Nags Head Golf Links — Attraction in Nags Head

As a passionate golfer, it’s with great disappointment that I must advise against visiting this golf course, where my recent experience was both frustrating and costly.

Upon arrival, I faced the first of many issues: renting golf clubs. At $80, the rental fee was steep, but what was truly unacceptable was the condition and incompleteness of the clubs provided. I noticed the grubby looking bag on the way out, but it wasn’t until I was on the first hole with others that I noticed this . Not only were they corroded, but the set included duplicate five woods and was missing a sand wedge. The lack of attention from the staff, who were more engaged in training a new apprentice employee than ensuring quality service, was evident when no apology or solution was offered upon my request for the missing club. I was simply given a wedge without any interest on how the set could be so scrambled.

The primary reason for my review, however, is the exceedingly slow pace of play. The course permits large groups of up to six players, resulting in a pace that extended to three hours for just nine holes—even on a weekday. The absence of marshals to oversee play flow and the indifference of the staff only exacerbated the issue. When I sought a refund for the back nine after a tedious front nine, I was met with inflexibility; they offered only a credit for future play, which was impractical for me as a visitor. I made this very clear the cashier didn’t seem to really care and just to be clear. It’s not that you can’t give a refund. It’s that you won’t give a refund for a very reasonable request. This is why you’re getting this feedback.

Furthermore, the golf cart provided featured a safety interlock that was neither explained at issuance nor detailed in the cart itself. This lack of communication led to unnecessary delays as I had to secure a replacement cart. It is baffling that such a simple aid as written instructions was overlooked.

While the course itself is visually pleasing, the lack of effective management and customer care severely detracts from the experience. It appears that the ownership and management are disengaged, which is clearly reflected in the operational shortcomings.

For those seeking a smooth and enjoyable golfing experience, I recommend considering other courses in the area. Unfortunately, this course seems to test one’s patience far more than their golf...

Our foursome visited Nags Head Golf Links on June 19 for a mid-morning tee time. Let's start with the arrival experience... there was none. We pulled up to the bag drop and unloaded our own clubs. Eventually a young man appeared to load our clubs onto our carts.

Entering the pro shop, we were greeted by an unhappy gentleman named Glen whose first words were not "good morning" or "how's it going fellas", but simply "tee time?" After giving him my last name, and telling him our tee time was sometime around 10:20, he said, "That doesn't help. I need the exact time."

I pulled out my phone and gave him the exact time (10:21). Without another word he prints a receipt, hands it to me and says, "Jerry will need that from you."

I'd paid for all four players when I booked the tee time online, so I asked unhappy Glen if the other three players could pay for their round, and then have him credit my card for the cost. His response? "No, we can't do that." That was it. Not a word of welcome, no thank-you, just an unhappy person dealing with the public every day.

Proceed to the starter. Friendly guy, he tells us he'll let us know when we can head to the first tee. A few minutes go by, then a few more, then a few more... By now, it's approaching 10:30 and we're still not on the tee box. Eventually he tells us it's time to head to the tee, and we arrive to find a foursome leaving. So we wait, again, before hitting our tee shots. By the time we all hit our tee balls it's well after 10:30.

The round proceeds, our foursome waiting repeatedly. At one point on the 5th hole, a ranger approaches. Oh good, we think, now things will get moving. Nope. The ranger tells us the group ahead is struggling and he thinks they'll be speeding up. Of course, that didn't happen, and our round clocked in at exactly 5 hours, long under any circumstances, but brutal in 90-degree heat.

Carts lack GPS, the range requires the use of distance limited balls. Oh, and the greens had just been top-dressed so we paid full greens fees to putt thru sand the entire round. Suffice to say, it will be my...

The single worst experience I’ve had on a golf course. The course itself was beautiful and offered some fun and challenging holes. The problem was with the staff, particularly the course marshal. I had chosen this course months ago for my bachelor trip and all the guys were looking forward to enjoying the views while playing as fast as possible to keep up pace. We were pleasantly surprised that there weren’t many bookings behind us so we were excited to take our time and improve our game. However before we even took a swing we were promptly profiled by the course marshal. As soon as we pulled up to the clubhouse he had made up his mind to give us a hard time, which really crushed the experience for us before it even started. We booked back to back tee times for our party of 8 and spent close to $1,000 in the pro shop. We weren’t expecting special treatment however the tone of the marshal was completely unacceptable. I have never in my life felt lesser than a human being until this man decided to belittle myself and the rest of my group. He had said to our faces “I hope you guys don’t scare any of the other golfers off the course”with a chuckle full of immense pride. People like this should never been given positions of power. Thankfully the pro shop worker came out of the clubhouse and told the marshal to stop harassing us. The marshal stormed off cursing obscenities at us as he walked away. Once we got out on the course we had a phenomenal time, but due to the disrespect we received from the court marshal, I will never recommend this course to anyone. We quickly understood why there were so little bookings on a beautiful Summer day. The owners of this course should be ashamed of themselves for employing such a horrible man. I hope they start to question...