Type:

Public

Rates:

Weekday $170, Weekend $170

Greens Turf Type:

Zoysia

Practice Area:

Grass tee driving range, putting green and chipping green.

Description

Tot Hill Farm Golf Club is a vintage Mike Strantz design that opened in 2000 to rave reviews as one of the toughest tracks in the Carolinas. Mike Strantz designed 6 courses that the public can play, cinluding nearby Tobacco Road Golf Club outside of Pinehurst. This course is about a 75-minute drive from Charlotte but is well-worth the time to experience such a unique layout. This Strantz design features dramatic elevation changes that create some blind approach shots into tiny targets, due to the multi-tiered greens that are well protected by rocks, streams and bunkers.

New owners took over in early 2023 and immediately shut down the course for renovations to restore it to its former glory and what Strantz intended it to be. It reopened in Sept 2023 with brand new Prizm Zoysia greens with intentions to be a premier golf trip destination.

Notes

Relatively convenient to Pinehurst and Tobacco Road, Tot Hill Farm partners with several golf package providers so you can make it part of a Pinehurst trip.

B-Man's Take

Most people either love or hate Mike Strantz courses and Tot Hill Farm is one of the most divisive of all his designs. I am a Strantz fan and Tobacco Road is one of my favorite golf courses to play, period. Tot Hill Farm is a bit more extreme and so it lands further down on my list. I enjoy playing this course for the challenge every so often but wouldn't survive frequent visits.

Approach shots to the majority of greens have to land within a 5-10 yard radius of your target or you're dead. The combination of rocks, streams, bunkers and "goofy" multi-tiered putting surfaces give you a very, very small margin of error. There are also a fair amount of blind shots due to the dramatic elevation changes.

The 9th hole is Tot Hill Farm in a nutshell. The tee shot can be demanding due to the trees pinching in the first part of the fairway and O.B. if you go long, through the fairway. A good drive in the center of the fairway leaves you a mid or short iron approach that can play 2-3 clubs uphill (!) to a long, skinny, severely sloped green. Good luck getting your ball on the green on the right tier where the flag is located.

The 10th green is the most unique I've ever seen. You will have an uphill approach to the green, but there is a back portion to this green that is a good 10-15 feet lower than the front/middle tier. You don't even know it's there until you get on the green. I have never seen the pin on that back portion, but that would be a brutal test.

The front nine features 3 par 5's (including back-to-back on holes 4 and 5) and is a par 37. The back nine is a par 35. If you can hit your targets off the tee and into the greens well, the course is scoreable. The new Prizm Zoysia greens are thankfully not too fast still or some pin positions would be unfair. As they grow in the course will get tougher. For now, approach shots even with wedges will bounce fairly hard.

The par 4 12th is a beautiful hole that bends around a lake and gives you a dramatic view of your downhill approach to a large green. The course finishes with a short par 5, a long par 4 and a steeply uphill par 5 that gives you a nice view of the closing 3 holes.

Overall, I think this course is a treat to play, just for the unique challenges it presents, but your mileage may vary. With the renovations, prices have also gone up and the fees will set you back $110 on most days. I say most because the course's online booking is using dynamic pricing. You can get a better deal the further in advance you book.

Tee	Par	Yardage	Rating	Slope
Championship (Maverick)	72	6713	72.1	144
Mens (Strantz)	72	6203	70.6	135
Senior (Fezler)	72	5697	67.7	124
Junior (Lil Man)	72	4556	63.8	117
Ladies (Gold)	72	4556	67.9	118

View the complete scorecard for this course

Most Recent Reviews

• 7/11/26 - Review by Twitch

  "Great course"

  Love this course. First time playing it and enjoyed every minute. Great par 5's. This course really makes you think but isn't overly penal. Facilities are kind of minimalist but well worth it for a day trip.

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• 6/18/25 - Review by GoBux

  "Best of the best"

  Best of the best. Our new favorite course in NC. Just play it and you'll agree

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• 6/3/25 - Review by Jonny

  "Great course"

  You'll be hard pressed to find a better all around golf experience in the great state of NC. My second time since Sep of 2024, this time with a 3 others who've never played it. Like any other course, you'll experience some challenges your first time around and after that, you will play some holes completely different. This is rural Carolina golf in Randolph County and it feels like it. The word is of all the Stranz courses, this was his favorite and it's easy to see why. It's so plush and green, the natural landscape is scattered with boulders that are designed to create exceptional views. I especially like there are 5, yes FIVE Par 3's, all reasonably short and accessible. The Waterfall hole #15 is a work of golf art, just spectacular. It was a great experience from the beginning. Ron, the starter and cart attendant helped us with our bags and was very friendly and professional. Jack & Keith in the clubhouse got us checked in quickly and directed us back to Ron to give us the low down on current course conditions, pace of play, cart operation etc. They are EV's with GPS included. When Ron told us about the 'out of bounds' play guidelines and recommended we not go in the woods and mentioned rattlesnakes and copperheads, that got our attention. It's an easy rural drive of about 1.5 hours from Charlotte and you'll be rewarded with a memorable golf experience.

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• 10/25/24 - Review by cswan14

  "Best of the best"

  This place was amazing. Was the first round of a guy's golf weekend and was a great way to kick it off. The views are quite dramatic with lots of elevation changes...just absolutely beautiful. The greens are insane. Multiple tiers, undulating, and incredibly fast. Putting was a significant percentage of my overall strokes, so be prepared for some frustration and to just laugh at the ridiculousness and move onto the next. Will definitely be back!

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• 9/7/24 - Review by RT

  "Best of the best"

  Beautiful, scenic course. Eye candy everywhere, with dramatic elevation changes and holes artistically sculpted into the natural terrain. It's not for the faint of heart. Landing areas are very generous, but there is trouble around 75% of the greens, much of it close to the putting surfaces. If your approaches are not solid, you are going to struggle. You are also going to 3-putt. Greens are massive with a lot of slope. A couple (mid-green tier on number 8 and false front on number 17) are comically severe, with slopes exceeding probably 15 degrees. The Prism zoysia is a consistent surface with no grain. It rolls relatively slow, which is a good thing for greens with so much slope. Course conditions overall were exceptional. At $150, this is a once-a-year special treat for me, but one that does not disappoint.

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