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by Kip Tabb
With ten golf courses located on or near the Outer Banks offering a range of options for all levels of players, golf is becoming as much a part of the Outer Banks experience as a day on the beach or kite- flying on Jockey's Ridge. From the championship-level courses at The Currituck Club and Kilmarlic to the challenging but more forgiving courses of the Currituck mainland, there is something here for every golfer.
The history of golf on the Outer Banks reaches back to 1969, when Duck Woods Country Club in Southern Shores and Sea Scape Golf Links in Kitty Hawk both opened in the same year. Bryan Sullivan, director of golf at Sea Scape, makes the case that his facility was actually the first to open, but he acknowledges that no one is quite certain when the first ball was hit from a tee.
"You can make the argument for both of us," he says. "Of course I believe it was us. But they would tell you it was them." Sullivan, who is also director of golf at Kilmarlic, and Richard Beetle, general manager of Nags Head Golf Links and The Currituck Club, along with Keith Hall, general manager of the Carolina Club and The Pointe, are part of the Outer Banks Golf Association, a marketing group that promotes the unique qualities and challenges of playing a week of golf on the Outer Banks.
The association members realized that along with the decision to market their products came the responsibility to upgrade their facilities. Golfers Ð especially when they're on vacation Ð expect courses to be well maintained. "We all made a decision to do more to become a place where people can find a variety of courses," Sullivan says. "Golfers expect certain conditions and we need to provide that for them."
One of the outstanding features of the golf courses on the Outer Banks is the upkeep lavished on them. Upgraded and improved facilities are very much a part of the Outer Banks golf experience.
"We think the Outer Banks has some of the best maintained courses compared to our competition in other geographic areas," says Keith Hall, general manager of The Pointe Golf Club and The Carolina Club. "All of the courses are well conditioned and well groomed. We pride ourselves on the condition of the greens and tees." Hall's courses, both on the Currituck mainland, are noted for their well-maintained greens, an attribute that comes from his background. "We own United Turf," Hall says.
Both Nags Head Golf Links and Sea Scape Golf Links have recently completed extensive upgrading of their facilities. At Nags Head Golf Links the greens on the course have just been replanted, and general manager Richard Beetle believes they may now be the finest greens on the Outer Banks. "We're using L93 bentgrass, generally considered the finest grass for greens available," Beetle says. Sea Scape Golf Links reconfigured its entire course in 2005, widening fairways and moving greens so that golfers have better views while they play. Holly Ridge, located in Powells Point on the mainland, changed management last year, and the new team is upgrading the course from its traditional executive layout. "We're making some changes to the length," says pro shop manager Karen Augsburger. "But even when we're finished the course will still be good for a beginner." Adding to the fun of playing golf on the Outer Banks is the sheer variety of course styles.
With its constant winds and inconsistent weather, the Outer Banks brings to mind the environment of the home of golf, Scotland. Nags Head Golf Links and Sea Scape are in many ways reminiscent of Scottish links-style courses. Bordering the Roanoke Sound for much of its length, the Nags Head Golf Links course offers golfers stunning vistas across the sound. With its open fairways, it is a course that rewards the patient golfer who is careful with shot selection. "It's a shorter links style course," says Beetle. "It requires more accuracy than length." Just as in Scotland, the conditions at the Outer Banks links-style courses can change from day to day. A sedate par three hole on a calm day may become a challenging, gut-wrenching experience the next day if the wind shifts. "The wind makes all the difference out here," Sullivan says.
Both The Carolina Club and The Pointe take full advantage of what nature has to offer. The Carolina Club, located in Grandy, features water on almost every hole. The Pointe, located in Powells Point, is a challenging but more forgiving course that features open fairways and wooded surrounds.
The Outer Banks golf experience also offers true championship caliber courses. Both The Currituck Club in Corolla and Kilmarlic Golf Club in Powells Point have hosted professional tournaments and are considered some of the premier golf experiences in North Carolina. Regarded as the finest golf course on the Outer Banks, the Rees Jones-designed Currituck Golf Club offers dramatic vistas of the Currituck Sound. The course lays across land once owned by the Currituck Shooting Club, one of the oldest hunting clubs in the United States. A challenging 6850-yard course, the fairways and greens follow the natural contours of the land. In fact, The Currituck Club has retained much of the original wetlands, marshes and forested areas that are unique to the Outer Banks, creating a golfing experience that is both recognized by Golf Digest as one of the best courses in North Carolina and sanctioned by the Audubon Society for its environmental record. Yet, this course is far more than an ecological wonder or a walk across the contours of the Currituck Banks.
A course designed to challenge any level of golfer, the 18 holes feature dramatic vertical changes in elevation and six holes bordering the sound. "It's challenging but very fair," Beetle says. "It's a course that requires more length than accuracy in your drives."Kilmarlic, the most recently completed course in the area, is a relatively short, but extraordinarily challenging stroll through the beauty of a wooded area. The setting is nothing short of spectacular." For the landscape at Kilmarlic we've planted multiple flowers and trees," Sullivan says. "We want people to feel good about being there, to enjoy the experience of it more than just the experience of the golf."
It is not only the course selection, however, that is attracting golfers to the area. Course managers repeatedly point to the tradition of the Outer Banks as a family vacation destination, and that attitude has become an important part of how the courses conduct business. "This area has always been known for its family atmosphere," Hall says. "We have promotions where we offer very reasonable junior golfer fees. We also have junior programs in the summer. Well, all year round, really. The junior golfers are the future of golf." His remarks are echoed by every course manager.
Golf on the Outer Banks is becoming a year-round business. There's nothing better than September and October on the Outer Banks, and some of the busiest golf weekends are over Thanksgiving and New Year's. The growth of Outer Banks golf is a natural outcome of the work that has gone into creating the courses, a direct result of combining the beauty of nature with good course design and geography. "The Outer Banks offers such a variety of courses from links style to traditional," Sullivan says. "And we have all this variety in such a small [geographic] area. I think it will keep growing. People seem to really like the experience."
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