If you’re thinking golf – and we know you are – you should be thinking NC’s Brunswick Islands. This strand of barrier islands is located on the southern coast of North Carolina and encompasses five distinctive islands and surrounding coastal towns including Calabash, Leland, Southport, and Shallotte on North Carolina’s east coast halfway between Wilmington to the north and Myrtle Beach to the south. Speaking of south, all beaches in Brunswick County face south as the Atlantic coastline juts down from its normal east facing way allowing one to view the sunrise and sunset over the ocean during certain seasons.
With more than 25 courses you can play and 45 miles of coastline, you’ll want to schedule multiple trips to experience all the Brunswick Islands have to offer. The area boasts some of the Southeast’s finest courses, including the notable, Arnold Palmer designed Rivers Edge Golf Club, Thistle Golf Club, Crow Creek Golf Club, and Tiger’s Eye Golf Links – one of the 4 Big Cats courses. It’s no wonder the destination has become known by another name: North Carolina’s Golf Coast.
NC’s Brunswick Islands is a place where those who revel in the heritage and the camaraderie of a game, a hole or a shot well-played can find their fulfillment. The area’s 45 miles of pristine barrier islands delightfully combine with lush maritime forests, expansive marshes and inlets, and the Intracoastal Waterway to create a terrain primed for the most alluring course designs in all of golf. The game’s legends would agree. Palmer, Byrd, Maples, Jones, Cate, Couples, Robbins – they all came and left their footprints on the land.
Volume. Variety. Climate. Terrain.
All the essentials have aligned here to create a nearly endless succession of challenges for you and your fellow golf enthusiasts. The coastal landscape of waterways and marshes in NC’s Brunswick Islands is the ideal place to reaffirm your love of the game. Mild weather year-round makes for an all-season golf climate where you’ll find playing conditions to your liking almost any time of the year. Good thing, because with over 500 holes, you’ll want to plan a few trips to the coast to meet the challenge.
And while you’re there, don’t be surprised when you discover that some of the best golf on the Grand Strand is actually in Brunswick County. The destination is perfect for staying and playing. NC’s Brunswick Islands has managed to harness that special something that brings both golfers and families back year in and year out. Whatever you’re searching for in accommodations, from a charming villa right on the fairway to the perfect oceanfront vacation rental home to welcome a group of any size, you’ll find it in the Brunswick Islands. Stay at one of the area’s two golf resorts – Sea Trail Golf Resort and Brunswick Plantation – for a complete golf experience with onsite restaurants and challenging courses. Sea Trail boasts three memorable 18-hole courses designed by legendary architects, Rees Jones, Dan Maples, and Willard Byrd. The Byrd course is back open after a five-month multimillion-dollar renovation and redesign.
Golf is just one component of a trip to the Brunswick Islands. Apart from some beach time, visitors can opt for some chartered deep-sea fishing where skilled local fishermen do 90% of the work to give you 100% of the joy of catching King Mackerel, Wahoo, and Mahi Mahi. NC’s Brunswick Islands is also known for its many famous seafood restaurants and plenty of waterfront dining options. The Oyster Rock in Calabash and Sharky’s in Ocean Isle Beach are two must-stop options when the sun goes down.
No matter where you stay in NC’s Brunswick Islands, your passion for the game will be reinvigorated and you’ll leave with a love of the people and the place. The place?
North Carolina’s Golf Coast.
