 |
 |
New Bern, Edenton and Eastern NC Golf CoursesAyden Golf
& Country Club This is a straightforward, compact course--not extremely demanding. Water comes into play on only four holes. The 18-hole layout, designed by Clay Stroud, opened in 1952. Bermudagrass covers the greens and fairways. The front nine has narrow fairways, so accuracy counts from the beginning. No. 7 is a 515-yard par 5 with an extremely narrow fairway for your tee shot. It opens a bit, but the green is small. The 18th is a long hole (618 yards) that doglegs slightly right. Bunkers surround the front of the green. Amenities include practice greens, a driving range, pro shop, locker room, bar, grill and club rentals. Walking is allowed. Year-round greens fees are $12 to walk and $20 to ride during the week and $17 and $25, respectively, on weekends. Tee times may be reserved three days in advance. Carolina Pines Golf & Country
Club Bermudagrass during summer and winter rye during colder months grace this 18-hole course designed by Frank Marmarose, Ron Broissoit, Jim Stallings and Joe Hughes. It's not exceptionally long and, therefore, is often preferred by some of us who need all the help we can get to score well. This course wanders among residential areas and over lagoons near the Neuse River. The signature 15th hole is a medium-length par 5, reachable in two shots with a good drive. Trouble spots are left and right and behind the green, so the hole requires a decision and some straight shooting. Carolina Pines has a pro shop, club rentals, a driving range and target greens. Also available are tennis courts, a pool and a clubhouse with lounge and patio. Daily year-round greens fees, including cart, are $30 before noon and $27 after. Walking is restricted. Chowan Golf & Country Club Although this 18-hole course has more than 300 members, public play is welcome. Fairways are bermudagrass; nine greens are bermudagrass and nine are bentgrass. No. 3 is a par 4 that runs along S. Sound Drive, and a stream bisects the fairway 35 yards from the green. If you clear the stream, you still must contend with four bunkers in front of the green. Pine trees are widely spaced along the fairway. The 4th hole is an unusual par 4. You have to play it like two par 3s because of the water that juts out in the path of your tee shot and flanks the fairway on the left and out-of-bounds on the right; water also extends into the landing area. Then you must hit to an elevated green. The 5th, originally a par 5, has been changed to a par 4. It's a sharp dogleg right off the tee with out-of-bounds to the right and water to the left. The green slants away from you and is not particularly receptive. Amenities include a practice green, driving range, pro shop, beer and beverage sales, club repair and regripping. Lessons are available. The cost is $35 for greens fee and cart. Walking is generally allowed but is restricted during the weekend morning hours. Chowan Golf & Country Club is a few miles outside historic Edenton. Cypress Landing This course opened in July 1996. Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company has developed a community with homes overlooking either water or the tree-lined course. Cypress Landing is an 18-hole semiprivate club on the Pamlico River. Ault, Clark & Associates designed this course with bentgrass greens and bermudagrass fairways. Each hole offers four sets of tees, so golfers of all abilities can enjoy a game here. This beautiful course is laid out on rolling woodland and many holes offer fine views of the Pamlico River. You'll find a driving range, putting green, rental clubs, a pro shop and a beverage cart on weekends. Walking is not allowed. Approximate greens fees with a cart range from $40 to $45. The Emerald Golf Club Rees Jones designed this course in 1988 to attract golfers of all skill levels. It's placed among tall pines within a 700-acre residential community developed by Wey-erhaeuser Real Estate Company. Greens are beautiful bentgrass, and fairways are bermudagrass. Additional tees recently were added and others adjusted to accommodate golfers' varying abilities. We appreciate the handicap specification on the score card, which leads us to the appropriate tees to make the course most challenging. Jerry Briele, PGA professional, and Jim Lanier, golf course superintendent, have done a fine job of upgrading this course. Don't be intimidated by the plentiful and prominent water here. Of the four par 3s on this course, three must carry the drink. The 5th hole (par 5) measures 521 yards. The fairway snakes beside the highway up to the green. Water borders the right, and trees line the entire left side. A bunker comes into play