Occano

Arnold Palmer’s design team created a surprising amount of elevation at Occano (formerly Scotch Hall Preserve), a ninth-place finisher in Golf Digest’s Best New survey in 2009 under its first name (Innsbrook Golf and Boat Club). The layout maximizes the land along the Albemarle Sound with 11 holes on the water. The course calls itself the “Jewel of the Inner Banks,” a worthwhile stop for anyone traveling to or from the Outer Banks (though we hear a bunker project is underway, so check with the golf course). In 2022, Arnold Palmer Course Design co-vice president and designer Brandon Johnson completed an extensive remodel of the course that take the bunkers in a dramatic new direction and included the expansion and recountouring of the greens and green surrounds. The results give vibrant new playability to a course that already had rare aesthetic advantages.