The courses in Sunset Beach, NC have many great attributes that make them Grand Strand golf worthy. The natural land features of Sunset Beach offer a tranquil and beautiful golf setting. Located on the northern end of the Strand, the courses located here are far away enough from the Myrtle Beach hustle and bustle but close enough for Myrtle Beach visitors in search of challenging golf courses to travel to.

The Sea Trail Golf Resort offers three outstanding courses, all imaginatively designed by intellectual architects. The courses are both challenging to sophisticated golfers as well as amateur players. Each course at the resort has its own variety of holes, giving you the urge to not only play one, but all three!

The William Byrd course, which opened in 1990, features 18 holes at a par of 72. Many golfers consider the Byrd course to be a hidden golfing jewel. The parkland-style course features Bermuda greens and several man-made lakes were built into the course design to enhance the aesthetics of the course. Every hole is different and each requires a special strategy to succeed. One key to success here is to keep it in the fairway, which is difficult because the fairways at the Byrd course are much narrower than many of the other Grand Strand courses. Bring your most accurate game to the golf course and you’ll have an enjoyable and successful day of golf!

Many of the holes pose threats to a great score and require intense thought and strategy. The eighth hole measures up to 391 yards and features a very narrow fairway. The hole bends right but if you can carry the trees located to your right, you can easily achieve a short iron in. If you want to play with less risk, try to play to the right of the left bunker. Other holes, such as the number 4, require long draws to achieve excellent positioning. This hole is a 407 yard dogleg left that has many reward-risk options for you to play. The thirteenth hole features ponds to the right and left that nearly intersect with one another in the middle of the fairway. In order to reach it in two, you must project your second shot over the water.

The terrain on the Byrd course is generally flat but some of the holes do roll. There are also many large waste areas and pine trees line almost every hole. As you can tell, water does come into play here frequently but the water features on the Byrd course add to its beauty.

The Jones course, designed by Rees Jones, also opened in 1990 and has easily become a favorite among golfers. This straightforward course features large mounds and wide fairways which are generally surrounded by water. In fact, water comes into play on 11 out of the 18 holes here. The course measures 6,761 yards and has a slope of 132. Don’t let the amount of water on the course fool you because the biggest obstacles come in the form of pot and expanse bunkers that were strategically placed around the course.

The terrain here differs from the Byrd course because it features mildly rolling hills. The mounding and length also make it stand out from the other Sea Trail courses. The great thing about the Jones course is that the holes differ so much from one another that you won’t feel like your day is on repeat. All of them are challenging however, such as the number 6 which measures up to 400 yards with water the length of the entire fairway running up the left side. The number 16 hole is a 420-yard dogleg left that might hinder your progress if you don’t strategically place your ball. Many find this course to be the hardest of the three Sea Trail courses because of the bunkers and water features. There are also fun and enjoyable holes, such as hole ten which measures 345 yards and wraps around a lake to the right. Holes like these will give your brain a break from the head-scratchers.

The Maples course is probably the most forgiving of the three courses located at this golfing resort, measuring 6,740 yards with a slope of 130. There is a multitude of soft sand bunkers and water hazards located here as well, with water coming into play on 9 holes. Many of the holes feature large landscaped waste areas and the greens are slightly raised and undulating. Similar to the Jones course, the fairways here are also pine tree lined. The layout of the Maples course is very challenging but yet fair and golfers of all skill levels can come out and enjoy a great day of golf while enjoying the beautiful surroundings and landscaping.