From mile-high mountain courses sculpted out of granite to the rolling hills of the heartland, and beyond to beautiful seaside courses along our coast, North Carolina is the St. Andrews of American golf. Unhurried and uncrowded, the state's courses host thousands of golfers year round.

It's only fitting that the US Open would come to North Carolina in June 1999 - 100 years after Donald Ross, the legendary dean of golf course architecture, left his native Scotland for our shores.

Ross was inspired by the varied topography and mild climate to design his most breathtaking courses. Taking their lead from Ross, designers like Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, as well as the Maples and Jones families carved out challenging courses across our beautiful state. Today, there are more than 570 golf courses here ready to welcome the pro and amateur alike.

Ross considered Pinehurst No. 2 - where the 1999 US Open was played - his crowning achievement. Of the course, he said, "I sincerely believe this course to be the fairest test of championship golf I have ever designed."

"It's my number one course," said Sam Snead. "You have to be alert and sharp for 18 consecutive holes, otherwise it will jump up and bite you. I guess that's why the experts rate No. 2 as one of the 10 greatest courses in the world."

But Pinehurst, North Carolina is far from the only golfing destination in our state. Talamore Golf Club in Southern Pines was recently given Four Stars by Golf Digest. Ranked in the top 150 lady-friendly courses in the US, Talamore features a unique way to carry clubs -- llama caddies. Other challenging courses in the Piedmont include Crowders Mountain Golf Course in Gastonia, home of the "hardest Par 5 in the world." As for the longest Par 5 in the world, Wake Forest Golf Club near Raleigh boasts a 711- yard tee-to-pin adventure. Additionally, Grandover Resort in Greensboro, new in 1999, received a four-star rating from Golf Digest.

In the NC Mountains, one of the longest golf holes in the world can be at the 17th hole at Black Mountain Golf Course, near Asheville. This hole is a Par 6 that runs 747 yards.

Golf along NC's Coast is also fun and challenging thanks to a rare, harmonious blend of golf architecture, mixed among treacherous water hazards including the Atlantic Ocean. On Bald Head Island, the only modes of transportation include bicycles and golf carts. The remarkable Bald Head Island Club Golf Course winds 6,855 yards through Maritime forest and around freshwater lagoons overlooking the Atlantic.

One of America's best-known, most admired, and most honored golf celebrities, Peggy Kirk Bell, calls NC home. In 1953, she and her late husband Warren (Bullet) Bell purchased Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, which will be home to the 20001 Women's Open. One of Peggy Kirk Bell's first projects at Pine Needles was establishing a unique series of golf schools, called "Golfaris." A pioneer in the creation of golf schools, Peggy Kirk Bell is also one of the finest golf teachers.

NC is also the origin of Putt-Putt golf. In 1955, the first local tournament event was held in Fayetteville, with the winner receiving a free vacation to Miami Beach. Today, the Putt-Putt challenge airs annually on ESPN in April.

Like Ross, they've discovered that North Carolina, with its varied topography and mild climate, is uniquely suited for golf. And all across the state, the golfing legacy that Ross created - of elegant, unhurried, uncrowded courses - lives on.