Opened in 1995 to celebrate the centenary of the resort, Tom Fazio’s No. 8 course at Pinehurst is located on its own plot of undulating land away from the resort’s other courses. Fazio’s design work here is reasonably good with a couple of interesting holes, such as the short par four 12th and the cross-wetland par four 14th, but little that is likely to leave a lasting impression on visiting golfers. Sadly, as is all too common on Fazio courses, the bunkering doesn’t always make sense and the greens, though well built, do not always fit the preceding hole.

For those unable to play Pinehurst No. 2 on every day of their stay in this golfing Mecca, Nos. 4, 7 and 8 are not bad back-ups – although no matter the length of stay a daily round on No. 2 is a much better option.