Quick Answer: The Outer Banks has four 18-hole courses on the barrier island (Currituck Club, Duck Woods, Sea Scape, Nags Head Golf Links) and four more on the Currituck County mainland (Holly Ridge, The Pointe, Kilmarlic, The Carolina Club). Choose by where you’re staying, and call ahead for Duck Woods, where visitor times depend on availability.
Most lists of Outer Banks golf courses mix barrier island courses, mainland courses, a members’ club, a golf shop and miniature golf under one heading. That’s why the course count changes from page to page. This guide separates them so you can see what you can actually play from where you’re sleeping, and what to confirm before you book.
How many golf courses are on the Outer Banks?
The pages I checked quote anywhere from four to nine, and some review sites file mini golf under golf courses too. The difference comes down to geography. The barrier island holds four full-size courses spread over roughly 30 miles from Corolla to Nags Head, and four more sit on the Currituck County mainland, most of them along US 158, the road that leads to the Wright Memorial Bridge. I found no regulation course south of Nags Head on Hatteras or Ocracoke.
| Course | Area | What to know | Public access | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Currituck Club | Corolla (island) | Rees Jones design with water or wetlands in play on most holes. The club lists 6,885 yards, par 72 and a 136 slope from the back tees. | Semi-private, open to the public | Golfers based in Corolla who want a championship test |
| Duck Woods Country Club | Southern Shores (island) | Ellis Maples design routed through woods and canals | Members’ club that offers visitor times when available. Call first | Golfers staying in Duck, Southern Shores or Kitty Hawk who can lock in a time |
| Sea Scape Golf Links | Kitty Hawk (island) | Art Wall design in dunes and maritime forest with a lot of elevation change. Short from the back tees but it plays longer than the card suggests | Public | Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills stays, golfers who like a short, hilly course |
| Nags Head Golf Links | Nags Head (island) | Bob Moore links-style design along Roanoke Sound where the wind decides how it plays | Public (some listings say semi-private) | Stays in Nags Head and farther south, golfers who enjoy wind and water views |
| Holly Ridge Golf Course | Harbinger (mainland) | Par 71 with a full driving range. Described as the lowest-priced course in the group | Public, walk-ins welcome, tee times preferred | Beginners, families, golfers watching their budget |
| The Pointe Golf Club | Powells Point (mainland) | Par 71 with a full driving range and short-game area. Sister course to The Carolina Club | Public | Mid-handicappers, or a warm-up round before a tougher course |
| Kilmarlic Golf Club | Powells Point (mainland) | Tom Steele design through wetlands and maritime forest. Host of the 2004 and 2009 North Carolina Open | Open to the public | Better players and anyone who wants a tougher test |
| The Carolina Club | Grandy (mainland) | Par 72 with five sets of tees, bentgrass greens and an island-green par 3 | Public | Golfers pairing it with The Pointe, since the two clubs sell a two-round combo |
I’ve left yardage, par and slope out of the table, apart from the Currituck Club figures that come from the club itself. Listing sites disagree on basic numbers. Sea Scape shows up as par 70, 71 and 72 depending on the page, and Kilmarlic shows as par 72 or 73. Take the scorecard from the course’s own site or pro shop when you choose tees.
Where to play based on where you’re staying
The island is long and the roads are slow in summer, so your base matters more than any ranking.
- Corolla and Carova: The Currituck Club is the course in Corolla itself. The Mid-Currituck Bridge that would link Corolla to the mainland is still a proposal, and a state report in June 2026 describes construction delays. Until it’s built, reaching the mainland courses from Corolla means driving south and across the Wright Memorial Bridge, so treat a mainland round as a full outing.
- Duck, Southern Shores and Kitty Hawk: Duck Woods and Sea Scape are both close. Duck Woods asks you to call about visitor times, so Sea Scape is the easier public booking.
- Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head: Nags Head Golf Links is closest. Sea Scape sits near milepost 2.5 and Nags Head Golf Links near milepost 15, so they’re roughly a dozen miles apart on the Bypass.
- Hatteras Island and Ocracoke: There’s no regulation course, so a golf day means driving north.
- Arriving or leaving over the Wright Memorial Bridge: Holly Ridge is about a mile and a half north of the bridge and The Pointe is about three and a half miles north. Kilmarlic is roughly ten minutes out. A round on arrival or departure day uses time you’d spend driving anyway.
Public, semi-private and private: what the labels mean here
Sea Scape and Nags Head Golf Links sell tee times to anyone. The Currituck Club’s operator describes it as a semi-private facility open to the public. Some listings use semi-private for Kilmarlic and Nags Head Golf Links too, which usually means the club has members but still sells public tee times.
Duck Woods is the one that trips people up. The regional tourism board lists it among public courses, a local golf shop’s guide calls it private, and other pages call it semi-private. The club’s own golf page has said that visitors can play at tourist rates when tee times are available. Call the pro shop and confirm before you plan a day around it.
Green fees: why the number you read isn’t the number you’ll pay
Outer Banks golf pricing moves with the calendar. The Pointe, for example, sends visitors to its online booking portal for current rates and says prices can rise as seasonal date ranges approach, especially in summer. Its rates include the greens fee, cart fee and tax. Any article that prints a fixed price list is describing one date.
Rather than print numbers that go stale, here’s the pattern in the published ranges I compared. Holly Ridge is the lowest. The Pointe and The Carolina Club come next. Kilmarlic, Nags Head Golf Links and Sea Scape run higher, and The Currituck Club sits at the top end in peak season.
Spring and fall cost less than summer, and winter rates drop further.
