Things are heating up across the land of North Carolina in 2024 – especially in terms of golf. This year all eyes will be on Pinehurst No. 2 in the state’s midsection where the world’s best male players will gather to compete in the U.S. Open in June. The competition will be fierce. Splash shots […]

It has been said that over time natural forces like wind, rain and the power of ocean currents reigned along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Safe habitats, in their more primitive states, were hard to come by. Perhaps that is why, prior to World War II, few people visited the region. But as with [...]

Five-Course Outer Banks Coastal Craving So, your planned family vacation, social gathering, buddy trip or corporate event to the Outer Banks of North Carolina this year is in the need of a few menu suggestions – both on and off the short grass. Sure, you can string together the traditional appetizer/soup/salad/entrée/dessert combo at one of […]

Tapping into OBX Golf In the beginning, golf courses were inclined to copycat the principles of the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. This trend ultimately established 18 as the magic number of holes for a regulation layout. And NO, that total wasn’t gleaned from the number of shots it took for a few […]

Shaking off winter, the members of the foursome admittedly haven’t ‘played a lot of golf’ by the time they reach the windswept fairways of North Carolina’s Outer Banks every fourth week in March. But it’s a routine from which they refuse to deviate … and a streak now approaching 20 consecutive years. “So there are [...]

Their annual golf getaway to the Outer Banks certainly wouldn’t be on par with the 1978 classic comedy “Animal House,” but then again, isn’t having a little fun a big part of what it’s all about? Here you have it, a group of fraternity brothers and friends – nearly two dozen in number – heckling [...]

OBX’s Dream 18, Holes Nos. 16-18 The Carolina Club, Grandy The longest course on the Outer Banks and also the northern most, the Carolina Club is a meticulously manicured, nearly 7,000-yard, par-72 championship golf course that may well be the highlight of your stay (especially if you play it all warmed up and finally in […]

OBX’s Dream 18, Holes Nos. 13-15 Currituck Club, Corolla Getting to the Rees Jones designed classic is half the adventure. You have to drive (slowly) up the coast along two-laned Highway 12 through quaint outposts like Southern Shores and Duck, past the expansive Sanderling Resort and through other seaside communities. The scenery is constantly shifting. […]

OBX’s Dream 18, Holes Nos. 9-12 Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point Despite it being the newest golf course on the OBX menu having debuted in 2002, Kilmarlic’s management doesn’t rest on its laurels. That makes it a hot bed for really good-looking golf holes. A pure Outer Banks layout with water and wetlands almost constantly […]

OBX’s Dream 18, Hole No. 8 Duck Woods Country Club, Southern Shores Although not on the mainline of public-access golf courses along the OBX, Duck Woods does provide play to guests of members and some limited package play when tee times become available. This makes it worthy of at least one hole in our Dream […]

OBX’s Dream 18: Holes 4-7 Nags Head Golf Links, Nags Head The land the Bob Moore designed classic now flows across was once nothing more than dunes and ponds owned by a single family. Since its 1980s transformation into a near Scottish links replica, four holes still play hard along the Roanoke Sound – something […]

The Great 18 – A full-course menu of OBX’s most daring and delightful golf holes … Bank on It. By Bill Kamenjar The adrenaline rush kicked in somewhere along the road between the coin dispenser and Coinjock. If it wasn’t for the barbeque sandwich, fries, Southern sweet tea and $1.79 oversized sugar cookie consumed at […]

They say that summer passes like a morning breeze. But along the North Carolina Coast, that merely means you will soon be … “Ooh, that was a really big wave, did you see it?” the mom exclaimed to her young son. But with his eyes pointed downwards while digging into the sand in search of […]

Sticking with Summer The traditional summer vacation is a time for families to reconnect at a spot other than the backyard patio or neighborhood pool. This year, in particular, the need to get outside and into safe, fresh, open-aired spaces will be paramount. The best foreign, away-from-home environment to do that just may be where […]

Golf is played with passion in North Carolina. So when the most authoritative statewide source of golf course rankings comes along and selects a trio of yours among its bests, golfers should take note. This year, as in several ones past, the Outer Banks has proven itself once again to be a supplier of some […]

Three Days and Two Nights on the Outer Banks The region known as the Outer Banks is home to the morning drive. You wake up early, eat a hearty meal at one of the multitude of breakfast nooks around town, hop into your car and head to the first tee. But this is not where […]

Part Two of our itinerary series features the “Birdie Chaser” itinerary, tailored to the needs of the more adventure-seeking players.  The Birdie Chaser A stay on the island featuring three rounds of golf all along the beach. If your group prefers to be closer to the shore, you can choose from a vast array of […]

