For golfers, a buddies trip is always a highlight of the annual calendar. When that junket brings you to NC's Brunswick Islands, home to 30+ courses and stunning coastal scenery, life is even better.
Passion for the game and the enjoyment of time spent with friends often means 18 holes isn’t enough, while 36 is pushing the limits of what many can handle, which is a long way of saying 27 holes of golf might be the perfect day.
NC's Brunswick Islands is home to five facilities that feature three nines and here is a look at each.
Clyde Johnston and Willard Byrd teamed up to design the Azalea, Dogwood and Magnolia nines at Brunswick Plantation Resort and Golf, a property that also provides stay-and-play opportunities. The Magnolia, with an open links style design, is favored by golfers struggling with the driver. The Azalea and Dogwood nines aren’t tight but with tree-lined fairways and Caw Caw Creek running through both, hazards are more abundant.
Fred Couples is golf’s long-time “king of cool,” and his work at Carolina National Golf Club is one players love. The Heron, Egret and Ibis nines - named for types of fowl that call the Audubon Certified Sanctuary Golf Course home - bring the Lockwood Folly River into play, showcasing the area’s natural beauty. Combine that scenery with a lack of housing and Carolina National delivers an experience that is as peaceful as it is memorable.
The Dan Maples designed The Pearl Golf Links is one of the area’s most underrated properties. Home to the East, North and West courses, six of The Pearl’s 27 holes play along the Calabash River, including the mammoth 614-yard seventh hole on the West nine, one of North Carolina’s longest par 5s. If you want to play a sneaky dramatic layout, check out The Pearl.
Golf isn’t an easy game under any circumstances but some courses offer a better chance to score than others, and Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club is one such property. Home to the Sand, Piper and Bay nines, this Dan Maples layout is a treat to play. Sandpiper once earned four stars in Golf Digest’s prestigious “Best Places to Play” guide and it won’t take your group long to realize why.
Inspired by its namesake in Leith, Scotland, Thistle Golf Club offers a links style layout featuring generous fairways, mounding and stacked sod bunkers. The Cameron, Mackay and Stewart nines make up a course Golfweek magazine ranks as the 10th best public layout in all of golf-rich North Carolina. Throw-in the clubhouse experience, which features the Pot Bunker Pub and memorabilia from the original Thistle Golf Club in Scotland that dates back to the 1800s, and this one of the area’s premier properties.
If your group wants to play 27 holes, NC's Brunswick Islands should be your destination of choice.