Photos by L. Gavrich
You win some and lose some. Castle Bay developer Randy Blanton apparently convinced the state transportation authority in North Carolina to build the Highway 17 bypass just on the other side of his property near Wilmington, rather than directly through it. He had no such luck with the utility company whose high- tension poles and wires ruin the landscape on an otherwise visually interesting and playable links style layout.Blanton, we learned, had hired an architect from Raleigh to build the owner’s dream course, based on the Scottish links he had come to love on visits across the pond. Not Scottish enough, it turned out, and Blanton decided to build it himself. He included dramatic mounding on and around the fairways, mindful that the just-outside Wilmington location wasn’t exactly the old sod. Not too many pot bunkers, but the greens are large, fast and quite undulating and we found them in fine condition. Fortunate not to wind up above any pin positions, we nevertheless dropped a few at the back of the greens and couldn’t hold them within 10 feet of the cup. Like a true links course, trees are few, although they do frame the backdrops (unfortunately houses do as well, but thankfully not on every hole).
We had a true links experience on a cold November day. The wind blew hard, gusting to 30 mph at times; we gave up on keeping the cigar lit by the second tee. On one of the par 3s, which looked pretty routine to us, we left three straight shots short of the green; unfortunately there was a pond in front. Castle Bay looks gentle, but when the wind blows, it is anything but. There is also enough well placed water on the course that, even when gentle zephyrs blow, a hook or slice can blow your round.
Okay, now for the bad stuff. The course is overrun with high-tension wires that are everywhere, marring every view it seems and turning every opportunity to fantasize your way across the pond into disappointment. If ever we wished for underground utilities, this was it. And on a few holes, closely packed houses were lined up along the edge of the fairway, but at a safe enough distance across a stream. The ridiculously reasonable greens fees –- less than $50 when we played –- offered slight compensation. We left Castle Bay thinking more about what could have been than what was. Still, if you are in the area of Hampstead, NC, stop by. If you keep your head down –- before, during and after your swing – you’ll have a great round.
Note about the housing: Randy Blanton and his fellow developers originally offered seven basic models of houses between 2,400 and 2,600 square feet. When early purchasers opted for just two of them, they reduced the portfolio to just the two, one four bedrooms and one five, both with three baths. The master suites are good sized, but the other bedrooms are smallish. Both models have room for an office. They don’t have formal dining rooms, but there is the capacity to redo the walls to build a formal dining area. Every home has a view of the golf course. Prices run from just below $400,000 and up depending on whether you order transom windows and other flourishes. Lots, which are not sold without a house on them, are no larger than 1/3 acre, and that gives the community a somewhat high-density feel.
Castle Bay is located in Hampstead, NC. For information about Castle Bay real estate, contact Susan Jarman at
