Castle Bay Country Club
About
Although it is tucked away just north of Hampstead, Castle Bay Country Club will make you feel as though you've been transported to the British Isles. The golf course offers an authentic Scottish-links design that incorporates the natural wetlands of its coastal Carolina location, giving it a truly unique character. The landscape of rolling dunes is covered with native grasses but completely devoid of trees. Tall sand bunkers are strategically placed throughout and there are also expansive waste areas, both characteristics that are true to its links nature. Water hazards come into play on several holes as well. Accurate shot placement is the key to doing well on this course and just like any seaside links layout, the coastal breezes play a prominent role. Much of the difficulty of the golf course comes from negotiating with the prevailing winds.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 72 | 6698 yards | 71.3 | 130 |
| Blue | 72 | 6328 yards | 69.2 | 125 |
| White | 72 | 5793 yards | 67.4 | 117 |
| White (W) | 72 | 5793 yards | 72.6 | 131 |
| Green | 72 | 5466 yards | 65.5 | 107 |
| Green (W) | 72 | 5466 yards | 72.1 | 126 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4717 yards | 66.6 | 110 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold M: 71.3/131 | 356 | 353 | 166 | 589 | 174 | 347 | 432 | 566 | 356 | 3339 | 387 | 530 | 181 | 398 | 567 | 390 | 199 | 441 | 266 | 3359 | 6698 |
| Blue M: 69.7/126 | 342 | 301 | 157 | 563 | 161 | 328 | 408 | 536 | 345 | 3141 | 361 | 508 | 157 | 375 | 555 | 377 | 179 | 418 | 257 | 3187 | 6328 |
| Blue/White M: 68.2/124 | 332 | 283 | 133 | 563 | 152 | 320 | 381 | 483 | 345 | 2992 | 342 | 508 | 139 | 351 | 437 | 377 | 179 | 370 | 226 | 2929 | 5921 |
| White M: 67.6/120 W: 73.2/132 | 320 | 283 | 133 | 549 | 152 | 320 | 381 | 483 | 333 | 2954 | 342 | 467 | 139 | 351 | 437 | 339 | 168 | 370 | 226 | 2839 | 5793 |
| Green M: 65.2/108 W: 69.7/121 | 310 | 270 | 128 | 509 | 141 | 308 | 315 | 462 | 323 | 2766 | 324 | 455 | 124 | 334 | 430 | 323 | 160 | 335 | 215 | 2700 | 5466 |
| Red M: 63.0/104 W: 66.7/113 | 258 | 253 | 108 | 391 | 126 | 219 | 287 | 406 | 241 | 2289 | 312 | 390 | 103 | 278 | 404 | 293 | 129 | 327 | 192 | 2428 | 4717 |
| Handicap | 17 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 16 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 17 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 18 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Food & BeverageAvailable Activities
SwimmingAvailable Sports
Fitness, TennisReviews
Reviewer Photos
-
Photo submitted by u000007865974 on 04/28/2025
-
Photo submitted by u000007865974 on 04/28/2025
-
Photo submitted by lfcediel on 10/23/2022
-
Photo submitted by lfcediel on 10/23/2022
-
Photo submitted by lfcediel on 10/23/2022
-
Photo submitted by lfcediel on 10/23/2022
-
Photo submitted by lfcediel on 10/23/2022
-
Photo submitted by kathyken1956 on 12/12/2020
-
Photo submitted by kathyken1956 on 12/12/2020
-
Gators and Golf, that’s North Carolina Low Country Photo submitted by Howard61965 on 06/23/2020
-
Photo submitted by Fedele on 06/01/2020
-
Photo submitted by pmaru77 on 04/29/2019
-
Photo submitted by u000001816724 on 07/29/2015
Greens are terrible
Course conditions are terrible for the money. It should be at least $20 cheaper considering the greens are just covered in sand. It is like putting in a bunker. They have too many tee times too close together and you will be waiting behind people A LOT for every shot.
Golf Now botched my tee time
Golf Now took my tee time over the phone and the person was unintelligible. She promised a confirming email that never came. I called the club to make sure our tee time was in the system and it wasn’t. Will never use Golf Now again.
Excellent
Was truly impressed by this course! From the friendly staff to the excellent pace of the greens. Fairways in good shape and a few very challenging holes. A must play and will certainly return.
Links Course Worth Playing
This is a links style course about 20 min from Wilmington. This course is a lot of fun and very forgiving. This course is a go to for me and my weekend group for a couple years now. Staff is super friendly, good greens, overall very worth the money. You can really go for it on this course and have some forgiveness being a links course. Would highly recommend this course in the Wilmington area!!
Worth a try
As a member of a private club, I review Castle Bay relative to its class as a public facility that's always fun to play. It has a somewhat linksy look that allows for shots to be run onto most greens and while the turf isn't anywhere near a true links, the winds that constantly sweep across the open terrain give it that feel and can require knockdown shots. The back nine is the more interesting of the two and demands both thought and distance control.The 12th hole is unique in being a short par 3 ranked as the No. 4 handicap hole. Water surrounds the green on three sides. It's difficult to hold and any miss is sent down the slopes toward trouble. The 18th is a fun hole that can be played as a drivable par 4. I recommend it as the by far the best of the three Hampstead courses.
Good value
A really good deal for the money, nice layout that’s very fair for the average golfer. The course is almost always in very good condition. The only criticism I would have is the sand traps, they use some very heavy sand that is not like most golf courses I play. The bar is just OK, it used to be much better.