Can You Play Pinehurst on FSX Play? Here’s What’s Available
Here is the blunt truth about Pinehurst on FSX Play: the course everyone wants (No. 2) is not available. Foresight has No. 1, No. 5, and No. 7. The famous crowned greens and waste areas of No. 2 are locked into licensing that excludes Foresight’s platform.
This is frustrating because Pinehurst No. 2 is one of the most important courses in American golf. It has hosted three U.S. Opens and will host two more by 2047. The post-Coore-and-Crenshaw restoration is one of the most talked-about design stories in modern golf. And FSX Play owners cannot play it natively.
What FSX Play Has Instead
Pinehurst No. 7 — This is the pick of the three. It is a modern championship layout designed by Ellis Maples. It plays long, the waste areas are punishing, and the greens are demanding. It is not Pinehurst No. 2, but it is a legitimate test of golf that uses the same North Carolina sandhills terrain. At $40-50, it is the best value among the Pinehurst options on FSX Play.
Pinehurst No. 5 — Another Ellis Maples design that has been renovated. It is the sleeper pick — many FSX Play owners say it is their favorite of the three. The course is shorter than No. 7, with more tree-lined fairways and smaller greens. It rewards accuracy over power.
Pinehurst No. 1 — The original Pinehurst course. Shorter, more traditional, a nice walk. Worth playing for the history, but it is not a championship test. If you want to learn about the origins of Pinehurst as a resort, this is the course to play.
How to Get Pinehurst No. 2 on Your Foresight Sim
If you absolutely need Pinehurst No. 2 on your Foresight system, you have two options.
First, GSPro works with GC3 and GCQuad through a connector. If you buy a GSPro subscription ($299/year), you can play the community version of Pinehurst No. 2. It is one of the best builds in the GSPro library.
Second, WGT by TopGolf has Pinehurst No. 2 post-restoration. WGT runs on any PC and works with Foresight launch monitors. At $10/month, it is the cheapest way to play No. 2 with a Foresight system.
Neither option is as seamless as playing natively in FSX Play. But they work, and they give you access to the course FSX Play should have had.
What I Would Do
If I owned a GC3 and FSX Play today, I would buy Pinehurst No. 7 for FSX Play and add a GSPro subscription specifically for Pinehurst No. 2. The total cost would be roughly $350 for the first year — $50 for No. 7 plus $299 for GSPro. For a GC3 owner who spent $7,000 on the launch monitor, $350 is a rounding error.
No. 7 gives you a solid Pinehurst experience in FSX Play. GSPro gives you No. 2. Between the two, you have more Pinehurst than you can play in a month.
For the full list of courses worth buying on FSX Play, read The Best Courses on FSX Play. Need the full software breakdown? Check the FSX Play Software Review.