CAROLINA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB
by Reid Nelson

Enthusiastic reviews from players and press alike greeted the July 4th, 1998 opening of this 18-hole layout, part of the Winding River residential development on Highway 211, between Shallotte and Southport, NC.
The design of this upscale, daily-fee course accents the collective talents of Fred Couples, for almost two decades one of the most popular players on the PGA tour, and Gene Bates, an architect who has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the business.

Carolina National displays some surprising topography - at least surprising for the Carolina coastline. For the most part, gently rolling contours, interspersed with the subtropical beauty of coastal wetlands and saltwater marshlands, provides the backdrop, as one would expect of a course set just minutes from the Atlantic. But on two occasions, deep ravines, lined by tall pines and hardwoods, cut across the site, lending unexpected drama to the coastal canvas. Bates and Couples took advantage of these scars on the landscape to create holes that are sure to be among the most talked-about and memorable on the course.

A par-72 layout, Carolina National can stretch as long as 7,0l7 yards or play as short as 4,750. But the flexibility and variety of the course is measured by more than pure yardage numbers. A true strength of the course is in its positioning of tees, and the different angles and risks presented to players as they move from one tee to another.
Nowhere is this more evident than at the par-3, 14th hole, where a peninsula green and surrounding bunkers are wrapped front, left and rear by acres of marsh and namesake winding saltwater rivers. Playing 203 or 191 yards from the back two sets of markers, the 14th requires a solid tee shot over marshlands of needle rush and spartina grass to reach the bulkheaded green. A lone lifeless tree stands amid the marsh grasses midway between the tee and green -  a sort of skeletal sentry adding to the character and beauty of the hole.

From more forward tees, set to the right around the marsh cove that leads to the peninsula of safety, the hole measures 182/162/121 yards, respectively. As the yardage decreases, so does the demand to carry the marsh, with players from the shortest tees presented a straight shot at the green with the marsh completely left of their intended line of flight.
Every hole, from tee-shot to final putt, is as adventuresome for the skilled player as for the high handicapper. There is an overall flexibility built into Carolina National - angles and lengths provided by widely varied tee placements, the multitude of pins provided by large but boldly-contoured greens, the risk/reward potentials created by strategic bunkering, and the use of natural hazards like wetlands and ravines - that will keep golfers of all abilities anxious for just one more crack at this Bates-Couples creation....no matter how many times they have played it previously.