so it doesn't separate courses within the hardest 1%. For more, see the hardest golf courses golfers rank among the best. On courses this demanding, check the scorecard and move up a set of tees if you need to; our guide on what tees to play shows how.
TheGrint Rating is a score out of 100 built from golfers' reviews and their head-to-head course rankings on TheGrint. TheGrint Top 100 uses those signals, including the Course Ranking Game, and gives more weight to golfers who have played more courses.
How we counted: ratings, difficulty and state ranks come from TheGrint's North Carolina directory and course pages on October 23, 2026. Ratings update as golfers add reviews and rankings. For more on the lists, see how TheGrint Top 100 works.
TheGrint has the scorecard, ratings and difficulty for every course before you go, and GPS and scoring when you get there.
Pinehurst No. 2 is the best golf course in North Carolina according to golfers on TheGrint, with a TheGrint Rating of 97.1. It is No. 6 on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public list. The top-rated private clubs are Diamond Creek in Banner Elk at 97.0 and Eagle Point in Wilmington at 96.8.
The best public golf courses in North Carolina, by TheGrint Rating, are Pinehurst No. 2, Tobacco Road, Pinehurst No. 10, Pinehurst No. 4 and Pine Needles. All five are on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public list and sit within about 30 miles of each other in the Sandhills around Pinehurst.
TheGrint's directory lists 19 golf courses in the town of Pinehurst, North Carolina, more than any city in the state except Charlotte. That includes the courses of Pinehurst Resort, three of which, Nos. 2, 10 and 4, are on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public list.
TheGrint's golf course directory lists 534 golf courses in North Carolina. Charlotte has the most of any city with 24, followed by Pinehurst with 19 and Raleigh with 16. Each course page has a free scorecard for every set of tees, plus TheGrint Rating and TheGrint Difficulty.
Pinehurst No. 2 plays harder than 99% of rated courses on TheGrint, as do Diamond Creek, Eagle Point and Wade Hampton among North Carolina's Top 100 courses. TheGrint Difficulty doesn't rank courses within that top 1%, so no single course is the hardest in the data.
Pick a course, check the scorecard and your tees, then keep score in TheGrint with free GPS distances and live scoring for your group. Rank the course when you're done to help shape next year's Top 100. Get started with TheGrint.
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