Tobacco Road Golf Club

About Tobacco Road Golf Club

Tobacco Road sits on ground that was tobacco farmland, then a sand pit mined for asphalt, just down the road from Pinehurst. Two local earth-moving contractors, Mark Stewart and Tony Woodell, owned the pit and talked a reluctant Mike Strantz into building a course on it. It opened in 1998, and they still own it.

Strantz was a trained artist, and he shaped the quarry by eye, marking lines with cans of spray paint. What he left is sweeping sand, forced carries and blind shots, and his stated goal was to test a player's eye, determination and wits. The Golfer's Journal says it's both beloved and reviled, and the early reviews were rough. Plenty of people who hated it the first time came back and changed their minds, so give it two rounds. There are five sets of tees, so pick the one that matches the carries you can actually make.

Don't go looking for the signature hole. The owners' line is that there isn't one, because Strantz put everything into every hole. The course made it through bad early press, a clubhouse fire and the golf economy, and The Golfer's Journal calls it a genuine cult classic. The map survey counts trees along 15 holes, 10 doglegs and water near only two. Course character from OpenStreetMap contributors' survey data.

It's one of 4 courses in Sanford on Yoink, and the closest alternative is Carolina Trace Country Club - Creek, about 3 miles away — handy when your first choice is booked solid.

What it's like to play Tobacco Road Golf Club

There's real elevation change: some holes rise or fall about 49 feet from tee to green. There are about 79 bunkers out there, well above average, so a good bunker game pays. A creek or river runs through the property and comes into play on 2 holes.

Course character from OpenStreetMap contributors' survey data (ODbL).

How to get a tee time at Tobacco Road Golf Club