North Carolina's best golf courses.

• Author: Brafford, Kevin
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION

For the fifth consecutive spring, the North Carolina Golf Panel is proud to partner with Business North Carolina in publishing rankings of the best golf courses in what we believe is the best state for golf. The list of the top 100 courses is determined by a scoring system in which panelists are asked to consider these factors: conditioning, routing, design, strategy, memorability, fairness, variety and aesthetics. Thanks to a voting process that's now completed and tabulated online, we're able to provide a greater array of specialty rankings that we hope you will enjoy.

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Once again, Pinehurst No. 2, which reopened in March following an extensive restoration by designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, tops the list--as has been the case since the panel was founded in 1995. There was some shifting among the top 10 as Charlotte Country Club improved one position to sixth and the Elk River Club in Banner Elk two positions to seventh. Greensboro Country Club's Farm course, previously unranked, received a complete makeover from designer Donald Steel. As a result, it won Best New Course honors and leapt into the top 100 at No. 37. Also making an impressive debut is Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte, a 1929 Donald Ross layout reinvigorated by Kris Spence. It came in at No. 57.

Panelists had fun with a new category this year--our Dream 18, a collection of our favorite holes in the state. If you're an avid golfer, it will capture your attention--and maybe even lead you to compile a list of your own.

NORTH CAROLINA'S Top 100 GOLF COURSES '11 '10 Par Yardage Course (back rating/ tees) slope 1 1 Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst 72 7,252 75.9/138 2 2 Grandfather Golf and Country Club, 72 7,085 74.3/145 Linville 3 3 Old North State Club, New London 72 7,102 74.8/142 4 4 Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte 72 7,396 75.0/140 5 5 Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, 71 7,015 73.5/135 Southern Pines 6 7 Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte 72 6,764 73.3/136 7 9 Elk River Club, Banner Elk 72 6,826 73.4/141 8 6 The Country Club of North Carolina 72 7,204 75.5/140 (Dogwood), Pinehurst. 9 8 Forest Creek Golf Club (South), 72 7,067 74.6/143 Pinehurst 10 10 Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst 72 7,117 74.5/136 11 15 Biltmore Forest Country Club, 70 6,606 71.5/127 Asheville 12 12 Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst 72 7,092 74.2/135 13 11 Linville Golf Club, Linville 72 6,946 73.4/139 14 13 Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington 72 6,856 73.4/135 15 14 Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington 72...