The Best Myrtle Beach Golf Courses You Have Never Played
The Author: NMBG StaffPublished: August 31st, 2010
Last Updated: October 5th, 2022
With over 80 championship courses along the Grand Strand, golfers have there favorite courses that they like to play year after year. The majority of golfers like to play every course at least once to say, “I have played them all”. However there are several courses that golfers have never even heard of or played. You can’t say you are the master of golf in Myrtle Beach without playing St. James Plantation. Below is a list of St. James Plantation courses that we consider, “The Best Myrtle Beach Golf Courses You Have Never Played.”
St James Plantation in Southport, North Carolina
Located about 40 miles north of North Myrtle Beach, SC and about 30 miles south of Wilmington, NC, on what once was a former pine plantation is now a 6,000 acre gated residential community. Featuring acres of natural preserves, a full service marina and four excellent golf courses designed by some of the best names in the game of golf. There’s three 18-hole facilities and one 27-hole facility.
The Reserve Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus Designs, is the newest private course at St. James Plantation. Opened in 2007 to rave reviews, The Reserve Club won the title of “Best New Course in North Carolina” in 2007. The Reserve Club was also selected to the Golf Digest, Myrtle Beach Super 60 list, ranking 20th. The Par 72 measures 7,212 yards and was built through acres of wetlands and natural vegetation. The Reserve features A1 Bent grass greens with very little rough along the fairways, emphasizing on shot making and strategy.
The Players Club, is one of Golf Digest’s, Myrtle Beach Super 60. Ranked 25th and received 4.5 stars on the Golf Digest’s “Best Places to Play” in 2006. The course which opened in 1998 and designed by Tim Cate, plays just under 7,000 yards from the Championship tees with narrow fairways and waste bunkers making accuracy a must.
The Founders Club at St. James
The Founders Club, originally named The Gauntlet, was the first course to open. Designed by P.B Dye, the Founders Club is a Par 72 stretching over 7,000 yards from the professional tees. The course features the famous Dye Pot Bunkers, great views of the coastal marshlands and undulating greens. The Founders Club was recently ranked no. 46 on the Golf Digest, Myrtle Beach Super 60 list; however, it ranks as one of the “Most Difficult courses to play on the Grand Strand.”
Designed by 3-time US Open winner Hale Irwin, The Members Club, is the lone 27-hole facility at St. James. This Par 72 is a very playable 6,687 yards and is a favorite among the members of the plantation. With 3 sets of tees, the Members Club at St. James is a challenge for golfers of all levels.
All four St. James Plantation golf courses can only be booked with an accommodations package. Sorry only tee time bookings are not available on these four courses, through NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com. Email our local team of knowledgeable golf directors at golf@northmyrtlebeachgolf.com, give us a call at 1-800-624-6418 or chat live on our home page at
