I had a blast playing at Duke University Golf Club. I've played at a lot of golf courses over the…read moredecades, but only a handful of university courses. Duke's golf course is part of the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, the school's luxury hotel. I think it's pretty unique in that sense. It looks and feels like a private resort and country club, but it's open to the public. It's not surprising that a top private school like Duke has facilities such as this. If you're looking for some of the best public golf the Triangle has to offer, I think Duke Golf Club is worth checking out.
Unsurprisingly, it's more expensive to play at Duke than it is at UNC's Finley Golf Club (recently renovated) and NC State's Lonnie Poole Golf Course. For a Saturday morning tee time, we paid $140 per person. We got the Triangle resident rate of $105 greens fee plus $35 cart fee. The standard rate was $115 greens fee plus $35 cart fee ($150 total per person). These greens fees were the Friday-Sunday rate.
Was Duke worth the price? Yes. From tee to green, the course was in excellent shape, what you'd expect in this price tier. To me, one thing that sets apart courses in okay-to-good condition to courses in great condition are the tee boxes. In my experience, your everyday munis and public courses that cost around $100 and under (on weekends) will often have beat-up tee boxes. At those courses, most of the money appears to be invested in greens first then fairways and other elements, tee boxes last. Again, to me, the sign of a financially-healthy club/course or perhaps the sign of a course that's more on the "luxurious" side is nice tee boxes. They are a luxury. Duke had nice tee boxes.
The overall quality of the course was equivalent to a healthy private club. Now I'm not talking ultra exclusive or high end (e.g., Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass; those are obviously a different level), but still, very solid.
My friend and I were grouped with a local PGA Member who also happened to be ranked by Golf Digest as one of America's top 100 clubfitters. He's a true golf industry veteran, leader, and professional. I mention this because during our round, he and his buddy - also very good at golf - both had nothing but good things to say about Duke's golf course. In particular, I remember the PGA guy's approval of the greens. When we played, the greens had been aerified over a month prior. They were in outstanding shape. We were all in agreement.
The course is certainly challenging, but if you play from the appropriate tees, it can still be enjoyable for beginners and weekend hackers (like me). Like other courses, Duke's scorecard has suggested tees based on handicap. I played from the white tees, which is where I usually play from at most other courses. At Duke, the white tees are suggested for 16-27 handicaps. From the whites, the course measures 6,127 yards with a 70.3/129 rating/slope for men. The rating/slope is slightly more difficult than what I typically play.
My playing partners played from the golds (suggested 4-9 handicap, 6,872 yards, 73.8/142) and blues (suggested 10-15 handicap, 6,562 yards, 71.8/136). The course is a par 72. The PGA guy shot a two-under 70 from the golds -- one of the best players I've played with. My buddy shot a legit 86 from the blues. I had a couple pars, couple birdies (two in a row, on 11 and 12), but an otherwise unremarkable round. I picked up on a few holes, such as on No. 13 where I lost two balls, one in the rough and one in the pond guarding the green.
The rough at Duke is real rough. It's the kind of rough where oftentimes we had to be standing directly over our ball to see it. This happened to all four of us. Along with 13, I lost my ball in the rough around the 9th hole.
The course is hilly and has lots of bunkers. Miraculously, I didn't land in a single bunker. There's little room for error around the greens. You have to be precise or you will be penalized. The greens themselves were tricky too, but not unfair or unreasonable.
The amenities were good. For example, the carts were Club Car. They were in good condition. They had comfy, luxe seats, GPS units, towels, and tees. The GPS worked well. The yardages were accurate. We had a rangefinder and the yardages we measured were consistent with the GPS. There were double water coolers with cups on many holes. The on-course restrooms (right of 5 tee, left of 11 green, right of 15 fairway) had Elkay water fountains and water bottle filling stations. I appreciated fun details like the Duke blue golf carts, Duke "D" logo tee markers, Duke blue and white flags, Duke blue uniformed staff, etc.
The practice facility is sizable. Small buckets of range balls were included with our round. The range balls were Pinnacle brand, in good condition. The practice putting green, located right next to the inn, was huge. A Duke women's golfer practiced alongside us, doing a drill.
Service was great. I booked our tee time over the phone so we didn't have to prepay.
