I was invited to tag along on a buddies trip to Myrtle Beach for a few days. The group was playing Saturday through Wednesday and I joined for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The group played three rounds during that time and I was able to squeeze in an extra round on my own. As usual, it was a lot of golf and a lot of driving!
The first round we played was at Carolina National Golf Club, which is between Myrtle Beach, SC and Wilmington, NC, so it was a great spot to break up the drive from Virginia. Carolina National is a Fred Couples course and one I that I’ve been hoping to play, so it worked out perfectly!
From Charlottesville it took me about 5.5 hours to get to the course, but I made sure my lunch stop was at Publix for an excellent sub! I got to the course a bit early and paid the $40 green fee, which was a steal for our group. For that price this time of year, there isn’t a way you can beat what we found at Carolina National!
The course was in super shape, highlighted by incredible greens! All the grass was full, but dormant this time of year. Everything is bermuda here and the tees were painted while the fairways looked to be a mix of a tiny bit of ryegrass, combined with paint. I didn’t spend much time in the fairways on the front nine but all my lies on the back were nice! As long as you don’t expect a lush overseed or that deep, dark green color I think you’ll enjoy the conditioning here.
As I mentioned, the greens were the highlight of the maintenance. They were incredibly fast and very easy to three putt! The greens were a dormant bermuda strain and also looked painted. They had that three or four foot trickle to them, which had us putting defensively. The quickness was a shock for me coming from spongy bentgrass greens this time of year in Virginia! The nice thing is that many putts here have minor breaks.
There are three nines at Carolina National, all named after birds that you’d find in a marsh – Egret, Heron and Ibis. We played the Egret and Heron nines and started out on the Egret. I played the gold tees which are 71.2/134/6473.
Both nines have a pretty natural feel and the course looks great with all the pine trees and beautiful bunkering. You even get some views of the Lockwood Folly River on Heron.
Overall, Egret has community-style holes with most of the holes playing between the homes in the development. While the homes are set back from the course, they actually felt pretty close, for whatever reason! Egret has a tighter feel to it and some really good driving holes.
Egret’s best holes are going to be the par-3 5th and the par-5 9th. At 156 yards the 5th is the shortest par-3 at Carolina National! The green sits close to a water hazard which wraps around short of the green and to its right. If you mis-hit one then you’ll have some anxious moments! And, if you bail to the left then you’ll end up with an awkward chip.
Egret’s 9th hole is a 457 yard par-5. While this could be one of the shortest par-5’s you’ll play all year it could also be one of the most interesting! The hole doglegs left and is heavily bunkered. While standing on the tee it looks like you are hitting into a sea of bunkers! Basically, you have all sorts of lines off the tee. Once you get to the fairway you’ll find that the green is tucked behind a group of pine trees and a hazard. It is a bit quirky, but our group had a birdie and an eagle, so I actually thought it was a bit of a breather.
I found Heron to be more open and a bit more comfortable to play, except for the par-3 5th. The 5th on Heron is a beautiful par-3 that plays across the marsh, bordering the river. The views are nice and the hole’s design just makes you want to avoid disaster! Thankfully, there is room to bail to the right.
I enjoyed Carolina National and would consider it a worthy stop on your drive to/from Myrtle Beach. The greens are small and with their speed, they were the biggest challenge for our group. Out of the four courses that I played on my weekend trip I liked Carolina National the best!
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):