Outer Banks Oasis

Book an outing at Kitty Hawks Duck Woods Country Club.

- Francis X. Gallagher

DUCK WOODS IS A PRIVATE country club just over the Wright Memorial Bridge as you enter Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the home of the first flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright. Even though the course is private, a simple call to the pro shop secures you and your group a tee time, and the club happily takes your payment. Weather conditions over the past winter took their toll on the courses in the Outer Banks, and Sea Scape and Nags Head Golf Links experienced a great deal of damage to the fairways from the cold. The conditions at Sea Scape were so bad this summer, the course offered significant discounts to play. The exception appears to be Duck Woods. Perhaps the course is just protected well enough from the elements or has an exceptional grounds crew, but the course was in pristine condition the two times I played in July. Kudos to the groundskeeper and the greens committee!

Designed by Ellis Maples, the course opened in 1968. Maples was one of the undisputed kings of North Carolina golf, second only to the famed Donald Ross, who trained Maples. Known to do more with less, Maples worked primarily with the topography of the land and crafted the course to fit into its surroundings. This is prevalent at Duck Woods. While on vacation in Kitty Hawk, I teed up with Paul Gosselin and my brother Gerry, as well as Duck Woods member Mike Askew. The Duck Woods employees make for an enjoyable round, and the course never seems overcrowded.

HOLE 1 | 497 yards, par 4