Living in Pinehurst
Living in Pinehurst, NC
I'm Terry Nanney, a licensed Realtor and Broker who has helped families buy and sell homes in Pinehurst and the surrounding Sandhills since 2003. This is my in-depth guide to what it's actually like to live in the Village of Pinehurst: the history and character, the golf and outdoor life, downtown dining and shopping, healthcare, schools, commute times, and the neighborhoods and 55+ communities where buyers land. Every detail here is verified against the Village, the resort, or an official source, and the market numbers stay in my Hive/MLS reports where they belong.
01 · Why Pinehurst
Why do people choose Pinehurst?
Pinehurst is the village that golf built, and it has been planned around the game since 1895. Boston philanthropist James Walker Tufts bought roughly 5,500 acres of logged-over Sandhills land that year and hired the landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmsted to lay out a New England-style village, with curving streets radiating from a central green. The Holly Inn opened on New Year's Eve 1895, Donald Ross arrived as the resort's golf professional in 1900, and the rest is the history of American golf.
The Village of Pinehurst was incorporated as its own municipality in 1980, and in 1996 it became a National Historic Landmark, the first golf resort and community to earn that honor. Today it is home to about 18,670 residents, per the 2025 Census estimate, and it still runs on the original idea: brick streets, longleaf pines, a walkable green at the center, and a pace that slows down after dinner.
For buyers, Pinehurst is really two stories in one: village life within walking distance of the green, the resort, and the shops, and club-community living at gated neighborhoods like Pinewild, CCNC, and Forest Creek. Which story fits you is the question a good local agent helps you answer.
02 · Golf & Recreation
The Home of American Golf, and so much more.
Pinehurst Resort operates eleven 18-hole courses, from Donald Ross's No. 2 to newer designs, plus The Cradle short course and putting courses, and area guides count roughly 40 courses within 15 miles of Pinehurst. Course No. 2 has hosted the U.S. Open four times, and the USGA has named Pinehurst its first Anchor Site, with future Opens scheduled through mid-century.
The World Golf Hall of Fame, founded in Pinehurst in 1974, returned home in June 2024 with a new home at the USGA's Golf House Pinehurst campus, right in time for the 124th U.S. Open.
1999
U.S. Open, Pinehurst No. 2
Payne Stewart
2005
U.S. Open, Pinehurst No. 2
Michael Campbell
2014
U.S. Open, Pinehurst No. 2
Martin Kaymer
2024
U.S. Open, Pinehurst No. 2
Bryson DeChambeau
The Pinehurst Harness Track
The Pinehurst Harness Track at 200 Beulah Hill Road South opened in 1915 and is recognized as the oldest continuously operating equine sports facility in North Carolina. The 111-acre complex, owned by the Village since 1992, is a National Register property and serves as a Standardbred winter training center from roughly October through May, with three tracks and more than 280 stalls. Through the year the infields host horse shows and equestrian events, and it is one of the quiet pleasures of village life.
Beyond the fairways and the track, Pinehurst is laced with greenways and parks. The Village greenway system links parks and gardens across town, Rassie Wicker Park holds several miles of walking trails, and the free Sandhills Horticultural Gardens on the Sandhills Community College campus are a year-round favorite. Golf, horses, and longleaf trails: it is hard to be bored here.
03 · Downtown & Dining
Downtown Pinehurst: park once, and walk.
The heart of the village is the Village Green, the open commons at the center of Olmsted's 1895 plan, ringed by the Given Memorial Library, Tufts Memorial Park, and streets that curve out toward the resort. The green hosts community events all year, including the summer Live After Five concert series.
Around it, Market Square and Chinquapin Road hold Pinehurst's shopping district: brick sidewalks, boutiques, galleries, and cafes built for strolling, and golf-cart-friendly streets that mean you park once and leave the car. Shops like Monkee's of the Pines, Cooper & Bailey's, Gentlemen's Corner, and DuneBerry Resort Wear line the walk, and the dining runs from a morning cup at The Roast Office to a long dinner at Villaggio or Lisi.
The Roast Office
Coffee in the former village post office on Cherokee Road, a Pinehurst institution.
Pinehurst Brewing Company
Brick-and-steel taproom in the historic 1895 steam plant near the Village.
Drum & Quill
A neighborhood pub on Chinquapin Road with a longtime local following.
Lisi
Italian kitchen on Cherokee Road in the Village center.
Villaggio Ristorante & Bar
Italian dining at The Magnolia Inn, steps from the Village Green.
The Tavern at The Holly Inn
Historic inn dining in the 1895 Holly Inn on Cherokee Road.
The Villager Deli
A casual grab-and-go favorite on Chinquapin Road.
Neko Thai & Sushi
Thai and sushi at Market Square in the Village center.
Village shopping, on foot
For local gifts, resort wear, and everyday errands, the village shops cover most of it without a car. When you need the big-box or grocery run, Southern Pines is a ten-minute drive east, and Aberdeen a few minutes more.
04 · Healthcare
A regional hospital right in the village.
