When Lee Janzen, David Duval, Tiger Woods and the rest of the world’s greatest golfers tee up for the 1999 U.S. Open, all eyes will be focused on the famed Pinehurst Resort and Country Club.

And rightly so.

Pinehurst Resort, host of the ‘99 Open, has bragging rights to one of the world’s greatest golf courses. Donald Ross’ beloved No. 2 is an awesome course, the subtle beauty and challenge of which has confounded and charmed the legends of the game.

The great one — Jack Nicklaus — calls No. 2, from a design standpoint, his all-time favorite golf course. No small praise.

And the resort has seven more beauties, including two more Ross creations (Nos. 1 and 3), one of Tom Fazio’s best creations (No. 8) and a Fazio recreation (of No. 4) on the way. Add to the list courses by Rees Jones, Ellis Maples, and Tom and George Fazio, and it’s hard to argue that Pinehurst isn’t the best golf resort anywhere.

But if Pinehurst Resort is the crown jewel of the so-called Sandhills of North Carolina, it is hardly the only place to play there. The Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen area has bragging rights to some 43 courses, all but a handful of which offer some kind of public access — from purely public offerings like the Legacy to the stay-and-play of the more exclusive Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club.

But few clubs in the Pinehurst area, even those where privileges are reserved first for members and guests, will let their golf courses lie fallow on slow days, when daily-fee possibilities abound even for walk-in golfers.

And while a stay at one of the Pinehurst area’s old-line resorts in high season can be pricey, the area’s reputation as a playground for only the well-heeled is not altogether accurate. In fact you don’t need access to Fort Knox to enjoy some incredible golf experiences.

Nestled in these lush longleaf pine forests in the south central portion of the Tar Heel state, you’ll find superb golf venues crafted by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Rees Jones, Dan and Ellis Maples, and Gene Hamm. Any of them are worth a visit or two; some are world-class, and with greens fees within almost any golfer’s budget.

Herewith, a tour of some of the best and most playable:

During his 50 years as a golf course architect, Ross designed or redesigned an estimated 400 golf courses scattered around the country. But the native Scotsman took special care and attention in crafting courses close to Pinehurst, his adopted American home. Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines is one of his best. Pine Needles served as the site of the 1996 U.S. Women’s Open, where Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam took her second straight Open championship by six strokes. And the Women’s Open will return in 2001. Put Pine Needles on the must-play list.

You’ll also want to visit Pine Needles’ sister course, Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, another Ross classic. Guests staying at either Pine Needles or Mid Pines can play both courses through the resort’s Donald Ross Package. While not as long or as daunting as No. 2 or Pine Needles, Mid Pines is still full of challenge and great golf holes. And, like Pine Needles, the course is as meticulously maintained as it is scenic.

From a horticultural standpoint, the Sandhills area is noted mainly for its pines, but no family name is more connected to the area than Maples. Ellis Maples was a protégé of Ross and designed a half dozen wonderful tracts in the Pinehurst area, including fine courses at Pinehurst Resort and at the Country Club of North Carolina.

Maples also designed the first course at Woodlake Country Club, a superb collection of golf holes that borders the resort’s massive man-made lake. One of the quarter-century-old course’s — and the area’s — most memorable holes is the dogleg, Par-5 second hole with an island fairway, reachable in two by big hitters.

Maples also crafted Whispering Woods Golf Club, which is one of the area’s more underrated courses. The scant 6,300 yardage from the back tees may not provoke tremors at first glance, but it is a pretty, affordable course that demands good course management to score well. And with just three par-5s and five par-3s, Whispering Woods plays to par 70 and can yield scores to write home about.

Whispering Pines Country Club offers two more Ellis Maples designs. The East Course plays to just over 7,000 yards and features huge undulating greens that make it one of the area’s most challenging tests. The West is shorter by almost 700 yards, rambling through hills and lakes that make for a visually inspiring nature trip. Water comes into play on 10 holes, and fairways tend to be on the narrow side. Again, the greens are large and severely contoured. A great place to double-dip if you’re in a 36-hole mood.

Pinehurst resident Dan Maples followed in his father’s architectural footsteps, and some of his best work is in the Sandhills.

Built on the site of a former thoroughbred racetrack. The Club at Longleaf has been called "the most playable club" in Pinehurst. And there are those who claim that his 1986 issue, Little River Golf Club, is the finest collection of 18 holes Maples has ever designed. Using the rolling terrain of Little River Farms, where equestrian enthusiasts gathered for world-class events several years ago, Maples created an intriguing golf course that winds through wetlands and over lakes and sports elevation changes of almost 200 feet. And a recent clearing of the pesky small rocks from the fairways has made the course much more enjoyable.

It’s been said that Dan Maples could build a championship course in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Whether or not that’s true, he proved he could build one in an old 230-acre sand quarry. The Pit Golf Links is a course that golfers either love or hate, often during the same round. No. 8, a Par-5 that meanders through the mounds to a tiered green guarded by a large tree — a Maples signature — can produce nightmares. But take heart: recent renovations have made some of the most severe holes more player-friendly.

Seven Lakes Country Club is a Peter Tufts design that offers a different look. Located in West End, the course features a rustic atmospehere that presents plenty of challenge.

