GOLF Advisor Taps The Pointe on OBX as No. 7 Best of North Carolina

It seems only fitting that the locals' favorite on the Outer Banks also scored a lofty position in the newly released, GOLF Advisor Golfers' Choice rankings of the "Best of North Carolina." The Pointe Golf Club was ranked No. 7 on the list, ahead of luminaries like Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst No. 9 and Tobacco Road.

While there is memorable golf to be found on the islands of the Outer Banks at Currituck Club and Nags Head Golf Links, an escape to the "quiet" side is often what is desired - to the haunts where the "locals play."

You don't have to travel far from your place on the beach to find outstanding interior golf near the Outer Banks. If you haven't already played one of the designs located at the gateway to the beach on your way into town, you don't have to backtrack far. Located on route 158 just across the Wright Memorial Bridge is the first in a sequence of three championship golf courses - layouts that are close to the sounds and ocean, but more parkland in setting.

The first is called The Pointe Golf Club - and it is the course that helped put Currituck County on the national golfing map.

Overlooking the Currituck Sound at Powell's Point, The Pointe is a wonderful Russell Breeden design that broke ground in the mid 1990s and then became a pioneer in golf course turf management. Since the course was built on a turf farm, it was only natural that the staff focused on the finest playing conditions - and that process continues to this day. The Pointe Golf Club's A-1 bentgrass greens are considered second to none.

What also makes a round at The Pointe so enticing is the fact that little or no development surrounds the traditional design, though a few scattered farm buildings and even a couple of family graveyards add to the throwback ambiance.

Along with a nice ranking for The Pointe, GOLF Advisor's annual lists of the best golf courses in the United States boast a new name too - Golfers' Choice. The website's most-popular and most-anticipated lists are determined by recreational golfers who shared their reviews throughout the year with the online destination for traveling golfers who frequent destinations like the iconic Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Unlike golf course rankings published by industry insiders who have access to golf courses the public may never have the opportunity to play, GOLF Advisor's Golfers' Choice lists are totally consumer driven - by recreational golfers, for recreational golfers. Ages, handicaps and budgets of golfers using the website run the gamut, so the nearly 1 million reviews GOLF Advisor has accumulated showcase the golf course characteristics that are the most important to avid golfers across the country.

While Kilmarlic Golf Club and its golf cottages reside just across the highway from The Pointe, 10 more miles up route 158 to the north in Grandy is the Carolina Club. As a sister course to The Pointe, the Carolina Club also features superb bentgrass conditions highlighted by a memorable par-3 island green.

"The grounds (at The Pointe) are definitely well kept and the conditions are pristine," says Eric Rehak from Pennsylvania and a frequent visitor to the Outer Banks. "I had never seen that type of grass before. It plays very well, really good from the fairways. Water hazards (on some 15 holes) are there but it is open enough where you can steer clear of them most of the time. The course has some pretty neat par 3s, with not a lot of forgiveness around the greens. There are lots of bunkers strategically placed to increase the challenge."

And, like the stretch of Currituck mainland that leads to the wonders of the Outer Banks, the final four holes at The Pointe are quite memorable. "That stretch is definitely as challenging as any I've played in the Outer Banks," Rehak said.

Learn more about some of North Carolina's most enticing offerings - The Pointe, the Outer Banks golf experience and 2020 package information at www.PlayOBXGolf.com