There are about 100 golf courses on Grand Strand. It all depends on how far up and down the coast and into Brunswick County you keeping counting. When I lived there for most of the 1990s, the number increased every year, rising well above the century level.
Yes, I had played them all, including private clubs such Wachesaw Plantation, DeBordieu Cub, The Reserve at Pawleys Island and Grande Dunes Members, plus those whose status has changed such as The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, The Surf Golf and Beach Club and Pawleys Plantation.
Then came 9/11 and a recession. Then the popping of the real estate bubble. The tourism business struggled. Fewer visitors came to the Myrtle Beach area to play golf.
I used to count St. James Plantation outside Southport, which later took its four courses private, and Bald Head Island Club, which is two hours away if you include the ferry ride.
The days of going to Myrtle Beach and playing a new course are long gone. But when you’ve got 60 miles of coastline and 100 existing courses, there is always news.
I had a fantastic, but short, trip to Myrtle Beach last week, including rounds at Caledonia Golf and Fish Club and the Dunes Club. Here’s a few tidbits gathered during my pre-spring trip last week:
–The Calabash River bridge on scenic Beach Drive between Calabash and Sunset Beach is expected to reopen in May, according to multiple sources quoting NCDOT. The closing for almost two years has caused detours of 15 minutes for golfers heading north to Oyster Bay Golf Links and the three courses at Sea Trail Plantation.
–PopStroke, the Tiger Woods-affiliated entertainment facility with specialized putting courses that opened in spring 2024 at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, is worthy of a visit. Designed with artificial grass products offering and a variety of playing conditions and undulating holes, PopStroke also offers food and drink in a sports bar atmosphere.
–The PGA Tour’s OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic, scheduled for the same weekend in May as the Truist Championship, will have celebrity pro-am stars such as Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell. Beach music favorites Chairmen of the Board and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line fame will hold concerts.
–Brierwood Golf Club in Shallotte, an 18-hole facility catering mostly to locals but open to the public, is planned to reopen with nine holes after closing several years ago.
