Carolina Shores: Five Things You Need to Know

Carolina Shores is the first golf course players see when entering Brunswick County on route 179 from Myrtle Beach. Nestled amidst the quiet charm of Calabash, Carolina Shores paved the way for Brunswick County’s emergence as a golf hotspot.

What do you need to know before teeing it up at the Tom Jackson design? Plenty. Here are five things to consider before playing Carolina Shores.

1. When the course’s original owners commissioned Jackson to design the layout, they instructed him to build the toughest course on the Myrtle Beach golf scene.  Jackson did his best to accommodate, using dramatic bunkering to provide visuals and carving a course from a piece of property that still had 9,000 pine trees after the design was completed.

[Course Review: Carolina Shores is Getting Better With Age]

2. The second, and arguably most important, thing you need to know is don’t be intimidated by No. 1. The challenge of Carolina Shores made it a favorite of low handicappers, but it has been softened in recent years to make it playable for everyone. The most significant change was the removal 50+ bunkers, most of them along fairways. Today, Carolina Shores is among the area’s most player-friendly layouts.

3. Carolina Shores is a course on the rise. If you haven’t played it recently, you will return to a facility that has made substantial upgrades not only in playability but in conditioning as well. The course is in better shape than it has been in years and is continuing to improve.

4. The most important club in the bag at Carolina Shores is the driver. The fairways are sufficiently generous but finding the tree line off the tee typically means trouble. Players that keep the ball in play off the tee will have a chance to score well.

[Photo Gallery: Carolina Shores]

5. The layout is good, the conditions are ever improving, and Carolina Shores returns a bang for your golfing dollar.

“Most people tell us it’s a really nice golf course that is wonderfully priced,” general manager Philippe Bureau said. “It’s a great value.”