The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed our golf travel plans in 2020. Our journeys in the past 11 years have ranged from a couple days to over a month, with all of them involving travel by car.
We found that golf vacations are very much doable in the Carolinas, just as they were when the pandemic impact hit full-force in mid-March. The destinations that we visited never shut down their courses, but lodging and dining service was affected.
Joy and I were able to visit a golf course for eight straight days of golf. We were able to hit three courses in Santee, one in Camden and one in Cheraw in South Carolina.
Read about Santee and Cheraw State Park in the July issue of Ohio Golf Journal.
Moving on to Pinehurst, North Carolina, we were able to play three more courses with the driving ranges and putting greens in full operation. Tee times were standard and plenty of players took advantage.
The key to having a successful golf trip during this pandemic is in the planning ahead. Lodging cannot be made spur-of-the-moment, reservations need to be made weeks in advance. Even larger hotel chains are not allowed to operate at full capacity, thus rooms are limited.
Dining can also be challenging at times, breakfast buffets are not allowed. Each guest must be served by hotel personnel, but restaurants were available in all locations, even though many others were closed.
Every establishment we visited was extremely diligent about sanitizing everything, from the menus in the restaurants to the luggage racks in the hotels.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to any traveling golfer that Pinehurst was prepared for these troubling times. Talamore Golf Resort and Pine Needles, long-time Pinehurst favorites were well groomed and ready for golfers.
The two Talamore courses both have undergone recent renovations. The original Rees Jones-designed Talamore, which opened in 1991 and drew nationwide attention for utilizing llamas as caddies, is now called The New Course at Talamore. The llamas are still there, but retired from the course and headquartered near the 14th tee.
Construction on the Mid South Club, Talamore’s second course, started in 1988 but the course didn’t open until 1993. It is an Arnold Palmer design and was acquired by Talamore in 2004.
Mid South also had its greens converted from bentgrass to champion bermuda. The spectacular double green for holes 9 and 18 is still the biggest eye-catcher on the property but clearly the work done on both layouts as well as in the accompanying villas represent a major upgrade.
It should be noted that Talamore has cottages and condos that can help families, or golf groups stay together, but maintain complete separation from other guests. The condos are luxurious and are perfect for a buddies’ golf trip or girl’s golf getaway.
Both Pine Needles, as well as, it’s sister course Mid-Pines, that sits directly across the street, are always a treat to play. The courses have that true southern charm feel and you can almost feel Peggy Kirk Bell still watching your swings from her golf cart.
These are both classic Donald Ross courses, plus the Bell family recently added nearby Southern Pines to their list of courses in the Pinehurst area.
Pine Needles is the first course to be awarded four U.S. Women’s Opens by the U.S. Golf Association. The fourth U.S. Women’s Open will be played at Pine Needles in 2022. Previous ones were in 1996, 2001 and 2007.
If you visit Pinehurst, plan to stop at Talamore, Mid-South, Pine Needles, Mid-Pines and Southern Pines for a true North Carolina golfing adventure.
