The Holly Inn at Pinehurst Resort

Set in the Village of Pinehurst, The Holly Inn puts you within easy reach of one of America’s most substantial golf resorts, with 11 full length 18 hole courses to choose from. It has welcomed guests since 1895, and suits a trip built around playing a different course each day, then returning to the village for dinner and a quieter evening. Alongside the championship layouts, there is the 18 hole Thistle Dhu putting course and The Cradle, Gil Hanse’s relaxed nine hole short course. Golf Academy sessions cover everything from full swing work to bunker play, with weekday, weekend and family school formats available.

The headline round is Pinehurst No. 2, Donald Ross’s design and the resort’s U.S. Open anchor course, where the approach game has always mattered most. No. 1 has roots reaching back to 1897 and was completed by Ross four years later, while No. 3 is a restored Ross course that plays to a compact par 68. Gil Hanse reshaped No. 4 in the character of the Carolina Sandhills, with sandy ground and native vegetation influencing the way the holes play. No. 5 brings lakes into view and includes the Cathedral Hole, while No. 7 uses rolling land and wetlands throughout its routing. For length, No. 9 is a 7,122 yard Jack Nicklaus course through longleaf pines. Tom Fazio’s No. 8 was created for the resort’s centenary and has its own campus setting.

Rooms at The Holly Inn range from Traditional Rooms of 200 to 300 square feet to 1,000 square foot Bi Level Suites, available with a king bed or a king and two doubles. Each has complimentary Wi Fi, a refrigerator, Keurig coffee facilities and high definition television. The seasonal outdoor pool is useful after a warm afternoon on the course, while the larger heated pool complex at the Carolina Hotel is also open to resort guests, with an outdoor whirlpool and fireplaces. Breakfast and dinner are served at the 1895 Grille, and The Tavern is a comfortable lunch or dinner stop, centred on an antique bar brought over from Scotland.