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Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center
About
The Willard Byrd course at Sea Trail Plantation is one of three courses on the property, which covers 2,000 acres of creeks and wooded lots. It's in Sunset Beach, N.C., once named the top coastal destination in the U.S. by Money magazine, and in 2003, Golf Week named Sea Trail in America's best residential courses of distinction.
All three courses, by Dan Maples, Rees Jones and Willard Byrd got 4-star ratings from Golf Digest. The Byrd course is built around several, man-made lakes, from 14-20 acres and features nicely undulating greens and Byrd's trademark decorative sand and waste bunkers, constrictive treelines and greenside bunkers.
The Byrd course opened in the fall of 1990 to good reviews. No. 18 finishes between two ponds at the clubhouse. The course covers 6,750 from the blue tees with a slope rating of 128 slope. Watch for No. 2, a 174-yard par-3 over water, and No. 3, a long par-5, a dogleg right with water on the left.
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Course Details
Rentals & Services
Practice & Instruction
Policies
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5 Stars
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4 Stars
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3 Stars
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2 Stars
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1 Stars
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5 Stars
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4 Stars
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3 Stars
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2 Stars
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1 Stars
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Conditions4.1
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Value4.2
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Layout4.4
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Friendliness4.5
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Pace4.3
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Amenities4.3
Golfer Photos
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Photo submitted by bnellis on 04/05/2026
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Photo submitted by CoachGrayski on 12/28/2025
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Photo submitted by CoachGrayski on 12/28/2025
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Maples greens several like this Photo submitted by KennyRuggs on 11/16/2024
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Par 3 #12 Photo submitted by u314160791017 on 08/13/2023
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Photo submitted by u314164034732 on 05/30/2023
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Photo submitted by u314163966299 on 05/18/2023
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Photo submitted by u314163966299 on 05/18/2023
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Photo submitted by u252826083 on 08/13/2022
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Photo submitted by dave00001 on 06/07/2022
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Photo submitted by DrBurb on 04/13/2021
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Photo submitted by sixeagles on 03/12/2019
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Photo submitted by sixeagles on 03/12/2019
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Photo submitted by sixeagles on 03/12/2019
Golfer Reviews
Byrd Sea Trail - Not Recommended
Greens - crab grass around the perimeter
Fairways - heavy debris still on course (granted, hurricane was a week ago); still, seems like better care could have been made or a reduction in greens fees.
Tee boxes - terrible, definitely shows a period of long neglect.
Sand traps- so bad, we took drops outside of them. Clearly not been raked or maintained for a week or more
Overall, a big disappointment; especially after a favorable day on its sister course, Rees.
Had looked at a VRBO after playing Rees on a future trip. Not happening!
Layout good
Course layout was good. Much needed clean up required
We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are going to pass on your feedback to the team. Thanks for visiting Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center, and we hope to see you again in the future.
Jones not Byrd
Was moved to the Jones course due to a tournament being on the Byrd course. Overall the course was in pretty good shape but many of the Bermuda greens had burned up spots. People were quite friendly and the pace of play was fine.
Hello, thegolfball1953. Thank you for visiting us at Sea Trail Golf Resort. We appreciate your 4-star rating and review. We hope you join us for another round soon.
We love hearing about our golfers' experiences. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Overall course was Good to Very Good, Fairways were good, some greens were beat up, but still in good condition, some good challenging holes, will play again when down here
Thank you for your review. We will pass along your positive experience and feedback to our team at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Bad paths
Course was fine, greens very good. Staff super helpful and friendly. Cart paths in terrible condition.
Thank you so much for leaving us with your feedback. We value our customer experience, so your review is important to us. Please know the current conditions are by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We will continue to work towards a 5-star experience and we hope to see you back!
Coastal Golf
Course was great, layout was great, staff couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. I can’t wait to return and play another round here. Everything about this course was beyond what I expected. Definitely recommend this course.
Thank you for taking the time to review us. Your feedback is valuable, and we look forward to delivering you excellent service again soon. Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center thanks you!