A few habits keep the bill down:
- Book twilight or afternoon times. Kilmarlic, Sea Scape and Holly Ridge all advertise reduced afternoon or twilight rates, and Holly Ridge lists half-price junior rates for players 15 and younger.
- Ask your rental company about a golf program. Some Outer Banks rental houses come with discounts, such as the K Club program at Kilmarlic or reduced greens fees for guests staying inside The Currituck Club community.
- Ask about the two-round combo that The Pointe and The Carolina Club sell together.
Third-party booking sites add their own terms. The third-party tee times I reviewed carried a convenience fee, were prepaid, could only be refunded if cancelled at least 24 hours ahead, and paired smaller groups with other prepaid players. Read those terms before you pay, and compare the price against the course’s own booking page.
If you’re flying in without clubs, The Pointe lists rental sets at $35 for a standard set and $50 for a deluxe set for 18 holes as of October 2026.
Playing the wind and the grass
Wind is the main variable on the island courses. Visitors to Nags Head Golf Links consistently name the wind off Roanoke Sound as the challenge, and the closing par 5 there runs along the sound down the entire right side to the green. Plan your misses away from the water, whichever way the breeze is blowing.
Into the wind, an extra club and a smoother swing beat a harder swing. Swinging harder adds backspin, and extra spin sends the ball up and makes it come up short. A lower, penetrating flight with a three-quarter swing, the ball slightly back in your stance and your hands ahead, holds its line better. Downwind, the ball flies farther and lands with less spin, so a green that holds in calm air can run through.
In a crosswind, aim at the fat side of the green and let the wind bring the ball back to the middle. Trying to hold a line against a crosswind usually produces a pushed or pulled shot that finishes short and wide.
The grass matters too. The courses that publish turf details, including Nags Head Golf Links, The Currituck Club and Duck Woods, pair Bermuda fairways with bentgrass greens. Bermuda goes dormant and tan in winter and plays firmer, so the ball runs out more.
Cold air also shortens your carry, so take extra club in the off-season. Ask the pro shop whether the greens have been aerated recently, because sand-covered greens can cost you strokes.
Which course for which golfer
A single ranking of Outer Banks golf courses doesn’t help much because the courses solve different problems. Outside lists give a sense of how the group is regarded. The North Carolina Golf Panel’s list of top courses you can play has recently included The Currituck Club, Kilmarlic and Nags Head Golf Links, and a 2025 report added The Carolina Club. Positions change from year to year, so treat the list as a quality signal and not a strict order.
These picks come from research on course information and golfer reviews, not from a round at each course:
- Best test of golf: The Currituck Club on the island and Kilmarlic on the mainland. One traveler review calls Kilmarlic tight, with plenty of sand, water and waste areas.
- Best links feel: Nags Head Golf Links.
- Best value: Holly Ridge, though reviewers’ comments on conditions are mixed.
- Best for newer golfers and higher handicaps: Holly Ridge and The Pointe, which are shorter and have good practice areas.
- Best quick, hilly round: Sea Scape.
The Outer Banks Golf Club mix-up
Outer Banks Golf Club is a golf shop in Nags Head, not an 18-hole course. It sells and repairs clubs, runs club fittings and lessons, and operates TrackMan indoor hitting bays where you can play virtual rounds. A tee time there means a bay reservation. The shop lists hours of Monday to Saturday, 10:30 to 5, and it’s closed on Sundays.
If you searched for photos, reviews or tee times expecting a course, the real courses are in the table above. The shop is useful on a rained-out or blown-out day, and Turf’s Up OBX in Kitty Hawk also lists golf simulation. Miniature golf is a separate category that some review sites mix into their golf course lists.
Before you book: a quick check
- Confirm public access, especially for Duck Woods.
- Open the course’s own booking page for your exact date and note whether the rate includes the cart and tax.
- Pull the scorecard from the course and choose tees by your typical drive distance, not by the tee name.
- Ask about greens aeration, tournaments and outings on your date.
- In peak season, take an early tee time. Some reviewers of The Currituck Club report slower rounds in the middle of the day.
- Check the forecast for wind and the tropical outlook. Hurricane season runs through November 30, and storms can close courses and the roads to them.
Spring and fall give the best balance of weather, tee-time availability and price. Summer is the busiest and most expensive. Winter has lower rates, shorter days and tan Bermuda fairways.
FAQ
Is there a golf course in Corolla?
The Currituck Club is the full-size course in Corolla. It’s a Rees Jones design that the operator lists as semi-private and open to the public. The mainland courses are a long drive south and back across the Wright Memorial Bridge.
Are there golf courses on Hatteras Island or Ocracoke?
I didn’t find a regulation course south of Nags Head. A golf day from there means driving north, and Nags Head Golf Links is the nearest course I found.
Are the courses open all year?
Most list year-round play. Holly Ridge closes on Christmas and New Year’s Day, and Kilmarlic and Duck Woods list a Christmas Day closure. Storms and course maintenance can close any of them, so check before you drive.
Can I rent clubs?
Yes at several courses. The Pointe lists rental sets, and Holly Ridge and Sea Scape list rental clubs too. Ask when you book so a set is waiting for you.
What can I do when it’s too windy or rainy to play?
Book an indoor bay at the Outer Banks Golf Club shop in Nags Head, or ask about golf simulation at Turf’s Up OBX in Kitty Hawk. Both are listed in the section above.
The practical next step
Start with your bed, not the rankings. If you’re in Corolla, book The Currituck Club. From Kitty Hawk down to Nags Head, choose between Sea Scape and Nags Head Golf Links, and add one mainland course on an arrival or departure day. Before you pay, check the live rate for your date on the course’s own booking page, and call Duck Woods if that’s the one you want.