Golf Buddy Trips - The 5 Best Places to Golf, Eat and Stay in the Outer Banks, North Carolina
Play 5 of the Best public Golf Courses in the Outer Banks
Looking for a Golf Buddy Trip that combines coastal golf, ocean beaches, fresh seafood, waterfront restaurants and some of the most unique scenery on the East Coast?
Welcome to the Outer Banks of North Carolina — affectionately known as OBX.
Stretching along North Carolina's barrier islands, the Outer Banks offers an underrated golf getaway where you can play beside the Atlantic Ocean, Roanoke Sound, Currituck Sound, windswept sand dunes, maritime forests and coastal wetlands — then finish your day with seafood, cocktails and a sunset overlooking the water.
From the Scottish-inspired golf of Nags Head to the championship layouts at Kilmarlic and Currituck, there is considerably more golf variety here than most golfers expect from a beach destination.
QUICK SUMMARY:
Corolla → Kitty Hawk → Nags Head → Powells Point
Our 5 must-play courses:
#1 – The Currituck Club
#2 – Kilmarlic Golf Club
#3 – Nags Head Golf Links
#4 – Sea Scape Golf Links
#5 – The Pointe Golf Club
For a 3- or 4-night Golf Buddy Trip, base your group somewhere between Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head and nearly everything on this list becomes an easy drive.
🏌️ COURSE #1 – The Currituck Club | Corolla, NC
WHY PLAY HERE:
If you're looking for the premier northern Outer Banks golf experience, start here.
Designed by Rees Jones, The Currituck Club winds through approximately 600 acres of dunes, wetlands, maritime forest and coastal terrain near Currituck Sound. The constantly changing landscape gives the course a true destination-golf feel and makes it one of the most visually memorable rounds in the region.
Expect beautiful vistas, strategic bunkering, coastal winds and enough elevation change to surprise golfers who assume everything on a barrier island will be flat.
TCG TIP: Make this one of your premium rounds and play it early enough that you have time to explore Corolla afterward.
🏠 STAY:
Hampton Inn & Suites Outer Banks/ Corolla: This is one of the best hotel options for golfers wanting to stay on the northern end of the Outer Banks. It is oceanfront between Duck and Corolla and approximately three miles from The Currituck Club. The hotel also offers indoor and outdoor pools, a lazy river and complimentary breakfast.
For a quieter soundfront experience, consider Inn at Corolla
🍽️ EAT:
After golf, head south toward Duck for one of the area's best sunset dining experiences: The Blue Point
Located directly on Currituck Sound, it combines coastal/Southern cuisine, cocktails and spectacular sunset views.
🍺 DRINK:
Stay in Duck after dinner and enjoy the waterfront before heading back to your hotel or vacation rental.
🏌️ COURSE #2 – Kilmarlic Golf Club | Powells Point, NC
WHY PLAY HERE:
Kilmarlic may be the best pure golf experience in the Outer Banks region.
Designed by Tom Steele, the course sits across roughly 605 acres of maritime forest and sprawling wetlands, with the routing moving through giant oak, pine and dogwood trees. Kilmarlic has hosted the North Carolina Open twice — in 2004 and 2009 — and is known for tournament-level conditioning.
Unlike Nags Head and Sea Scape, this isn't primarily an ocean-view golf experience. Instead, you're immersed in the natural coastal environment.
Think:
Maritime forest. Wetlands. Water. Wildlife. Championship golf.
🏠 STAY:
For a true Golf Buddy Trip, this may be the best lodging setup in OBX:
Cottages at Kilmarlic
The cottages are designed with golf groups in mind and put you right at the course. Guests can also use Kilmarlic's 5,000-square-foot lighted putting green and four-hole short course, which means the competition doesn't have to end after your 18th hole.
🍽️ EAT + 🍺 DRINK:
You don't even need to leave the property.
Black Tartan Tap Room
Located at the clubhouse overlooking the 18th green, it is an easy place for burgers, drinks and post-round stories.
TCG BUDDY TRIP PICK:
Best Stay & Play headquarters in the Outer Banks.
If golf is the primary purpose of your trip, basing the group at Kilmarlic and driving onto the barrier islands for your other rounds is a very compelling option.