on any short approaches to the green. The signature hole is the 18th, a delight for its characteristic rolling mounds on the left side and water lining the fairway on the right. The first round of the PGA qualifying school was conducted here in 1992 and 1993. Emerald also is home to the Curtis Strange Shrine Classic. A pro shop, driving range and lessons are available. Memberships entitle visitors to use tennis, swimming and club facilities as well as play golf. Approximate cost Monday through Thursday is $40, including cart; Friday through Sunday and holidays, it's $45. Carts must stay on the path. Only members are allowed to walk the course. Farmville Country Club Farmville's front nine was built during the 1930s, and the club added the back nine in the 1970s. The 18-hole course has bermudagrass greens and fairways. Small greens and tight fairways characterize the front nine; wider fairways and larger greens may surprise you on the back. Farmville is kept in top condition with good-quality greens and beautiful fairways. This course demands accuracy. Every hole varies according to the natural landscape. A ditch runs through most of the front side, except on the par 3s. A creek crosses the 11th and 18th holes, and ponds add additional hazards on the back side. Except for the par 3s, you must continually contend with a ditch, creek or pond. Bring extra golf balls unless you can consistently keep one in the air. A practice green, chipping area, pro shop, locker rooms, a bar and grill are available. The short driving range is for warm-up purposes only. A cart path is provided for nine holes and planned for the additional nine. Approximate cost for greens fee and cart is $30 weekdays and $35 on weekends. Walking is permitted Monday through Thursday and after 2 PM on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Harbour Pointe Golf Links Harbour Pointe is one of two 18-hole courses at the Fairfield Harbour resort community that are available to residents and timeshare owners. Occasional overflow from Harbour Pointe is booked at Shoreline, Fairfield Harbour's private club. Greens at Harbour Pointe are bentgrass, and fairways are bermudagrass. The course was designed by Tom Johnson and D.J. DeVictor. Sand and water combine to test players of every skill level. The most challenging hole is No. 4. This par 4 measures 395 yards, a dogleg right with water from tee to green down the right side to penalize those who try to cut the corner to tight. The driving range is two-tiered. A pro shop, club rentals, a snack bar, lounge, tennis courts and a swimming pool round out the amenities. Walking is allowed after 1 PM. Approximate greens fees and cart range from $25 to $35. Indian Trails Country Club Part of this 18-hole course has been open since the early 1960s, and the rest has developed progressively. Many travelers are surprised to find a course like Indian Trails in such a small town. The public is welcome here, and member programs are under way to encourage junior and women's golf as well as executive networking. It's easily accessible via I-95 to N.C. Highway 11 and is one of the only area courses completely open to public play. Fairways and greens are bermudagrass. The course is entirely surrounded by forest. It's hilly, with frequent left or right doglegs and wandering finger lakes that come into play on seven holes. The 1st tee is on the shoreline of what geologists believe was the ocean several million years ago, and the elevation varies significantly. The 9th hole is notable: It's 440 yards from the back tees has a pond on the right and trees on both sides. The green is elevated and slopes from left to right--into trouble. A putting green, driving range, pro shop, club rentals, a snack bar and beer sales are offered. A beverage cart is available occasionally on weekends. And a paved cart path complements the course. Approximate cost is $19, including cart, for weekdays; weekend fees increase to $15 plus $9 for a cart. Walking is allowed during the week and after 3 PM on weekends. Ironwood Golf & Country Club Ironwood is the first Lee Trevino design east of the Mississippi. The 18-hole course is private, with limited daily fee play. Members are given preference. The course is surrounded by a development with wooded lots and cluster home lots. The signature hole is the 18th, a slight dogleg left with water all the way down the left side to about 50 yards from the green. Three bunkers are about 100 yards out on the right side, and three more bunkers surround the green. This pretty hole is almost tucked into the woods. The 6th is also a tough hole because it's dead into the prevailing wind. It's a 418-yard par 4--wide