OBX Strokes of Genius

So you are faced with a curling, six-foot, uphill putt on the penultimate hole at Nags Head Golf Links on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. All that is on your mind is knocking – in one simple stroke – a dimpled ball into a 4.25-inch-diameter hole after rolling it across an unforgettable par-3 green. Mind you, there are a lot of surrounding distractions that can foul your fixation.

One might be in the form of a sunset over the lapping waters of the channel out to the west. Or a buffeting breeze coming from the ocean off to your port side. Or perhaps it’s something more infectious than what naturally occurs following a well-enjoyed round of golf – namely where to go to quench a biting thirst and runaway appetite.

For the young bloods stepping away from the comforts of their home course and getting into the road-warrior game for the first time, this all may truly feel like a foreign concept. But make no doubt your day is coming, and a golf trip to the Outer Banks has all the ingredients needed to throw you into your game – or off it – at every given strike.

The Currituck/Outer Banks region is a vacationland like no other as it sits in picturesque Northeast North Carolina. Easily reachable by car from many major metropolitan areas along the eastern seaboard, the destination boasts some of the best activities and family-oriented attractions in the nation. You can play the game on nationally recognized golf layouts, hike along trails and across towering sand dunes, kayak inland waterways, seek out wild Spanish mustang horses, go lighthouse hunting or just relax by parking your blanket on a sandy Atlantic Ocean beach.

Back to your obsession at the Nags Head links, there’s really only that one thing on your mind. Hole the putt and move onto No. 18. Once there, go long, finish strong, then stay for a drink and rewind in the panoramic-view-designed Player’s Grille or head out to your favorite OBX restaurant to savor the fruits of your efforts.

Of course there are plenty more strokes of golf genius along the Outer Banks than just the offering at Nags Head. Still, the Bob Moore designed creation is vintage seaside golf and a great place to start your Carolina coastal journey. The naturally flowing setting actually offers views of water on nearly every hole. In fact, it is said that Moore used the old adage “Don’t mess with Mother Nature” when crafting the course. With the wind whipping, it is reminiscent of a true Scottish links design.

All of this is especially apparent on the long, par-5 finishing hole as it plays dangerously close to the Roanoke Sound requiring all of one’s skills and imagination. But manage it wisely, and your destination golf experience will have only just begun to surge ahead.

Popular and upscale courses spread out across OBX. Located north of Oregon Inlet are the towns of Corolla, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head. In and around those quaint seaside villages you will find the likes of the Rees-Jones designed Currituck Club to the north, Duck Woods Country Club in the middle and Nags Head in the southern reaches.

Highway 168/158, however, is the main thoroughfare into the Outer Banks from the mainland to the north. It is here, spaced among one-of-a-kind farm markets, casual restaurants (including barbeque), antique and gift shops, winery and craft beer establishments and even a water-slide park, that other big-time golf offerings reside.

In addition to the true, barrier island links courses, it is on the mainland where you will discover modern parkland marvels – providing the region with even more variety in terms of challenge and intrigue. The big-name layouts along the main road include The Pointe Golf Club, The Carolina Club and Kilmarlic Golf Club. All are just as spectacular (in their own ways) as the barrier island layouts, each of which boasts more in the way of Atlantic Ocean views.

Of note, Kilmarlic is home to various golf cottages located near its entrance and the popular Tom Steele design is nestled along the marshland of the Albemarle Sound. A North Carolina Top 100 course, it is a wonderful playground amidst 605 beautiful acres of maritime forest providing a pure layout with water and wetlands virtually in play at all times.

Located just across the Wright Memorial Bridge, however, is The Pointe Golf Club. It is the first in the sequence of championship layouts close to the mainland inlets rather than the ocean, and thus also features more in the way of a parkland setting. This particular course is 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 destination golf getaway. It also showcases the region’s most memorable island green. All in all, there may be no better location for a true golf vacation than the Outer Banks of North Carolina.