Unlimited Golf for a Year at Pinehurst? Free?

Is it a sign of the times when great golf destinations are offering unbelieveable deals and unlimited golf to get people to visit? I don't care!

From now through May 31, golfers can enter Pinehurst Resort's spring sweepstakes for a chance to win unlimited golf at Pinehurst for a year. Golfers can register now at Pinehurst.com/sweepstakes, for the prize that includes unlimited golf for the winner and a friend on any of Pinehurst’s eight golf courses – including the famed No. 2, site of the 2014 U.S. Open. Valid from June 1, 2009 to May 30, 2010, the prize also includes exclusive benefits when staying at Pinehurst.

The sweepstakes celebrates the launch of Pinehurst’s spring Unlimited Golf Package, in which golfers are automatically upgraded to unlimited golf at normal one-round-per-day rates from March 8 through May 30. The $515 per person, per night starting rate includes unlimited greens fees (No. 2 at an additional charge), cart and practice facility usage, plus accommodations, the best breakfast in golf and a la carte dinner. The upgrade’s best value is in eliminating hundreds of dollars in replay fees.

I'm entering the sweepstakes right now.

More than No. 2 at Pinehurst

Pinehurst No. 2. It's where Payne Stewart won the Open in 2000 in dramatic fashion, and site of so many other great moments. It's one of those courses, like Augusta National, St. Andrews, and Pebble Beach, that all golfers have on their list of "Top Places to Play Before I Die." Deservedly so, but there's so much more to Pinehurst, six more courses, to be exact.

Pinehurst No. 1 was built in 1898 and, despite it's just over 6,000 yard layout, is challenging. No place for anything but a straight drive, Donald Ross has made sure of it.

Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4 hosted portions of the 2008 U.S. Amateur. There's also the Jack Nicklaus-designed Pinehurst National that deserves recognition.

If it's your first trip to Pinehurst, you certainly want to play No. 1. As one of golf's "pilgrimage destinations," my goal is to keep returning to Ol' Caroline until I've finished them all.

Pinehurst's Carolina Hotel

Certainly, there's great golf to be played in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The Pinehurst Resort is just as fabulous. But a golf trip to one of the top places to play in the USA can, and possibly should, include The Carolina Hotel.

As this article by GolfBrief.com writer Stuart Hall proves, The Carolina Hotel is A Modern Step Back in Time. In a good way, of course.