Situated within minutes of each other in the quaint
North Carolina coastal
villages of Calabash
and Sunset Beach,
respectively, Brunswick and Sea
Trail golf and resort plantations offer golf travelers a rustic and quiet
alternative to the bustling commercial and tourist center of
Myrtle beach
proper while providing outstanding golf and assorted other
amenities including health and fitness centers, biking/hiking
trails, and cozy restaurants featuring top fare.
Brunswick
Plantation & Golf Resort is conveniently located on Highway
17 about eight miles from North Myrtle Beach and within easy access to
local beaches and shopping. The 1700-acre resort features 27 holes,
including 18 holes by Willard Byrd and a 9-hole Clyde Johnston design.
Hole 5 - Jones Course
Since the resort opened in 1991, the local owners have been dedicated
to ensuring that Brunswick Plantation remains a favored destination
for many golfer travelers to the Grand Strand. This tradition was
continued with the completion in the summer of 2006 of a multimillion
dollar renovation of the golf course.
Seven new back tee boxes have been added so that any two of Brunswick
Plantation's three 9-hole golf courses,
The Magnoliaz,
The Azalea and
The Dogwood,
can be combined to offer 18 holes that play to nearly
7,000 yards. The tee boxes create new angles to the fairway and bring
some of the ponds into play, adding challenge for the scratch and low
handicappers. The course is extremely forgiving from the forward tees,
giving higher handicappers an opportunity to shoot some of their
lowest scores.
In addition to all new cart paths and the addition of several
new or rebuilt bunkers, the greens were replaced with Champion
Bermuda, a new thinner-bladed Bermuda strain that provides an
extremely smooth, consistent putting surface on a par with bent
grass.
As for landscaping, more than 300 new trees have been planted
throughout the golf complex to better define hazards and the
fairways. These include 165 towering palm trees, weeping willows,
crepe myrtles, wax myrtles, magnolias and dogwoods. Also, 2,000
new azaleas and 3,000 ornamental grasses have been planted.
In addition to these physical improvements, the resort has moved
from 8 to 10-minute intervals between tee times that are in
line with those of the elite courses in the country.
"Brunswick Plantation has always offered one of the most
enjoyable golf experiences on the Grand Strand, but these changes
have moved us up another tier," said resort manager Bill Bernier.
Beyond the course itself, Brunswick's amenities, are equally
tailored to maximize the experience of visiting golfers. Some
360 ultra-modern rental villas include 2 bedroom/2 bath 1500-square
foot units, some of which overlook the course and include Jacuzzis.
The public areas include indoor and outdoor pools and an exercise spa.
In addition to the fully stocked pro shop, the ante bellum
plantation-style clubhouse includes Jasmine's offering
breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Brunswick Plantation was designated among "America's Best Master
Planned Golf Communities" by Where To Retire magazine. Its golf
packages can be customized to include guests' choice of more
than 100 area courses.
Holes 1 and 2 - Maples Course
Visitors to and residents of Sea Trail Golf Resort & Conference
Center are rewarded with three of the best courses on the Grand
Strand. The 2000-acre residential and resort property is populated
by pines, live oaks, maple, river birch, weeping willows, and bay
trees. Fox, deer, and Osprey hawks flourish in this rustic
environment, enhanced by extensive landscaping.
Sea Trail is located in Sunset Beach, N.C., named in 1992 by
Money magazine as one of the best buys residential "buys" in
the nation. Changing Times magazine has listed Sea Trail among
the top five retirement communities in the country and Retirement
Lifestyles called Sea Trail "an impressive development" and one
of America's top 50 masterplanned golf communities based on polls
of golf writers, marketing and real estate professionals,
average golfers and property owners.
Such accolades start with the golf courses. Sea Trail's popularity
among golfers is owed to Dan Maples, Rees Jones and Willard Byrd,
who graced the property with their unique design styles that bring
out the best in the landscape.
Opened in 1989, the
Jones course
winds through towering pines and
is populated by clear natural lakes where sightings of alligators
are not uncommon. A straightforward design, it is the longest and
arguably the most challenging of the three Sea Trail courses. And,
it has hosted numerous events, including a 2006 U.S. Open qualifier.
Its greens are L-93 bent grass. Like the other two courses, the fairways
and tee boxes of the Jones is planted with 419 Bermuda which is
overseeded in winter with rye.
Located on the eastern side of the property and opened in 1985, the
Maples course
winds through tall pines and live oaks. Its opening holes
parallel Calabash Creek. While definitely not a pushover, the course
has the reputation of being the most "user friendly" of the three
layouts by many of the local residents. In 2003, the course underwent
a renovation that included converting the greens from Bermuda to
A-1/A-4 blend bent grass.
Holes 1 - Byrd Course
Opened in 1990 and laid out on the north side of the plantation is the
course designed by Willard Byrd, who designed many great courses including
The Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst. The
Byrd course is
marked by manmade lakes, a number of doglegs and a finishing hole that
threads through two ponds. The greens are penncross bent.
The Jones/Byrd clubhouse overlooks the 18th holes of both courses and
a long- and short-game practice area. The clubhouse includes Magnolias
Restaurant, a cozy place that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. The
Maples course is served by a separate clubhouse that has a snack bar,
and has the Sea Trail Custom Clubs shop.
Other property amenities include the members-only Maples Swim & Tennis
Center and the public Village Activities Center with indoor and outdoor
pools and whirlpools, tennis courts, and an on-staff licensed massage
therapist. In addition, there are activities for children, a nearby
planetarium, bike and hiking trails, and the largest conference facility
on North Carolina's coast, the 62,000-square-foot Carolina Conference
Center.
Guests of Sea Trail have a choice of modern rental villas in private
residences. Residential property incudes condominiums, villas, and homes
of varying architectural styles and sizes.
Sea Trail Golf Resort & Conference Center is the centerpiece of
Sunset Beach, which was founded in the late 1950's by Mannon Gore,
a local farm owner who bought the timberland upon which Sea Trail sits
from International Paper Company. Gore's purchase included the barrier
island and the land west of the intercostal waterway that now comprises
the village of Sunset Beach. Gore himself ferried visitors to and from
the island before he had the first bridge built connecting it to the
mainland. Today, Sunset Beach is considered one of the finest beaches
on the Eastern Seaboard.
The tradition of creating a paradise for vacationers and residents
was continued by Mannon's son, Ed Gore, who partnered with John
Williams, Paul Dennis, Miller Pope and Harris Thompson to develop
Sea Trail into the resort community it is today.
