When golfing Carolina Colours’ Golf Club in New Bern, NC, no overview of the Carolina Colours Golf Course would be complete without mention of the exceptional golf practice range’s tees and fairways. We are unaware of any practice range in the central coastal region that compares with the Carolina Colours’ facilities. Nearly 400 yards long (and slightly uphill) and about 90 yards wide at the tee (and it widens from there), it would boggle the mind if anyone, of any ability, could drive the golf ball through the end of range, absent a hurricane wind from the rear. With two separate tee areas, so as to preserve the teeing grass, and with targets flagged for distance, the golfer should have no limit to the scope of his warm-up and practice sessions.

Adjacent to the golf practice range is a practice bunker, available for both explosive and long shots. Most of us need work on our sand games, and the opportunity to get that work presents itself at Carolina Colours.

Adjacent to the Pavilion (clubhouse) is a putting and chipping green. With two tiers, there is plenty of room for multiple players to practice at once. And finally, there is a small warm up green adjacent to the first tee. As you wait for the foursome ahead of you to tee off, you can get in that final couple of putts, preparing for that (hopefully) personal record round about to begin.

18th Golf Hole - Tee to Green View

Just beyond the Carolina Colours Golf Course’s 17th green, set among a stand of trees, is the tee complex for the 18th hole.   As with many of the course fairways, it gently rises to an elevated landing area, guarded left and right by large bunkers.  The bunker on the right is easily reachable by the average ball striker, and can be flown by the extra long hitter.  The bunker on the left, however,  begins where the right bunker ends, allowing the shorter hitter some additional room, catching any pulled drive by the long driver.

From the landing area, a mid to long iron will be required of most players, particularly when the pin is back.   A large green-side bunker on the left extends from some 20 yards from the front left of the green to about its mid point, making for a difficult play.  Knolls and valleys surround the green on all other sides, with the deepest to the rear.  Chipping from the front is straight forward, so missing short is the best miss-hit.

The green itself is quite large, some 45 yards deep, but only about 20 paces wide.  While there are no extreme contours on the green, flat putts will be rare, and long putts, of which there will be many, will not be easy.

A deceptively simple hole, challenges are abundant.  Any shot finding a fairway bunker will leave a long approach, likely blind, as the bunkers are fairly deep.  Any shot from around the green, other than the front, will require a delicate touch.   Short birdie putts will be rare, while any shot that is not hit straight makes bogey about the best the player can hope for.  18 is a finishing hole that, while less spectacular in looks than many others, will prove to be a great test of golf.

Black  417       Blue  398    White  389     Gold   379   Red  322

18th Golf Course Green

Golfer's View from 17th Tee

Approaching the 17th hole, after passing through a bit of forest, the player sees a tree lined fairway that rises from the golf tee, requiring an uphill tee shot to this 5 par golf hole. Along the right side of the golf fairway, three large sequential sand traps not only frame the golf course fairway, but also guard the spiff of land that is the shortcut to the golf green. The 275 yard hitter that also hits it straight can fly these golf traps, and if the woods on the right are avoided, have a long second shot by the right side of the two trees that protect the golf green, leaving an eagle putt.

The mere mortal, however, will see the small bunker in the center of the fairway, and hit towards it, or to its left. This much safer shot then leaves a layup by the left side of the two guardian trees, resulting in a pitch into the green on stroke 3 of between 75 and 125 yards. Leaving the layup too short will bring the above mentioned trees into play, blocking the green.

The green is guarded by a large sand bunker in its front, with another to its right. A third small one, at the center rear of the green, helps frame the shot. Yet more sand, some 60 yards short of the green on the left side of the fairway, is more a directional trap than a hazard routinely found. A large green, with a bit of an hourglass shape, is highlighted by a ridge running through its center from back to front, making it important to locate the approach on the same side of the green as the cup. Failure to do so will make for a long, difficult putt.

Many of those familiar with the Carolina Colours golf course find this split fairway hole its most intriguing. Pretty, and with many different playing options, scores ranging from eagle to double bogey are all a real possibility. Played conservatively, however, par should be achievable. The long knocker, however, will have trouble resisting the temptation to shave about 40 yards off the hole, with an eagle putt the reward of success, even though failure will be costly.

Black: 509    Blue: 491    White: 480     Gold: 465     Red: 381

Golfer's View of 17th Green

View of 16th Green

As the golfer approaches the 16th tee, it is immediately apparent this little hole, the shortest on the course, sits in a unique environment.  The tee and green of this 3 par are surrounded by woods, and the tees and greens are almost islands within the wetland complex of Brice Creek.

