Golfers in search of the best golf courses in the vast landscape of North Carolina are facing the daunting but enjoyable task of choosing between the mountains, the coast or the hundreds of miles of prime properties in between, in the region of Piedmont. The golf course architect Donald Ross created sublime land in each of these sectors. His golf Pinehurst No. 2 has hosted numerous U.S. Open Championships, as well as some of the most prestigious amateur tournaments in the world. The Ross's Linville Golf Club near Grandfather Mountain year after year ranks among the ten best golf courses in the state. Considered by many purists as the most influential architect in the field of golf, Ross has contributed to the existence of nearly four dozen of some 430 golf courses in North Carolina.