Diversions
Outer Banks Escape
The region’s shoulder season provides plenty of quality
playing opportunities | by KEVIN DUNLEAVY
I
t’s hard to imagine a more idyllic
childhood than that of Bryan Sullivan,
the son of a club professional on the
Outer Banks of North Carolina.
For much of the year, and especially in
months that include the letter ‘r,’ Sullivan
had his run of what was then the lone golf
course on the barrier island. He honed his
game enough to earn a scholarship to North
Carolina, where he became an All-American,
teaming up with Davis Love III and former
NCAA champion John Inman.
Today Sullivan is the head PGA
professional at Kilmarlic Golf Club, five
miles west of the bridge which connects
the Outer Banks to the mainland.
It’s the kind of public course with a
private feel that Sullivan could only have
dreamed of when he was a teen. Sullivan
had a hand in its creation, and the course
was such an immediate hit that Kilmarlic
hosted the 2004 North Carolina Open two
years after its ribbon-cutting.
A decade later, Kilmarlic is one of five
outstanding courses—each with a distinct
identity—which make the Outer Banks a
bona fide golf destination.
“People are starting to realize that we have
some great courses here, that there’s more to
do here than go fishing,” Sullivan says.
THE CURRITUCK CLUB
VARIETY OF GOLFING OPTIONS
At the north end of the Outer Banks is The
Currituck Club, designed by Rees Jones.
A quintessential resort course with its
immaculate conditioning, spectacular views
of the Currituck Sound, and wide, playable
fairways, the layout can become difficult if
the wind is whipping off the water.
The Currituck Club is decidedly genteel,
but the same can’t be said of its counterpart
at the other end of the island. Nags Head
Golf Links is a target-golf thrill ride, full of
blind shots, scrubby dunes and windswept
Scottish accents. Seven holes, including
Nos. 9 and 18, play along the Roanoke Sound.
This is a course best played in the afternoon,
followed by a trip to the clubhouse, watching
the sun set over the water.
Currituck and Nags Head are the favorites
of John Muth of Arlington, who spends a
week each summer on the Outer Banks.
“Those courses really feel like you’re at
the beach,” Muth says. “It’s fun to take people
from around the country to Currituck and
Nags Head because they’re so different from
what they’re used to at home.”
Across Wright Memorial Bridge, Kilmarlic
is another experience altogether. The course
is all about wooded solitude. Cut from thick
pine, oak and dogwood, and spanning 15
acres of coastal ponds, Kilmarlic is a tight,
tough test at 6,550 yards. It also has enormous
visual appeal with trees framing holes, while
water hazards, wetland vegetation and deep,
sprawling bunkers add definition.
A stay at the plush golf cottage at
Kilmarlic, which can accommodate eight to
12 players, is the ultimate in convenience.
The front porch overlooks the first tee and
the putting green. Out the back porch is the
dramatic par-5 18th, which wraps around
a lake. Next door is the clubhouse and the
Black Tartan Tap Room, which serves great
burgers and signature sandwiches and salads.
For those seeking respite from
challenging Kilmarlic, a trip across the
Caratoke Highway to The Pointe Golf
Club is recommended. At 6,343 yards and
with a course rating of 70.0, a player has
a chance to enjoy a vanity round at The
Pointe, or at least the stunning water views.
Excellent conditions are guaranteed
at The Pointe, and its sister course, The
Carolina Club, as both are operated by the
owner of a turfgrass company.
Another place to find excellent conditions
is the luxurious oceanfront Sanderling Resort
in Duck. A perfect day at the north end of
the Outer Banks might include a round at
Currituck, a golf massage and waterside meal
at AQUA restaurant and spa, a stroll on the
beach, and poolside drinks at the Sanderling,
with waves crashing a chip shot away.
It all adds up to a vastly different Outer
Banks golf scene than Sullivan experienced
as a youth.
“There are true links-style courses that use
the natural sand dunes and ocean breezes as
the hazards,” Sullivan says. “Then you have
the parkland-style courses on the mainland
that have the natural wetlands and maritime
forest to carve out great golf holes.”
Come for the weekend. Come for a week.
It won’t take you long to travel to the Outer
Banks of North Carolina nor to get home,
but be assured that it will be tough for you
to leave. For more information, please visit
www.obxgolftravel.com.
Author Kevin Dunleavy is the assistant sports
editor of the Hagerstown Herald-Mail in
Hagerstown, Md. This is his first contribution
to Virginia Golfer.
Captivating views abound
at The Currituck Club.
w w w. v s g a . o r g
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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