🏌️ COURSE #3 – Nags Head Golf Links | Nags Head, NC
WHY PLAY HERE:
This is the course that makes you feel like you're really golfing in the Outer Banks.
Nags Head Golf Links is a Scottish-style, Bob Moore-designed course stretched along the edge of historic Roanoke Sound. Coastal winds, wild sea grass, rolling dunes and holes running directly beside the water give it a character completely different from most resort golf.
Several holes sit right along the Sound, creating some spectacular views—and potentially some brutal club-selection decisions when the wind starts blowing. Past coverage of the course specifically highlights Nos. 5, 9, 15 and 18 for their waterfront settings.
This isn't necessarily about overpowering a golf course with distance.
It's about shotmaking, wind management and creativity.
TCG TIP:
If possible, book an afternoon tee time.
A late-round sunset across Roanoke Sound can produce some of the best golf scenery of the entire trip.
🏠 STAY:
Surf Side Hotel
A highly rated oceanfront hotel in Nags Head that's convenient to the course, beaches and restaurants.
For a smaller boutique-style property overlooking the Sound:
Oasis Suites Hotel
🍽️ EAT:
Miller's Waterfront Restaurant
This is almost the perfect post-round pairing with Nags Head Golf Links.
You're staying on the Roanoke Sound for dinner, with seafood, steaks and one of the area's classic waterfront settings.
Golf at sunset.
Seafood at sunset.
That's a pretty good Outer Banks day.
🏌️ COURSE #4 – Sea Scape Golf Links | Kitty Hawk, NC
WHY PLAY HERE:
Sea Scape delivers another side of Outer Banks golf.
Located in Kitty Hawk, the course sits among windswept sand dunes and maritime forest, with dramatic elevation changes that you wouldn't necessarily expect this close to the ocean.
Designed by former Masters champion Art Wall, Sea Scape offers ocean views from several areas of the course while the dunes, trees and coastal winds give the layout a distinctive personality.
Where Nags Head is defined by Roanoke Sound, Sea Scape feels more connected to the Atlantic side of the Outer Banks.
BEST FOR:
Golfers who love:
Ocean golf
Elevation changes
Wind
Natural terrain
Old-school coastal layouts
🏠 STAY:
Sea Scape Beach & Golf Villas
These condos sit adjacent to the golf course and only a few blocks from the beach, making them a particularly convenient option for a golf group.
🍽️ EAT:
Black Pelican Oceanfront Restaurant
A longtime Kitty Hawk favorite located across from the ocean with seafood, steaks, BBQ and wood-fired pizza.
For a more elevated dinner and cocktails:
Ocean Boulevard Bistro and Martini Bar
TCG TIP:
Play Sea Scape in the morning, hit the beach for a couple hours after golf, then head out for seafood.
Golf + Beach + Seafood = quintessential OBX.
🏌️ COURSE #5 – The Pointe Golf Club | Powells Point, NC
WHY PLAY HERE:
The Pointe might be the best-value buddy-trip course on the itinerary.
The par-71 championship layout is known for being extremely playable while still giving better golfers plenty to think about. It has also repeatedly been recognized locally as a Best of the Beach golf winner.
The course is located just across the Wright Memorial Bridge, making it easy to combine with either Kilmarlic or a trip onto the barrier islands.
It also has one of the strongest practice setups in the area, including a full driving range, chipping greens, practice bunker and putting green.
TCG BUDDY TRIP PICK:
Best course for the group's opening round.
It's fun, friendly, playable and won't beat everyone up before the trip has really started.
🍽️ EAT + 🍺 DRINK:
Stay right at the course after your round at:
The Pointe Grille, located inside the clubhouse, for burgers, sandwiches and drinks overlooking the property.
Or drive a few minutes north to Kilmarlic for a drink at the Black Tartan.
🏠 STAY:
If you're playing both The Pointe and Kilmarlic, the smartest golf-centric move is to stay at the Cottages at Kilmarlic and use the two Powells Point courses as the anchors of your trip.
OUR RECOMMENDED 3-DAY OUTER BANKS GOLF BUDDY TRIP
DAY 1 – ARRIVE + 18 HOLES
MORNING / AFTERNOON
Arrive in the Outer Banks area and play:
The Pointe Golf Club
It's the ideal first-round course: enjoyable, playable and convenient to the main bridge onto the Outer Banks.
