NAGS HEAD, North Carolina – North Carolina’s most authoritative statewide source of golf course rankings in a state that arguably has some of the nation’s best courses has spoken for the 25th year … and the Outer Banks again sports a collection of top shelf golf experiences.
According to the North Carolina Golf Panel, three courses here moved up among the Top 50 “You Can Play’’ in North Carolina, featuring No. 16 Currituck Club, No. 23 Kilmarlic Golf Club and No. 33 Nags Head Golf Links. In addition, Nags Head provided the No. 2 “Best Bang’’ for the Buck offering across the Coastal Region.
Each course should be on a “must play’’ list for golf in the Outer Banks, which has become an outstanding destination not only for affordable golf and lodgings, but for history (Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk and Fort Raleigh in Manteo), dining, beaches and eco-tourism that includes the wild horses of Corolla.
From true barrier island links courses, such as Nags Head, to modern parkland layouts located inland, the region is chock full of variety. The challenges at The Pointe Golf Club, The Carolina Club, Nags Head, Kilmarlic and Currituck Club are as spectacular as the coastal views they possess.
Rees Jones’ Currituck Club moves up 10 spots to No. 56 in North Carolina’s Top 100. It’s a terrific along the coast and set among 600 acres of dunes, wetlands, maritime forests and sound seascapes.
Every time golfers tackle historic Nags Head, also included in North Carolina’s Top 100, they find themselves facing a different challenge. Designed by Bob Moore, Nags Head plays hard along the inner waterway on the southern end of the Outer Banks, where capricious breezes off sound-side waters create a unique golfing experience each and every day. With its coastal winds, rugged shoreline, island holes, seaside vistas, and tees and greens are separated by rolling dunes and wild sea grass, Nags Head bears far more than a passing resemblance to the famed Scottish golf links. Nags Head is a course that needs to be played more than one time to get to know all of its nooks and crannies.
Home to various golf cottages located near its entrance, Kilmarlic is a popular Tom Steele design nestled along the marshland of the Albemarle Sound. North Carolina’s No. 78 course in the Top 100 is a wonderful mainland design amidst 605 acres of maritime forest providing a pure OBX layout with water and wetlands virtually in play at all times.
Located just across the Wright Memorial Bridge, The Pointe is the first in a sequence of golf courses – layouts close to the sounds and ocean but more parkland in settings. The course is also said to be the first in the country to have the A-1 bent grass — a dense, disease-resistant strain – installed across its corridors. Meanwhile, The Carolina Club’s positioning as the first design heading into town from the north and last one on the way out makes it the ideal play on either side of your OBX golf getaway.
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