Like Sunday at the U.S. Open

Pinehurst Resort’s Champions Challenge package offers golfers the rare opportunity to play Pinehurst No. 2 under the same tournament conditions experienced by the pros during the U.S. Open Championships.

The 12th Hole at Pinehurst No. 2 (Image: Pinehurst Resort)

The 12th hole at Donald Ross’s famous Pinehurst No. 2. (Image: Pinehurst Resort)

Got the game to challenge famed Pinehurst No. 2 when it’s all tricked-out for the pros?

Pinehurst Resort’s Champions Challenge package, available June 26 to 29, features three nights accommodation and four rounds of golf, including one on No. 2. Golfers will experience the same course set-up on No. 2 as the pros in the U.S. Open and Women’s Open Championships, while playing from a mix of tees used the previous two weeks during the back-to-back majors.

The Donald Ross-designed jewel, which also hosted the U.S. Open in 1999 and 2005, is the showpiece of the North Carolina resort’s eight courses. In 2010, Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore undertook a major restoration of No. 2 designed to return the natural and strategic characteristics intended by Ross. The project included the removal of about 40 acres of irrigated turf and the reintroduction of hardpan, natural bunker edges and native grasses.

Starting at $2,014 (U.S.) per person, the Champions Challenge package includes the services of a caddy on No. 2; additional rounds of golf on Pinehurst Nos. 6, 7 and 8, all standout courses by top architects; daily breakfast and dinner; and a commemorative U.S. Open gift.

For more about Pinehurst No. 2 and the other courses in the Pinehurst area, see our feature story Pinehurst No. 2 Reborn.