Coastal Classics: Outer Banks Golf makes its mark again in 2025 By Brian Weis

Coastal Classics: Outer Banks Golf makes its mark again in 2025

By Brian Weis

Shaped over centuries by wind, water and time, North Carolina's Outer Banks has always been a place of natural wonder. Before World War II, few people visited this isolated stretch of coast. But when bridges and roads arrived to aid wartime defense, they also opened the gates to tourism - and eventually, great golf.

Today, the Outer Banks blends smart development with determined preservation, from the windswept dunes of Jockey's Ridge to the wild horses of Currituck. And perhaps nowhere is the region's connection to the outdoors more fully enjoyed than across its stunning golf courses - four of which have landed among North Carolina's "Top 60 You Can Play" for 2025.

According to the North Carolina Golf Panel, now celebrating its 30th year, The Currituck Club ranks highest at No. 19, followed by Kilmarlic Golf Club at No. 25, Nags Head Golf Links at No. 46, and The Carolina Club, a 2025 newcomer at No. 50.

With their dramatic views and breezy challenges, these Outer Banks courses consistently offer one of the best-value golf trips in the state - and beyond. Whether you're looking for coastal links or inland parkland-style layouts, the OBX lineup is as diverse as it is memorable. Add in roomy accommodations, easy access, and plenty to do off the course, and you've got an all-in-one sportsman's destination.

Each course offers something unique. Take The Currituck Club, a standout on North Carolina's Top 100 list at No. 63, where Rees Jones's masterful routing winds through 600 acres of maritime forest, dunes, wetlands, and seascape. Crafted on "the type of land where golf began," it's the OBX's crown jewel.

Then there's Nags Head Golf Links, a favorite for its ever-changing winds and scenic inner waterway setting. Designed by Bob Moore and once ranked No. 5 on the state's "Best Short(er) Courses," it evokes the feel of a classic Scottish links - wild sea grass, rugged shoreline and all.

A few miles inland, Kilmarlic Golf Club delivers a lush, lowcountry experience with marshland, forest and wetlands in play on nearly every hole. Designed by Tom Steele and nestled along the Albemarle Sound, it ranks No. 82 in the state's Top 100 and is known for its on-site golf cottages that cater to traveling groups.

The Pointe Golf Club, the first championship course you'll hit after crossing the Wright Memorial Bridge, is celebrated for its immaculate conditions and A-1 bentgrass - a dense, disease-resistant turf that was a national first when installed here. And The Carolina Club, positioned just off U.S. 158, is perfectly placed for that final round on your way out or a welcoming opener on your way in.

For those looking to combine golf with coastal adventure, www.PlayOBXGolf.com offers customizable packages to help plan the perfect trip.

Revised: 04/04/2025 - Article Viewed 210 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.