Golf Travel Guide To Outer Banks Golf

An Interview With Keith Hall , President, OBX Golf Association

By Brian Weis

Looking to plan the perfect golf trip to Outer Banks Golf? Planning a buddies trip or a romantic golf getaway can be a full time job not to mention pressure filled to deliver a memorable experience. Below is an interview with Keith Hall , President, OBX Golf Association who shares some insider information about golfing and traveling to Outer Banks Golf, must play courses, a sample itinerary and where you can go for more planning tools.

Give our readers an overview of your destination and why they should consider it for their next golf trip?
Located in the northeast corner of North Carolina, the iconic Outer Banks are an emerging golf destination with an eclectic assortment of courses on the renowned barrier island and the northern mainland. Along with our storied Lighthouses, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, famed Wild Mustangs of Corolla and scores of watering holes overflowing with fresh seafood and spirits, our growing golf reputation is further bolstered as North Carolina's No. 3 Golf Destination according to GolfAdvisor and a trio of courses ranked in the NC Golf Panel's Top 50 You Can Play. The Outer Banks has long been known as the natural choice and an outdoor adventure haven. What we have here on the Outer Banks is very authentic unlike most coastal communities that have become over commercialized.

What are the must play courses in Outer Banks Golf?
The Currituck Club rolls across diverse coastal terrain with sound-side views distinctly its own on the northern end of the barrier island. Routed by Rees Jones, the grandest design along the coast is also the area's most demanding, especially when the wind kicks up.

Nags Head Golf Links, crafted by Bob Moore, plays hard along the inner waterway on the southern end. The front and back nine closing holes along the sound are particularly spectacular. Nags Head's bar and restaurant, not surprisingly, is also home to the most dramatic sunsets in town, with views not only across the immediate Roanoke Sound, but towards three other sounds (Albemarle, Croatan and Pamlico) that flow into it from the north, west and south as well.

There are three other must-plays on the mainland and certainly worth leaving the island to go play. The Carolina Club and The Pointe Golf Club are two of the most immaculately manicured and impeccably conditioned golf courses around. Kilmarlic Golf Club is a popular Tom Steele design nestled along the marshland of the Albemarle Sound and host course for both the 2004 and 2009 North Carolina Opens. For the past seven years during the autumn months, Kilmarlic also hosted the Old Dominion/Outer Banks collegiate championship.

What is the hidden gem and/or best value course?
Though ranking among GolfAdvisor's Top 25 Courses in North Carolina, The Carolina Club and The Pointe Golf Club are great values and fun plays.

Can you provide our readers with an ideal itinerary for a long weekend?
Friday Afternoon golf upon arrival on mainland among The Carolina Club, Kilmarlic or The Pointe Overnight at Kilmarlic Golf Cottages, beach rental or hotel partner Dinner at OBX Trio Wine Bar & Bistro

Saturday
Morning pitstop at Duck Donuts
Morning golf on barrier island among The Currituck Club or Nags Head Golf Links Lunch at either North Banks Restaurant and Raw Bar or Lost Colony Brewery Afternoon activities Dinner at The Black Pelican, The Blue Point or Ocean Boulevard Bistro & Martini Bar

Sunday
Morning golf on barrier island among The Currituck Club or Nags Head Golf Links Lunch at Currituck BBQ Company

After golf, what are the "must do" things or attractions to see?
Bodie Island Lighthouse or Currituck Beach Lighthouse Climb Jockey's Ridge -- largest natural sand dune on the East Coast Corolla Wild Horse Tour Tour/tasting at Outer Banks Distilling Company -- home of Kill Devil Rum Wright Brothers Memorial

What is the best time to travel?
Spring and Fall. Great package offers and amazing weather, especially in the autumn months when the ocean and sound water is still warm.

Where can golfers go for more information to research and plan their trip? Learn more about the OBX golf experience and special package prices at www.PlayOBXGolf.com or 800-916-6244.

Revised: 05/09/2017 - Article Viewed 12,142 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.