We appreciate you taking the time to leave us a review. We would love to know how we can earn those last two stars next time! Thanks for playing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center.
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We see you rated the course 2-stars and are interested in learning what we can do to improve for your next visit.
We take customer feedback very seriously at our course. Please reach out to our team in the golf shop and tell us what's on your mind.
Worthy
We were first off at 7:30am so pace of play was great. They did not double book for the back 9 so we finished 18 in 3:10. Very friendly and helpful staff. Tee boxes and fairways were in great shape. The greens were very splotchy with brown spots where they were trying to eradicate the fairway type grass from the greens (I talked to one of the staff actually working on a greed while we were playing). See photo. Definitely a work in progress. Cart paths were horrendous. Facilities and carts were dated, as well. Overall, priced accordingly, though.
Thanks so much for your review. We're so glad you enjoyed your round at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. That's what we like to hear! We hope to see you again soon!
Thank you for reviewing us. We see you rated the course 3-stars and are interested in learning what we can do to improve before your next round. Feel free to comment on this review or reach out to the team in the golf shop. We always appreciate the feedback. Thank you for playing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center, and we hope to see you again soon.
Golf
The course was great. The cart paths were horrible. They are really bad.
Thank you for visiting us at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. We appreciate your 4-star rating and review. We hope you join us for another round soon.
Thank you for reviewing us. We see you rated the course 3-stars and are interested in learning what we can do to improve before your next round. Feel free to comment on this review or reach out to the team in the golf shop. We always appreciate the feedback. Thank you for playing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center, and we hope to see you again soon.
We love hearing about our golfers' experiences. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Hi, We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We see you rated the course 1 star and are interested in learning what we can do to improve for your next visit. We take single-star feedback very seriously at our course. You are welcome to comment further or reach out to our team in the golf shop. We always appreciate the feedback. Thanks for choosing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center.
First time.
The course was in beautiful shape. I had the course to myself after passing one group.
Hello, thank you for visiting us at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. We appreciate your 4-star rating and review. We hope you join us for another round soon.
Cart path.
This is a course full of dog legs that needs a lot of TLC. Cart paths will shatter your teeth. Haphazard mowing and a lot of crabgrass. Shaggy greens.
Thank you for reviewing the course. Let us first start by apologizing for the condition of the cart path. Your feedback is important to us, and we are going to escalate your feedback to our team so we can make improvements. We will continue to work towards an excellent experience by using your comment for guidance. Thank you for playing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. We hope to see you again soon.
We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are going to pass on your feedback to the teams in charge so they can work to make changes.
Your feedback helps us do better. We are looking into this issue and hope to resolve it promptly.
Thank you for visiting Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. We hope you'll give us another try in the future.
Not Great, but Fine
Played on a Monday afternoon and only person on the course. Cart attendant and pro shop guy were very nice and efficient, but literally the only staff I saw my whole visit. Nobody at the snack bar to get any drinks or food or ranger/starter/bev cart (it was a weekday, can understand light staff). Loaded up and headed to first tee.
Tee boxes were inconsistent: sometimes perfectly mown, sometimes with rough length grass, sometimes very patchy with big weeds sprouting up. Fairways were probably the best kept areas, rain in the area made them very soft however. Could not play out of any bunkers as they were either bare or waterlogged. Greens were patchy as well, ball hopped a lot.
I have to make a statement particularly for the cart paths as I was there on a cart path only day: WORST paths I have ever driven on. Almost needed to go to the chiropractor after. Roots have destroyed the pavement, they need a major overhaul.
Would recommend this course in the dryer seasons because the rain is a common problem here.
Thank you so much for leaving us with your feedback. We value our customer experience, so your review is important to us. We will make note and we hope to see you back at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Better than expected
I remember when Sea Trail was a premier golf destination and I realize it's not what it once was, but the recent reviews had me believing this place was absolutely terrible. Fortunately I gave it a try and ended up playing all three courses while in the area for the week. