Private access
Golf
One course, threaded through the maritime forest. Playing it takes a little planning.
There is no public tee sheet. Access runs through the Bald Head Island Club.
The course
George Cobb laid out Bald Head's golf course in 1974, and Tim Cate renovated it in 2010. It is the only course on the island, and it plays like the island around it: eighteen holes threaded through maritime forest, marsh, and dune, with live oaks and palmetto crowding the fairways and the ocean never far off. Like everything here, you reach the first tee by golf cart.
How to play it
The course is private, part of the member-owned Bald Head Island Club. There are two ways onto it as a visitor:
As a member
The course belongs to the Bald Head Island Club. Members and their accompanying guests play it directly.
On a Temporary Guest Member pass
If the home you're renting carries a Full or Lifestyle Club membership, you can enroll in the club's Temporary Guest Member Program and buy access, golf included, for your stay. Ask your rental company or homeowner before booking whether the house qualifies.
Guest passes are limited and handed out first-registered, first-admitted, so arrange access as early as you can. Registering fewer than seven days before arrival, or during holiday and peak weeks, adds a $100 service fee. Full details on eligibility and club life are on the Bald Head Island Club page.
Glimpses of the course
A few views of the fairways and greens, framed by the island's live oaks and palmetto.