Virginia Beach & the Outer Banks Golf Courses & Tee Times

Who runs public golf in Virginia Beach & the Outer Banks

Virginia Beach owns its public courses but leases them to private operators. Virginia Beach Golf Management runs Red Wing Lake, a 1968 George Cobb course stretched to 7,124 yards, Kempsville Greens, an Ellis Maples layout from 1957, and Ocean View in Norfolk. The city also owns Virginia Beach National, the Pete Dye and Curtis Strange course that opened as a TPC in 1999 and was bought by the city for $4.5 million in 2006. In 2026 City Council approved a plan to add 659 homes and cut it from 18 holes to 12, so check what is open before you go. Norfolk closed its nine-hole Lamberts Point course at the end of 2022.

Public courses worth knowing in Virginia Beach & the Outer Banks

• Virginia Beach National Golf Club: Pete Dye and Curtis Strange design, opened in 1999 as a TPC and bought by the city in 2006. Par 72, 7,003 yards. A 2026 council vote approved cutting it to 12 holes with housing.
• Red Wing Lake Golf Course: George Cobb layout from 1968, renovated in 2005 and stretched to 7,124 yards. City owned, run by Virginia Beach Golf Management.
• Hell's Point Golf Club: Rees Jones design from 1982 that Golf Digest called one of the country's best new courses. Par 72, 6,766 yards, more than 60 bunkers.
• Sewell's Point Golf Course: Donald Ross design from 1927 on Naval Station Norfolk, par 71, and open to the public.
• Heron Ridge Golf Club: Fred Couples and Gene Bates design from 1999. 7,017 yards with water on 14 holes.
• Kilmarlic Golf Club: Tom Steele design on 605 acres of maritime forest in Powells Point. Hosted the North Carolina Open in 2004 and 2009.
• Nags Head Golf Links: Links-style course on the Roanoke Sound side of Nags Head, 6,126 yards, where the wind does most of the defending.
• The Currituck Club: Rees Jones design in Corolla, open since 1996, 6,885 yards through maritime forest and coastal flats.

Booking tee times in Virginia Beach & the Outer Banks: the local rules

The city courses are run by a private operator, so book through Virginia Beach Golf Management's public tee sheet, which has a separate member sheet. Sewells Point takes tee times through the Navy's online booking system. On the Outer Banks, summer is vacation season, so reserve before your trip; Kilmarlic stays open year round with off-season discounts, and the climate is mild enough to play in January.

Why tee times in Virginia Beach & the Outer Banks are hard to get

Golf in Virginia Beach & the Outer Banks follows the seasons: spring openers and fall weekends are the busiest stretches, and summer mornings fill before afternoons.

Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.

When tee time cancellations happen

A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.

How to get a tee time in Virginia Beach & the Outer Banks

Doing it by hand? Here's what works.

1. Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
2. Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
3. Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
4. Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
5. Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Virginia Beach has 22 courses on Yoink and Williamsburg has 3.

Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked