Hello Friends,
Lookin’ for some good old fashioned intel on OBX golf. I booked a 9:20 tee time at The Carolina Club. Totally going into as a Dad on vacation mode. Anything to look out for? Appreciate any advice!
Played some OBX golf but never heard of the carolina club. Maybe a dark spot for me I’m missing out on. Going in Sept. so let me know how it is.
Calling all Carolinians. Headed down to Oak island next week to stay at my girlfriend’s family’s house. Played Carolina national and oak island last year. Anywhere else worth the drive? Shot in the dark, any connections at bald head? Also restaurant recs if anyone’s got em’, cheers
Have stayed down there for vacation the last several years. Lots of solid golf options down there. My personal favorite is the Muni in Wilmington. Great public Ross and very affordable about 45 minutes from OKI. Absolutely worth the drive IMO and one of my favorite courses I’ve ever played. Have played at Magnolia Greens, Carolina National, Leopards Chase, and Sandpiper Bay down that way. Would recommend Leopards Chase, Magnolia Greens and Carolina National in that order based off the conditions when I was down there about a month and a half ago. Sandpiper is fine, but had a bad experience with the staff and won’t be going back. Have heard good things about River’s Edge, Thistle, Crow Creek, and Tidewater in North Myrtle if you’re willing to drive that far, but haven’t made it to any of those yet. Unfortunately no in at Bald Head, but they do sell guest passes. Not sure if they have any available at this point or what privileges it gets you, but worth a shot. For restaurants on/near OKI, Salt64 is good (would be a good date spot with the gf - get the crack toast), Fishy Fishy in Southport is a nice spot on the intercoastal, Pepperoni Grill is good for pizza, and OKI donut shop for donuts and ice cream. South Beach Grill and Poe’s Tavern in Wrightsville are good if you’re in that area.
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Have heard good things about Wilmington Muni, might make the stop, love a good Ross. Getting on tomorrow at Wampanoag Country Club (private ross here in CT, unreal track). Was looking into Rivers Edge and Tigers Eye as well. Got to hit up most of those food spots last year, and you are spot on my friend. Looking forward to some OKI donuts for sure, hopefully we can get a table at Salt64, place was booked all week last year.
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Heading to NC in a few weeks and looks like I’m playing a few rounds at Catawba CC and Lake Hickory CC.
Any Intel on these courses??
Catawba is ok. New Bermuda greens. Some good holes and nothing too bad. It’s a fun round but not outstanding.
If you want to play Mimosa Hills, a 1929 original Ross, in Morganton, NC drop me a DM. I’m a member there and much prefer it to Catawba which is a reciprocal.
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I’ll second Grizz! Mimosa is worth your time. Bunch of guys from the Queen City Hive are members and it’s worth the drive from Charlotte for a lot of us. So if you’re close by, make it happen!
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Municipal Golf Course front 9 restoration hits milestone with design contract approval
At their July 29 meeting, City Council approved a contract with Biohabitats of North Carolina to design the restoration of the Municipal Golf Course front nine holes. That portion of the City-owned regional amenity was heavily damaged by Tropical Storm Helene.
As a unique and historic public asset, the Municipal Golf Course will largely be restored to its pre-storm state. However, this project will go a step further, integrating the City’s commitment to a coordinated and resilient rebuilding strategy.
In keeping with the historic significance of the course, Biohabitats will partner with golf design specialists Forse Golf Design and Cutlip Golf Design. Forse Golf Design, headed by Ron Forse, is a nationally recognized leader in the restoration of Donald Ross courses.
“Forse Design is indeed honored to be a team member commissioned to rebuild and restore the historic 1927 Asheville Municipal Golf Course”, said Ron Forse. “We look forward to collaborating with a fine group of professional consultants and the City of Asheville to recapture the course design genius of the master architect Donald Ross for the Asheville and golf tourism community.”
To support this effort and provide local insight, Cutlip Golf Design, based in Boone, NC, will collaborate closely with Forse and other team members on design implementation, and coordination throughout the life of the project.
The project will honor the course’s historic architecture and enhance its resilience by integrating ecological and engineering strategies.
