Duck Woods Country Club

$71 (cart included), played on Thursday, July 2015 at 6:40 AM

Played here at 0640 on 7-2-15, second group off the first tee. Got a special rate, thanks to the pro. Much appreciated for this senior retired military. Finished the round in 2:20.

Layout is quite flat, but plenty of "interest" generated with trees, sand and water. There is some kind of water (canal, pond, slough, or stream) on 15 of the 18 holes, and in several cases, it crosses the fairway, so be sure to scope it out before blasting off the tee. And a word of caution: the scorecard has no diagrams, although there are stone markers at the the back boxes. Bunkers abound, and I caught several of them, although in many cases there is space to bump and run onto the green without flying one over sand: just gotta plan ahead. Greens are pretty big, all are tilted, some fairly significantly contoured, but none with multi-tiers. Fairways are pretty generous, although I felt that a few tended to feed toward adjacent water: be forewarned! BTW, the course is walkable for all.

Conditions today were pretty good, with a few exceptions. All of the greens were in great shape, putted true, and were moderately fast. Tee boxes were flat and well-grassed. Bunkers were generally firm, but were very consistent. Worst thing was the fairways, which had lots of crabgrass, or the OBX-equivalent. Given how well the rest of the course shaped up, I was very surprised at this.

Can't say enough positive things about the staff, from the young man who delivered my cart, the pro shop guy, the starter, and the several grounds crew I encountered. Very smart operation! Clubhouse is relatively new, and looks good. Again, my thanks to the pro: I will be back when next in OBX. Highly recommend.

Member (cart included), played on Monday, June 2008 at 8am

Course becomes quite busy weekday mornings during tourist season. Book you tee-time later afternoon.