open but hard to play. Water could come into play with bad shots on seven holes. The club includes a 1,500 square-foot clubhouse, conference room, fitness room, grill room, dining room, bar, golf shop, men's and ladies' lounges, a pool and clay tennis courts. It's a prestigious community with a course designed to match. Approximate greens fees including cart are $40 on weekdays and $45 on weekends. Walking is restricted. Quaker Neck Golf andCountry Club This semi-private course opened in 1967 and has bermudagrass greens and fairways. Russell Burney designed this course. This enjoyable layout has only about 25 traps. Small lakes or ponds flank three holes, and a meandering creek comes into play on nine more. The signature hole is the 16th, a par 3 across water to a green along the Trenton River. Another notable hole is the 15th, a 425-yard par 4 dogleg left with a tee shot across water. The 15th green also flanks the river and is guarded by traps. The full practice facility includes a range, putting and chipping greens and practice sand traps. Locker rooms are available for members only. A snack bar is open, and a beverage cart makes the rounds on weekends. Approximate greens fees including cart are $30 on weekends and $25 on weekdays, with a $17 special available in winter, after noon in spring and after 2 PM during summer. Walking is allowed. The club is a full-service recreation facility tucked into the Sandhills of Jones County. A picnic area, playground, horseshoe pits, a boat ramp and swimming pool provide other family activities besides golf. River Bend Golf & Country Club Greens and fairways are bermudagrass, and fairways are wide open on this Gene Hamm design. This 18-hole course (built in 1963) is open to the public and playable by the average golfer. The signature hole is the 13th, a par 3 across water that plays 184 yards from the back tees. The green slopes away from left to right, with bunkers on the left and right front. Five holes on the back nine have water. The front side is tighter and weaves through a residential neighborhood. It's a fun layout, often referred to as player-friendly. River Bend offers a driving range, practice green, club rentals, a snack bar, bar, pro shop, tennis courts and an Olympic-size pool. Approximate cart and greens fees range from $22 to $25. Walking is allowed, and the management is very helpful in booking advance tee times for out-of-towners; just call with your request. Rock Creek Country Club This 18-hole course, designed by Jerry Turner and built in 1971, is well kept and playable. It's also well off the regular route (from U.S. Highway 17, take N.C. Highway 1308, then N.C. Highway 1390), so it won't be as busy as many others in this area during high season. Fairways were sprigged in 1996 with bermudagrass 419, and greens are bentgrass. Staffer Mitzi Johnson says the course is "deceptively tough, but obligingly forgiving." Whatever that means. The signature hole is the 15th--a par 4. Your tee shot must fly between water and a ditch. Rental clubs and a restaurant are available here. Walking is restricted. Greens fees, including cart, begin at $25 and increase to $30 on weekends. The Sound Golf Links The Sound is an 18-hole course in Albemarle Plantation, a 500-acre world-class golfing and boating community outside Hertford. It's tucked away at the tip of Albemarle Sound. You have to be familiar with the really good golf courses in the Carolinas to know about this Dan Maples original. Owner and designer Maples stamped his signature here. As with all Maples-designed courses, you get a break on the par 4s and 5s, but the par 3s are extremely difficult. It's a target golf course with a few similarities to a links course. Fairways are wide, but there's plenty of marsh to carry off the tee. It's critical to hit where you aim. It's a fair course overall, but it's tough from the back tees. The pro's advice: "Don't bite off more than you can chew." On the 7th and 13th holes, the landing areas are extremely small. Both are par 4s. This course is surrounded by undisturbed wetlands and tall pines. Enjoy the ride over the wetlands from the 16th green to the 17th tee. In fact, you'll probably enjoy all of the cart rides over the bridges. The three finishing holes stretch along the water and provide breathtaking views. The classy, 12,000-square-foot clubhouse overlooks the sound and has a pro shop and restaurant. A driving range and putting green also are available. Amenities for members include a swim and fitness center and a separate recreation center, and the marina is the largest in the area. Approximate greens fees, including cart, range from $30 to $35. Walking is restricted.
|