Part Three of our itinerary series features the “Tour of the Shore” itinerary, which has been crafted for the really serious players looking to take a really deep dive into the Outer Banks golf experience. Eclectic accommodations can be found all along the OBX, ranging from Sanderling Resort and in Duck, the always-favorite, four-bedroom Kilmarlic […]

So you are playing (in your head) the state’s “Dream 18” as decreed by North Carolina Tourism a few years ago. You have already teed off in the Sandhills on the treacherous fifth hole at famed Pinehurst No. 2, dragged your clubs through the shadows of majestic mountains to the eighth green at High Hampton […]

Of all the prime real estate golf courses located on or near the Outer Banks, Kilmarlic offers the most distinct in terms of inland feel. Of course, as they like to say in these parts, you can play a round on this challenging design and have your “toes in the ocean in ten minutes.” Despite […]

It may have been a long time arriving, but once North Carolina’s Outer Banks finally joined the big leagues of golf destinations on the East Coast, there have been no thoughts of laying up at any point since. But if there is just one name – well make that two – that is synonymous with […]

Tourism has always been king on the once barren, now booming strip of land known as OBX. For the golf tourist, perhaps the most welcoming layout of all is the Russell Breeden/Keith Hall designed course known as The Carolina Club. In fact, the venue has no choice but to be welcoming as it is the […]

As one of the more forgiving golf courses in the OBX arsenal, The Pointe located in Grandy is a favorite among the locals. From the time players have eaten a home-style breakfast in the grill, warmed up on the newly redesigned practice range, teed off on the 528-yard, par-5 No. 1 to their final putt […]

I used to think wild horses couldn’t drag me away from the golf course. Or the sight and sounds of the ocean. Though that’s never been the case with the burning hunger a round of golf can produce. But things have changed. As a devoted visitor to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it didn’t [...]

First Off the Tee For those planning an early day on the links at the Currituck Club, you may want to start your day by “ducking” into Duck Donuts. Founded in 2006 in Duck and expanded across the country, the shop was the first to provide customizable, made-to-order doughnuts to the folks along OBX. With [...]

True Apres Golf The main course, off the course of course, is the one you hope to consume sometime during the dinner hour. For golfers, the dinner hour can be a fluctuating block of time in the evening – most likely the one closest to the moment the last putt has been holed. “Hats off, [...]

“OB” is never considered a desirable golf destination among golfers. But tag an X on the end of it and out of bounds quickly turns into a more favorable and much more treasured journey’s end. That’s because “OBX” in the world of golf stands for the Outer Banks of North Carolina – a name that […]

Outer Banks Ranked Among Top Spots for Social Spacing In 2020 Forbes.com recently ranked the Outer Banks as No. 1 among The 20 Top Places Americans Are Dreaming About Right Now, and Cape Hatteras was just ranked a Top Ten Beach In The U.S. by Dr. Beach. The Outer Banks checks off a lot of boxes for golfers planning […]

“One guy wanted to name his cottage on his own, to have it named after (two-time U.S. Open Champion) Curtis Strange. I said Curtis never won The Masters (he finished second in 1985) and besides, you probably don’t want to name it the ‘Strange Cottage.’” Kilmarlic Director of Golf Bryan Sullivan The life of a [...]

Three OBX Golf Courses Ranked Top 35 in Prestigious Rankings The 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 in 2020. According to the [...]

Legends live on down “Historic Albemarle Highway,” especially the sections of the northeastern North Carolina tour route that invite you into and through its famed Outer Banks. But while the wild-and-ancient horses of Corolla and the Kitty Hawk dunes off which the Wright Brothers recorded man’s first flight garner much of the fascination near the […]

Sometimes you have just got to get away to see what you have – or don’t have – at home. This is what seems to have happened for director of golf Bryan Sullivan who has come up with several of the innovative brainstorms for Kilmarlic Golf Club located in Powells Point – the first and […]

Golf around North Carolina’s storied Outer Banks represents an outstanding selection of fun and affordable yet quality golf courses — along with eclectic accommodations and a plethora of off-course activities that have transformed the Outer Banks into a mini-Mecca sportsman’s paradise. Here are 10 “shore” things that make the OBX a perfect destination for a […]

The Rolling Stones had a lot of fun in the day and probably still do today. Chasing women, leaving so many behind and sometimes so enamored with them that “wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” the lyrics from a song written by John T. Williams. That is not so much the case here. It was […]

It was supposed to be merely the tune-up trip – final preparations for play on the game’s grandest stage in the British Isles. But a golf journey to North Carolina’s Outer Banks made its own lasting impression.   Last Autumn, a five-round, four-night golf adventure along North Carolina’s northeastern barrier islands was strategically chosen for […]