Pinehurst is home to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital at 155 Memorial Drive, a 402-bed, acute-care, not-for-profit hospital that serves as the referral center for a 15-county region of the Carolinas. It is known for heart and cardiology care, cancer care, neurosciences, orthopaedics, and women's health, and it is a big part of why retirees and relocating families feel comfortable making Pinehurst home.
FirstHealth's network of physicians' practices and outpatient services covers the surrounding towns, so specialists, imaging, and follow-up care are all local rather than a drive to a far city.
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital
- 155 Memorial Drive, Pinehurst, NC 28374
- 402-bed acute-care hospital and regional referral center
- Heart and cardiology, cancer care, neurosciences, orthopaedics, women's health
05 · Schools
The feeder pattern around Pinehurst.
Moore County Schools serves Pinehurst, and the most common village path runs from Pinehurst Elementary through West Pine Middle to Pinecrest High, a few minutes away in Southern Pines. Some village addresses zone to West Pine Elementary or Southern Middle instead, so the exact feeder depends on your street.
Pinehurst Elementary
K-5 school at 100 Dundee Road in the heart of the village, on the path to Pinecrest High.
West Pine Middle
Area middle school on the Pinecrest feeder path, just outside the village.
Pinecrest High
The district's largest high school, at 250 Voit Gilmore Lane in Southern Pines, a few minutes from the village.
Assignment follows the Moore County zone map, and attendance zones vary by address. Confirm your street with Moore County Schools before you offer.
06 · Getting Around
Commutes and day trips from the village.
Pinehurst sits in the middle of the Sandhills, close enough to the towns around it for dinner and far enough from the cities for quiet. Drive times below are typical, under normal traffic, from the village center.
Southern Pines
About 5 miles
Roughly 10 minutes
Aberdeen
About 6 miles
Roughly 10 to 15 minutes
Fort Bragg
About 33 miles
Roughly 45 to 50 minutes
Raleigh
About 70 miles
Roughly 1 hour 10 to 20 minutes
The golf-cart life
One of the first things newcomers notice is how many daily errands happen on a golf cart. Village streets are cart friendly, and many neighborhoods are built around the game, so the cart is as much a way of life as the clubs. When you need the wider world, US-1 and NC 211/15-501 put Southern Pines, Aberdeen, and the Fort Bragg area within easy reach, and Raleigh is about 70 miles up the road.
07 · Neighborhoods & 55+ Living
Where buyers actually land.
Pinehurst's neighborhoods split into two broad families: golf-course and club communities, which are mostly all-ages, and true 55+ active-adult communities, which are age-restricted. The club communities trade on golf, gates, and amenities; the 55+ communities trade on maintenance-free living, neighbors at the same stage of life, and a calendar full of activities.
A note for 55+ buyers: most of the Sandhills' age-restricted market is resale, so the homes turn over as neighbors downsize or move on, and each community has its own rules and amenities. Terry walks buyers through that math street by street.
Golf & club communities
The Village core & Olde Towne
Historic streets nearest the Village Green and the resort, where Pinehurst life is walkable and golf-cart friendly.
Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC)
Private, member-owned community with the Dogwood and Cardinal courses.
Pinewild Country Club
Gated private club roughly a mile from the Village, with about 48 holes across the Holly, Magnolia, and short courses.
Forest Creek Golf Club
Private, gated community with two Tom Fazio-designed courses on about 1,265 acres.
Seven Lakes (West End)
Lake-and-golf communities like Beacon Ridge at Seven Lakes West on Lake Auman.
Mid South Club
An Arnold Palmer-designed championship course community just outside Southern Pines.
Fairwoods on 7 & The National
Resort-adjacent communities tied to Pinehurst No. 7 and No. 9.
Talamore Country Club
A resort community course in the Southern Pines area.
55+ active-adult communities
Pinehurst Trace
Pinehurst's flagship 55+ community of roughly 225 single-family homes, with an activity director and a resale-only market.
Knollwood Village at Midland Country Club
55+ townhomes, condos, and single-family homes within walking distance of golf at Midland.
Legacy Lakes & The Preserve at Legacy Lakes
A golf and resort community in Aberdeen with an age-restricted 55+ section of single-family homes.
Carriage Glen at Anderson Creek
55+ age-restricted townhomes in Spring Lake, still in Moore County.
Camden Villas at Mid South Club
55+ villas inside the Mid South Club golf community in Southern Pines.
Eagle Point & Village Green
Smaller 55+ communities in the Southern Pines area.
From Terry
“Experience isn't expensive, it's priceless!”
Pinehurst is the kind of town people plan their whole life around, and I've been helping them do it since 2003. Whether you are downsizing into a 55+ community, buying your first home near the Village, moving to the area with a job at Fort Bragg, or trading up to a golf view, I know the streets, the feeders, and the clubs that make the difference. Bring me your questions, and I'll bring you straight answers.
Terry Nanney, Realtor
Towering Pines Real Estate, brokered by eXp Realty
Serving Moore County and the surrounding Sandhills of North Carolina
Thinking about living in Pinehurst?
Tell Terry which streets, clubs, or school zones you care about. She will pull the current numbers from her Hive/MLS reports and put together a tour that shows you the village, not just the listings.