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Play golf year round

Thanks to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream and Atlantic Ocean, North Carolina’s Cape Fear Coast offers golf enthusiasts lots of great weather. We see sunshine most days, with year-round temperatures averaging between 52 and 74 degrees. Courses remain open so you can even play in January or February when temps average in the mid-50s. Couple opportunity with more than 50 terrific public and semiprivate courses, plus a delectable selection of private ones, and you’ve got Golf Heaven, right here in the Greater Wilmington area.

Feel like a challenge? Head for one of the top-tier courses designed by world-renowned pros. Maybe you’re more in the mood for a relaxed round, driving your cart along winding paths through a picturesque plantation. Or how about navigating the sand dunes and skirting water hazards just for the fun of it?

Greens fees around these parts vary according to the season, location, exclusivity, course difficulty and desirability. For 18 holes, you can expect to pay anywhere from $20 to more than $100, plus cart fee; average is $30-$40. Packages are often a good deal and they’re relatively easy to find, as are senior discounts and special group rates.

Regardless of your level of skill, you can find a course to your liking, in your price range, within a reasonable driving distance. The courses we’ve detailed here welcome visitors and the normal rules apply: proper attire (no jeans, cutoffs, or T-shirts) is required and metal or ceramic spikes are not allowed.

Some of our favorite public or semiprivate courses are characterized below and we’ve given you yardages from the longest, the white and the shortest tees, as well as details on slope and rating. Enjoy!

BEAU RIVAGE GOLF & RESORT

Two very different courses in Wilmington offer different challenges.
Beau Rivage Golf and Resort is a par 72, 18-hole course that earned a 4-star rating from Golf Digest. It is the closest golf course for those visiting Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Fort Fisher.

Beau Rivage is the only club in Wilmington with its own resort featuring spacious villas of 900 square feet overlooking the course. The villas are equipped with free wi-fi, wet bar, microwave, mini fridge and cable tv and stay and play packages are offered at moderate prices. Individuals or groups can enroll in the Golf School that is available year round with a one day or three complete, intensive days of training available. The practice facilities include an elevated driving range, chipping and pitching area with a sand bunker and “rough” grass as well as a putting green.

Beau Rivage is always meticulously maintained. The greens are outstanding and the course drains very quickly, which is a blessing in an area that can receive a lot of rainfall in a short period of time. Watch out for the water – the greens are nestled up to the water on more than one hole.

J. Banks Guyton is the pro at Beau Rivage. Guyton has competed in the U.S. Senior Open, the PGA Seniors and in the Western Open and is the former Carolinas Senior PGA Player of the Year.

WILMINGTON MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE

Wilmington is justifiably proud of its public golf course known locally as “the Muni.” After all, how many cities do you know that run a Donald Ross Design golf course? Wilmington does, through the City of Wilmington Public Services & Facilities.

The Wilmington Municipal Golf Course was designed by Ross in 1925 and opened in 1926. Two particular features – small, domed greens and strategically placed and well-sculpted bunkers throughout the 18 holes – will be familiar to anyone who has played other Ross courses.

There are three tee boxes at the course, with par 71 for men and 72 for women. Special rates are available to city of Wilmington residents, but if you live even a tenth of a mile outside the city limits, “you might as well be from Alaska,” as one of the attendants states.

WILMINGTON MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE
311 S. Wallace Avenue
Wilmington, NC 28409
910-791-0558
Head Professional: David Donovan
Blue Tees: 6584 yards, 71.8/128
White Tees: 6267 yards, 70.6/123
Red Tees: 4978 yards, 69.0/119