“The Asheville Municipal Golf Course is more than a cherished community greenspace—it’s a living piece of American golf history, designed by Donald Ross and deeply intertwined with Asheville’s Black heritage,” said Keith Bowers, founder, advocate, and practice leader of Biohabitats. “In the aftermath of the devastating floods, we’re honored to partner with the City of Asheville on a restoration effort that not only preserves the course’s historic design and cultural significance but also integrates flood resilience and ecological vitality throughout the landscape. By embracing nature-based strategies to manage stormwater and rising river flows, the city is helping to ensure Asheville Muni remains a beloved public space for the next century, while also restoring the Swannanoa River floodplain as a dynamic, living system.”
Funding
The City anticipates funding for the Municipal Golf Course Front 9 Restoration project to come from the FEMA Public Assistance program. As the City secures funding for overall storm recovery, it’s important to begin rebuilding where possible. Moving forward with this project will help prevent the further loss of taxpayer dollars, as the City currently bears the burden of net operational losses. Those costs average nearly $30,000 for each month that the 18-hole course is not fully open.
In the Meantime: Back 9 Open for Golf while Front 9 Hosts a Temporary Disc Golf
The back 9 holes of the golf course reopened on October 28, 2024 and will remain open throughout the restoration project.
The Asheville Municipal Golf Course has teamed up with Chris Dickerson, professional disc golf player and the 2020 U.S. Disc Golf Champion to design a championship-length, 18-hole disc golf course utilizing the front nine area of the Asheville Municipal Golf Course. The new course officially opens for paid tee time reservations and walk-ins Friday, August 1st at 9 a.m.
City of Asheville’s Recovery Strategy
In conjunction with storm recovery efforts, the City continues to advance its Capital Improvement Plan as well as Bond projects. The integration of these initiatives ensures a coordinated effort to strengthen Asheville’s infrastructure and economic stability. The Municipal Golf Course is just the first of several larger storm recovery projects underway. In August, City Council will consider approval of a design team for the French Broad Riverfront Parks Recovery project, followed by the Azalea Parks and Infrastructure Recovery project in September.
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I actually hadn’t read all of this before I shared it.
I’m glad the front nine will get some use by the greater Asheville frolfing community. I have faith that they understand the temporary nature of this arrangement.
Almost immediately after the storm, the local pickleballers were sniffing around trying to get the city to put in some courts on the ruined front nine.
What a disgusting, awful group of people.
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Three nines at Lake Hickory. All pretty tight. Lots of doglegs, ponds, trees. Nice place but IMO the golf is OK. Catawba the same IMO. Better course than LHCC and a nice club. For a Ross course it has little Ross character IMO. If you can take up the offer to go to Mimosa. It is fabulous.
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pickleball is a stain on society
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Was in town last week and only was able to get on LHCC. Very tight course. A bunch of greens were in terrible shape with what looked like some type of disease. Apparently they have a new Sup from Quail Hollow that they thought was going to be amazing and… is not. All in all a tough course… but if you were a member there your game could probably travel very well having to keep the ball in play with those tight corridors.
Heading to Charlotte in a few weeks, any recs on courses?
Don’t go if you wanna play good public golf.
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@tdaly defend your city
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30,000 ft view, Charlotte public golf is a disgrace.
Fort Mill and Springfield are decent options across the border in SC.
Sifford is a quirky 9 hole muni The First Tee is run out of and has a good practice area.
Rocky River, Tradition, and Skybrook are varying degrees of okay public options on the north side.
If you’re going to be around for a couple of weeks then hop in our Charlotte chat and it’s likely some folks who are members at clubs will be able to host you.
@OffTheDole definitely doesn’t need its own planning thread, can shift to the NC Roll Call.
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Only in town for a couple of days, but looking to move to the area in the next few years. Thanks for the intel.
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Big thanks to @anon7197573 for getting me out on a little dew sweeping mission this morning. Gorgeous walk in Winston Salem.
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Not golf related at all, but never been to Highlands, NC. Going this weekend. Anyone got any recs? Food/other stuff to do. Wife is 7 mos pregnant so not going to be doing anything super strenuous.
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