EVENING
Drive onto the barrier island.
Check into your hotel, condo or beach house around Kitty Hawk / Kill Devil Hills / Nags Head.
Then grab dinner and drinks in Kill Devil Hills at:
Outer Banks Brewing Station
A brewery, restaurant and live-music venue that gives the group a casual first-night OBX atmosphere.
DAY 2 – 36-HOLE DAY
AM ROUND
Sea Scape Golf Links
Play your coastal dune round early before spending a couple hours around Kitty Hawk.
AFTERNOON ROUND
Nags Head Golf Links
Try to time this round so your final holes approach sunset over Roanoke Sound.
DINNER
Head directly to Miller's Waterfront for seafood and another sunset view over the Sound.
Golf Buddy Trip Day Rating: 10/10
DAY 3 – CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF DAY
AM ROUND
Kilmarlic Golf Club
Give yourself time to enjoy the course rather than rushing through it.
Grab lunch and a drink afterward at Black Tartan Tap Room.
PM OPTION
After Kilmarlic:
Option A: Beach afternoon.
Option B: Putting competition at Kilmarlic's lighted putting green.
Option C: Replay The Pointe.
Option D: Head north toward Corolla.
DAY 4 – THE GRAND FINALE
The Currituck Club
Drive north to Corolla and finish your trip with the Rees Jones design.
After golf, explore Corolla and Duck, grab dinner overlooking Currituck Sound and toast another successful Golf Buddy Trip.
TCG'S OUTER BANKS GOLF BUDDY TRIP AWARDS
🏆 Best Overall Golf Experience: Kilmarlic Golf Club
🌅 Best Views: Nags Head Golf Links
🌊 Best Pure Outer Banks Experience: Nags Head Golf Links
🏖️ Best Golf + Beach Combination: Sea Scape Golf Links
🏌️ Best Premium Round: The Currituck Club
💰 Best Value / Most Playable: The Pointe Golf Club
🏠 Best Golf Buddy Trip Lodging: Cottages at Kilmarlic
🍽️ Best Post-Round Waterfront Dinner: Miller's Waterfront Restaurant
🍺 Best Golf Buddy Trip Nightlife Stop: Outer Banks Brewing Station
📸 Best Sunset Golf: Nags Head Golf Links
WHY THE OUTER BANKS SHOULD BE ON YOUR GOLF BUDDY TRIP LIST
Most golfers think about the Outer Banks for beaches, fishing, lighthouses and family vacations.
Golfers should think differently.
Within one relatively compact destination you can play:
Scottish-style soundfront golf.
Ocean-influenced dune golf.
Championship resort golf.
Maritime forest golf.
Wetlands and coastal parkland golf.
Then trade the golf shoes for flip-flops and spend the evening eating fresh seafood overlooking the water.
The combination of Golf + Beach + Seafood + Waterfront Sunsets makes the Outer Banks one of the most underrated Golf Buddy Trip destinations on the East Coast. The area's golf has also repeatedly been recognized as one of North Carolina's strongest coastal golf getaways.
TCG RECOMMENDED TRIP LENGTH
Minimum: 3 nights / 4 rounds
Ideal: 4 nights / 5 rounds
Ultimate: 5 nights with 36-hole days, beach time, fishing and sightseeing mixed in.
BEST TIME FOR AN OUTER BANKS GOLF TRIP
For a golf-focused trip, spring and fall offer the strongest combination of golf weather and a less beach-dominated experience. Kilmarlic specifically recommends March–May and September–November, while golf-trip planning sources commonly favor spring and fall for the region.
DON'T MISS WHILE YOU'RE IN THE OUTER BANKS
Leave a little time between rounds for the things that make OBX unlike almost any other golf destination:
Jockey's Ridge State Park
Wright Brothers National Memorial
Currituck Beach Lighthouse
Corolla's Wild Horses
Roanoke Sound sunsets
Atlantic Ocean sunrise
The beaches of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk
And perhaps most importantly…
Schedule at least one round late enough to play golf during an Outer Banks sunset (Nags Head Golf Links ideally).
