In 1971, local officials channelled the estuaries of Cypress and Crane’s Creeks and created one of the largest man-made lakes in the Carolinas at Woodlake, a residential and resort community just outside Pinehurst. Here, Ellis Maples, whose father worked closely for many years with Donald Ross, created a golf course in which the lake comes into play on nine different holes. The surrounding real estate development offers rental townhomes and condos to visitors who wish to sample the two courses at Woodlake (the other was designed by Arnold Palmer) and the many other fine courses in the Pinehurst and Southern Pines district. You’ll need a fearless swing (or a good ball retreiver) when you play the Maples course along the lake. The par-three 4th is a healthy 181 yards dead across an inlet, and there is even one hole on that nine that features not an island green, but an island fairway! Should all confidence erode on the course, not an uncommon occurrence, there is an excellent John Jacobs golf academy on the grounds. Both the Maples and Palmer courses are always kept in superb condition, and are worthy of a stop for any Pinehurst-bound golfer. Don’t miss lunch or dinner in the colonial-era Oates House, first built in nearby Fayetteville and moved to the lakefront site. The restaurant is top notch.