The Country Club of Whispering Pines (River course)

The Country Club of Whispering Pines (River course; fomerly known as the West course): the Whispering Pines neighbourhood, located just a few minutes north-east of Pinehurst, is home to several lakes, and two excellent championship golf courses.

The shorter River course makes greater use of this lakeside environment, containing more than its fair share of water protected holes. Whereas pine trees are predominant on the Pines course, the River layout starts off with oaks and other deciduous varieties lining the sometimes good-width, sometimes tighter fairways. The par-4 4th, played from an elevated tee to a narrow dog-legging right-to-left fairway is one of the toughest of the front nine holes.

The pleasantly wooded, natural and undulating front nine, changes dramatically during the long par-5 10th, where the Little River, and other inlets from Thagards Lake really come into their own. Here on this more open and flatter section of the course, there are several knee-trembling tee-shots to make, with water often flanking one or other side of the fairways and occasionally both.

Little River itself menacingly skirts the leftside of the par-4 11th and 12th holes before it joins up with the lake. This riverside section of the course, is quite unlike any other in the Pinehurst area, and, especially for wayward hitters, its definitely not a stretch to bash away with the driver - that can resume at the longer par-4 17th as you move away from the river and back up to the clubhouse.

Like its companion Pines course, the River provides a good value round of golf, especially when compared with some of its higher priced peers in the Pinehurst area.