With the sale of Sea Trail Golf Resort & Convention Center completed this month, its new ownership group has already begun ambitious renovations and development work that impacts its golf courses.
The clubhouse serving Sea Trail’s Rees Jones and Willard Byrd designs is closing for renovations, with a reopening date set for March 1, 2024. The facility is undergoing a thorough redesign and expansion to accommodate more amenities and enhanced food and beverage service. In the interim, the courses’ clubhouse and food and beverage operations will be staged at Sea Trail’s newly renovated convention center that features modern décor and enhanced amenities.
These efforts are the first in an extensive series of changes in store for Sea Trail’s 2,000-acre resort property, situated along the Grand Strand’s north end in Sunset Beach, N.C. The property includes the resort’s Jones, Byrd and Dan Maples signature golf courses, convention center, commercial properties, Village Activity Center, adjacent 15-acre parcel slated for new lodging and additional resort initiatives, and a site adjacent to the convention center for a planned 150-room hotel.
According to Parker Smith, partner in the new Sea Trail Golf Resort Management, LLC entity that now owns and operates the property, it’s all being done to provide their guests with the “total vacation golf experience” in one place.
“We’re excited about the full complement of lodging, food, amenities and entertainment elements our golf guests will enjoy at Sea Trail when all is said and done,” said Smith. “This will truly be a ‘leave the keys on the dash’ setting. Once you arrive, you won’t have to leave the property.”
Beyond the Jones/Byrd clubhouse work, the Byrd and Maples designs are first up for extensive on-course renovations that will include brand-new greens. That work will begin in summer 2024 under the direction of Tim Cate, who worked for Byrd and whose Grand Strand design credits include North Strand standouts Thistle Golf Club and the “Big Cats” courses at Ocean Ridge Plantation (Tiger’s Eye, Leopard’s Chase, Panther’s Run and Lion’s Paw, the last of which he co-designed with Byrd).
Stay in touch with PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com for ongoing updates on enhancements to Sea Trail and other Myrtle Beach-area golf properties.