All tees except the red require the tee ball to cross a wide tributary of the Creek, with the green sitting some 30 yards over the branch.   The green sits well above the level of the water, so any ball short of the green will likely feed back into a little ravine the architect has kindly created to keep balls from rolling back into the unplayable creek bed.  There are also collection areas both left and right of the green, so most balls missing the green will require a pitch from an area sitting sell below the green.  The green is further protected by a sand bunker just off the right center of the green, and two more bunkers to the left.

The red tee, however, is not even visible from this tee complex.  Rather, a ride through and over the woods and wetlands to the right brings the player to the red tee box, which actually approaches the green from what is the right side of the green from the primary tee complex.  This location removes the need of carrying the water for those traumatized by forced carries.  From this tee, the same bunkers mentioned above change their relevance, appearing on the left side and long.

The green itself (from the main tee complex) is about 35 paces wide, and 25 paces deep.  From the red tee, of course, the green becomes long and thin.   With a ridge running back to front near the center of the green (from the main tee complex) and with a green that generally slopes back to front, the putts are not hard to read, but putting the tee ball on the half of the green where the pin is located will greatly enhance the chance of a one putt hole.

Many players will hit wedge from this tee, which should yield plenty of birdies to those that keep the carry over water out of their swing thoughts.  However, missing the green may well change that realistic birdie to a bogey, as it will be no sure thing to get up and down from the collection areas or bunkers that surround this smallish green.

Black:  130   Blue:   114   White:  103    Gold: 83   Red:  76

The

The 15th hole at Carolina Colours Golf Club is a relatively long par 4, with a dogleg to the right. From the tee, the turn in the fairway is quite visible, but the green is not, thanks to the woods all along the right side of the fairway. The hole is bounded on the right by the wooded wetlands surrounding Brice Creek, an area to be avoided on both the drive and the approach shot to the green.

The prudent shot from the tee is to the left side of the fairway, rather than trying to cut the corner of the dogleg, due to the length of the hole. This placement allows for a clear shot to the green from a shorter drive than is required from the right side. A good drive reaches a slightly elevated landing area, flying over some gentle rolls within the fairway, and allows for a slightly downhill second shot to the green. Many will be hitting a fairway wood toward this massive green, the largest on the course.

The green itself is some 50 paces deep and 35 paces wide. It is bisected by a hump that runs from its highest point in the right center of the green, to its lowest point in the left center. In effect, the green thus has two plateaus, one on the back of the green, the other the front. As with most greens at Carolina Colours, the green surrounds fall away on both sides and the rear, while a chip from just short of the green is not a difficult shot.

When finishing the hole, the player will note that 15 is the only bunkerless hole on the golf course. The length of the hole, and size of the green, make the hole plenty challenging without sand. Pin position will impact the holes length greatly, as location will impact club selection by as many as 4 clubs. Par is a good score here, but keep the ball out of the woods and avoid the three putt, and bogey should rarely be exceeded.

Black: 436     Blue: 427     White: 402    Gold: 386     Red: 319

Golf - 14th Hole - View from Tee

Leaving the 13th green, the tee of the 14th hole is visible through a narrow strip of woods, to the player’s right. Only approaching the tee, however, does one see the hole; what one sees is a large pond down the left side of this short par 4, and a green that sits against the bulkhead, a pretty site for the non-golfer, but quite a challenge for the golfer that wants to hit at the green. Don’t even think about it, unless you have tour length.

Instead, hit anything from a long iron to a driver between the pocket bunker on the left, and the larger, narrow, S shaped bunker on the right. The fairway is one of the flattest on the course, so direction is the key, not distance. From a good, straight drive, one is left only with a short iron or wedge to the green, which sits to the left, and is guarded from this direction by a rather steep bunker about 10 yards to the front of the green; this bunker must be carried, and a bunker on the back (from the tee) or the right (from the layup) should be avoided. Of course, anything left is wet.

The green is rather small, slopes back to front, and has a bit of a ridge down the middle (from right to left, approaching from the lay up landing area). Putts are not severe, and two putts should be the norm, with one putt frequency exceeding those rare three putts.

Two good swings, and this becomes a birdie opportunity. If you are young and limber, and think you can hit it a mile, eagle can be had, but most that try it will be contributing to the pond bottom filled with balls. Play conservatively, and this pretty hole can help the player keep a low 18 hole score in range.

Black: 281   Blue: 274   White: 264   Gold: 253    Red: 201

Golf - 14th Green