Castle Bay Country Club

Back nine more difficult,have to hit longer drives to clear hazards.Fairways in great shape and so were the greens.They do need rangers to help speed up play. I can only imagine the time to play if there were walkers.

Typical beach course, nothing dramatic. The only “danger” is missing fairways from the tee box. Other than that, the course is not trick golf and enjoyable for any level. Probably the best course in the Hempstead/Topsail area.

Love the course, but thought a mid-day time would give us a faster round. Wrong. Over 5 hours to play, no rangers in sight to speed up the slow group(s). Second time this year with an excruciatingly slow round so I think I'll try one of the other local courses next time.

Like to play this course when I am in town visiting family and friends. Always enjoy the links style course as it is a good change of pace. Seems that there is always a breeze which helps this time of year. Apparently, the winter was colder than usual and a very wet spring, course is still in solid shape and the bent grass greens are in great shape. Staff was professional and courteous.

The course is not in good shape this year. I’m quite disappointed in the upkeep of the course. I will not be playing here for a while. Greens bad, fairways bad, bunkers awful, and the overall upkeep is bad.

A lot of other courses in the Wilmington and surrounding areas currently have terrible greens due to the harsh winter. After reading some reviews it seemed like Castle Bay had greens that were still in good shape and the reviews proved to be correct. Overall I thought the course was in good shape especially considering the volume of rain the week before. No wet spots. Tee boxes were nice and soft to get your tee in and were in great shape. Fairways and greens were also in great shape. The rough is a little unforgiving but that is the way the course is styled. Only minor complaint was the sand traps seemed to have some rocks/gravel rather than all sand. Overall I would recommend.

Of the courses I’ve played in Topsail Island, this was the best value. Well layed our with quality greens. Used GolfNow to book. Right challenging fairways. Recommend to everyone.

The greens had been punched several days before my round but that only affected the speed, the greens were slow but still rolled true. There were a few bad spots on the course but they really didn't factor in to play. Overall, a great course, awesome layout, and the staff here is very friendly. This is a links course so hitting into the rough is penalizing. Driver isn't needed on most part 4's. I definitely recommend this course.

I've been coming to this side of the state for 15+ years and have never played here until this year. I'm sorry I waited this long. The course wasn't as hard as I expected. In fact, it was pretty wide open. There's some bushy rough, but for the most part, it's easy to stay out of trouble most of the day unless you're a complete hack. I can't wait to play again. See you the week of the 4th.

Although I've played this course probably30-40 times I hadnt played it for almost a year. Prices have gone up and its not the bargain it used to be.

I played this past weekend and the course is in the worst shape since I've been playing it. Having said that, the greens were ok with only a little Broccoli type stuff growing in it. However , they put some new sand in the bunkers which is horrible..its full of dirt clods and rocks and is very low quality sand that should not be in a sand trap. The fairways had really tight lies mostly and there were a lot of bare areas on the fairways and adjacent to the greens. This area has had really bad weather and its really hurt the golf courses this season.

Our biggest issue was that we made tee times (8 of us) for Thursday, on Tuesday, and they didn't tell us that they were punching and sanding the greens the day before we got there. That is unacceptable. Sure, we wouldn't have played there that day, but we would have been happy to come back in a couple weeks. The course is within 30/45 minute drive for all of us, and we enjoy playing lots of different courses, but not when the greens are covered in sand! They may have lost a couple foursomes today, but the good will they would have gained would have made up for it. Now......nobody has an interest in going back.....(it's the second time in the last year they've pulled this on us). They might have got an extra few bucks today, but as a group that plays weekly in this area it will definitely cost them rounds in the future. And, to top it off, the restaurant/bar is no longer open. Lunch and drinks were not an option. It's an enjoyable course that is different than the others we play, but we won't be coming back any time soon. Sure, the greens will be in better shape, but we have lots of options in this area and won't be supporting a course that is more worried about today's dollars than the long term.

I am writing this review so that anyone who has any kind of discount card avoids this course. The Assistant Pro is dishonest and does not have any concept of customer service. He booked my tee time and then I confirmed my discount card with him along with the rate. When we arrived he claimed they do not honor the MYGOLF card and proceed to charge each of us $15 more than the previously stated rate for the card. He continued to lament about how money would come out of his pocket if he only charged our group the discount rate. I asked for the head golf professional and not only showed him that they were an affiliate and showed him the published rate. He claimed that he really didn't know about the card even though it is clearly posted on their website that they are an affiliate. Don't waste your time with these people, dishonest and not worth your money,. GM and head pro R Michael Watson said he was going to call MYGOLFNUS first thing the following Monday. I called as follow up to see if he had made the call and they had never spoken with MYGOLFNUS. I am calling again tomorrow.

This is the best course in Hampstead, NC. The front nine is fun and easy but the back nine is more challenging. If it is windy you had better choose your clubs wisely.

So after reading a bunch of reviews on all the local courses in and around Topsail, it appeared Castle Bay might give us the most bang for our buck. We booked a time on Golfnow for $39.

The course layout was so mediocre. The back 9 did offer a few holes that weren't dead straight and I did appreciate the driveable 18th. There were a couple holes where lack of local knowledge off the tee equaled lost balls. But all in all the layout was bland.

I will say the greens were in good shape. They were rolling about 9 which is about right for public golf. In a perfect world they would have been quite firmer but they did roll nicely. The greens are by far the best aspect of CB.

I haven't played any other courses in the area yet so it's impossible for me to compare CB to its competition. I'm hoping other courses in the area have a little character, something CB seriously lacks. After playing the course, $39 seems high for the product they are offering. Hoping the area has something more to offer the public golfer.

People were very nice (Rangers, Starter, Pro shop)

Course conditions were very good overall.... the greens were very soft and sticky for those approach shots. I thought the layout was fun and gave you a good chance to score. Some greens were very tricky to read and the pin placement was tough on a couple of holes. All in all... a great links

Style course.

I go up to Wrightsville Beach, NC as much as I can to visit our beach house and always try to fit in at least 2 rounds at Castle Bay while there. The course is always in great shape for a semi-private club and the layout is fun and very fair. Price is right and the pace is reasonable although can be a little slow if the place is crowded. It's great for a late afternoon round because it's usually not as crowded at that time. Fun course and nice folks.