Arnold Palmer never won a tournament at Pinehurst but has left his mark on the Sandhills as an architect, contributing three fine tracts. The Plantation Golf Club is the fine centerpiece of a nice real estate development, and Palmer really got it right with this one. Located just outside the Village of Pinehurst, Plantation combines drama and beauty with challenge and playability, with water in play on five holes. From the tips, it plays to a demanding 7,135 yards and can be a bear. Move up to the blue tees at 6,628, or even to the whites at 6,011, and you may have more fun. Either way, it’s a course that may have you checking for open tee times the next day.

The Palmer Course at Woodlake Country Club, which, like the Maples course, borders the club’s mammoth manmade lake, is another good tract. But the Palmer Course offers Woodlake’s visitors a totally different look and features huge greens with undulations that can create monstrous putts.

Arnie’s most recent Sandhills course is The Carolina, which opened two years ago to rave reviews. It’s another hauntingly beautiful course with dramatic elevation changes and unspoiled wetlands.

Jack Nicklaus won three times in Pinehurst, twice on No. 2 and once at the Country Club of North Carolina. He also contributed a fine golf course to the Sandhills. Playing The National Golf Club, which some see as his testimonial to Donald Ross, can be a brutal experience for the inattentive golfer. Don’t be distracted by the outstanding scenery, and be watchful of yardages — especially on approach shots — and you have a shot at The National. Beat this one and you’ll have some major bragging rights.

Nicklaus’ son Jackie also triumphed in the North and South, as his dad did before him, and then came back to the Sandhills as an architect. Legacy Golf Links is ample proof of his design skill — a fair, but very challenging, public course with great variety and several wonderful water holes. The Legacy has been selected as the site of the U.S. Women’s amateur Public Links Championship in the year 2000.

With the recent purchase of Foxfire Resort and Country Club by GolfSouth and a $4 million renovation nearing completion, Foxfire will surely return to its former prominence in the pecking order of Sandhills golf. The resort features two great ’60s-era Gene Hamm designs. Extensive renovation of the East Course, which included a new irrigation system, new sand, the leveling of some fairways and the replacement of numerous bunkers to make the course more player-friendly, was finished last summer. And Foxfire West, the greens of which were regrassed with the new Penn G6 bentgrass, reopened this spring. Foxfire is living proof that a phoenix does occasionally rise from its ashes.

Another GolfSouth property, Beacon Ridge Golf and Country Club, is an unexpected delight located in West End, just a few minutes from Pinehurst. Another Hamm design, it offers a different look and more elevation changes than the typical Sandhills course. Be prepared to use all the clubs in your bag despite a deceptive yardage of only 6,414 from the back tees.

Pinewild Country Club has two outstanding championship courses and one of the better executive courses in the Southeast. The most publicized is the Gary Player-designed Holly Course, where a huge lake comes into play on holes 11, 12 and 13. The Holly Course is rated as one of the South African legend’s better layouts. Despite Player’s fame, many Sandhills locals regard The Magnolia Course, yet another Hamm design, as their favorite. North Carolina native Hamm once called it "the best course I ever built." It can be a monster from the back tees. Both of Pinewild’s championship courses feature large undulating greens, and Player utilizes the plateau approach on a couple of the Holly’s greens.

You’ll also not want to miss Talamore. This is architect Rees Jones at his tantalizing best. Named the best new public course in the South when it opened in 1992, Talamore has only improved with age. Jones used dramatic mounding and the natural elevation shifts to create one of the best tests of golf in the area. Tackle the back tees and it will open with a bang, a 623-yarder that demands some astute shotmaking. Better bring your game to Talamore.

When Tom Jackson, another Carolinian, was commissioned to design Hyland Hills, he was instructed to build "every man’s golf course." He succeeded. This is a fun course that utilizes strategic bunker placement to create personality and subtle character. Despite some fairly hilly terrain, Jackson managed to avoid blind shots. A perfect course for neophytes.

While the Village of Pinehurst is the heart of the Sandhills, relatively short drives from that booming metropolis will bring you to a couple of other courses definitely worth the travel time.

Bayonet at Puppy Creek is a Willard Byrd course that opened in 1994 and has been a hot ticket ever since. Offering fast greens with attitude, Bayonet provides enough challenge to be a favorite for Hooters Tour events, yet has enough tee positions to make it playable for everyone. You’ll find it about 20 miles from the Village in Hoke County.

Also slightly off the beaten track on Highway 15-501 South is Deercroft Golf Club, one of those hidden nuggets that turn up occasionally. Designed by Gardner Gildey in 1983, Deercroft has hosted PGA Tour Q-school in 1986 and 1987, as well as the 1994 Senior Amateur qualifier. A very fair course, it offers a genuine test from the back tees at 6,745 yards.

And another good bet, but also a ways out, is Ellis Maples’ Keith Hills Golf Club at Campbell University in Buies Creek.

With the Open, Pinehurst No. 2 is surely the most talked-about course in the Sandhills, but a close second is possibly Sanford’s Tobacco Road, the Sandhills’ latest design as well as the latest offering of former Tom Fazio protégé Mike Stranz. The eccentric Stranz carved this exquisitely surreal course from another of the area’s defunct sand quarries. And some of the local pros who have played it are calling it "The Pit on steroids." We’d characterize it as something more, perhaps a meeting of the minds of Tom Fazio and artist Salvador Dali. And one more reason to get back to the Sandhills.

Two good sources of info on golf and accommodations in the Pinehurst area are the Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Village of Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen, and the Sandhills Golf Association.

To get your 1999 Sandhills Golf Package Guide, call the Sandhills Golf Associa-tion at 888-926-GOLF.