Dan Maples Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach: 8 Layouts from the Area’s Hometown Architect

Played a Myrtle Beach golf trip? Odds are you’ve already teed it up on a Dan Maples course without realizing it. The son of Ellis Maples, who apprenticed under Donald Ross, Dan has designed eight courses from Pawleys Island to Sunset Beach, tied for the most of any architect in the Myrtle Beach area.

The Maples Trademark: Brains Over Brawn

Here’s what ties every one of them together: Maples makes you think, not just swing hard. His water and bunkers don’t just punish. They act as aiming points that frame your tee shots and approaches. Greens sit at angles, short par 4s tempt you, and shotmaking beats raw distance every time. The result is a course that challenges a scratch player without beating up the 18-handicapper in your foursome.

Now, the lineup:

Heritage Club (Pawleys Island)

Built on 600-plus acres of former rice plantation, Heritage Club rolls beneath centuries-old live oaks toward the Waccamaw River. The par-3 8th, a forced carry over water, is a classic Maples gut check.

Willbrook Plantation (Pawleys Island)

History meets golf here, with markers telling the story of the plantation and the people who worked it. Don’t sleep on the 127-yard par-3 6th: a tiny island green that’s way harder than it looks.

Oyster Bay Golf Links (Sunset Beach, NC)

Water, marsh, oyster shells and the occasional alligator. Oyster Bay’s par-4 13th, a 307-yard tease with a water carry off the tee and a nasty bunker complex at the green, is pure Maples temptation.

Man O’ War (Myrtle Beach)

Built around a 100-acre lake, Man O’ War puts water in view on every hole. The peninsula 18th bends along the shoreline to a green that bends even further. It’s a closer you’ll be talking about at dinner.

The Wizard (Myrtle Beach)

Man O’ War’s next-door neighbor trades flat for flash, with dramatic mounding, elevation changes and a castle clubhouse you can’t miss. The par-3 17th, an island green reached by bridges, is your photo op.

Pearl Golf Links (Sunset Beach, NC)

Twenty-seven holes, three personalities: a links-style nine, a parkland nine and a nine wrapped around the Calabash River marsh. On the West nine, the par-4 3rd uses two bunkers as tee targets and three ponds that play tricks with your depth perception.

Sandpiper Bay (Sunset Beach, NC)

Another 27-holer, split into the Sand, Piper and Bay nines. The Bay nine has water on every hole, including a par 3 that asks for a carry of nearly 200 yards. The Piper nine is the friendliest of the three.

Sea Trail – Maples Course (Sunset Beach, NC)

At under 6,400 yards from the tips, this tree-lined, dogleg-happy layout proves the Maples point that precision beats power. The par-4 7th, with its foot-shaped fairway and sandy “toes,” is a quirky favorite.

Play the Maples Collection on Your Next Trip

Because Maples courses are spread from the South Strand to the North Carolina line, they slide easily into almost any Myrtle Beach golf package. Mix a plantation classic like Heritage Club with a water-heavy thriller like Man O’ War, and you’ll see the range of one of golf’s most underrated architects.