We stayed in North Myrtle Beach and our Sunday round was close by at Eagle Nest Golf Club. When you think of Myrtle Beach golf you probably won’t think immediately of Eagle Nest. I know I didn’t! In fact, in my previous trips to Myrtle Beach the course never made it on my radar.

Eagle Nest is a Gene Hamm design that was built in the early 1970’s. I know some people who don’t care for courses designed around this time (generally speaking) because the courses can be a bit bland, but I don’t mind them. Truth be told, I usually enjoy my rounds on these style courses because the penalty for a miss isn’t as harsh compared to modern designs!

So, if you are looking for a jazzed-up design then it won’t be Eagle Nest, as the holes are fairly basic and the bunkers are flatter. However, if you are looking for a course to hack it around and relax with friends then Eagle Nest will be the perfect spot. This will be up to your group to weigh!

Aside from the average design, Eagle Nest benefits from a great setting and some local quirk! The course is nicely landscaped and is located in a natural area. All sorts of vegetation was blooming this time of year and the course has a parkland style layout. There are pine trees all over and a few holes play into a group of cypress trees. Even on a gloomy day, Eagle Nest looked sharp! Throw in the constantly chirping birds and the course was a great spot to be.

The quirkiest thing about Eagle Nest are its “perch” tees! From what I found the course was designed to max out around 6,900 yards. The perch tees were added in 2018 and bring the course to a whopping 8,168 yards! As you’ll see in my pictures the tees are built up and covered in some fescue grass.

After the addition of the perch tees, the course’s claim is that it is the longest course in South Carolina. In case you are curious I played the blues which are a more reasonable 6,652 yards (rating of 72.3 and slope of 130). If I was a local I wouldn’t mind trying out the perch tees, just to say I’ve played them!

While most of the holes at Eagle Nest are solid, I don’t know that there is a signature hole. Personally, I enjoyed the par-3 18th as I always enjoy finishing on a par-3! The 18th plays across a hazard and forces you to pick the right club and hit it solid to get over the water. The prudent play is to take an extra club, as there is room behind the green to miss.

I’ll call the conditions at Eagle Nest “fair”. There was a wall-to-wall overseed of ryegrass which made the course look great. However, the overseed was a bit splotchy and grew at inconsistent heights in the fairways. The greens also seemed to have a light overseed and had a fine layer of sand on top. Putts wobbled and bumped some so I had to hit my putts firmer. For $50 it wasn’t bad, things just looked better than they played.

There isn’t anything bad about Eagle Nest, as it is a solid mid-tier course that is convenient to North Myrtle Beach. I wouldn’t plan a golf trip around playing here, but if you want to mix it into your golf trip I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):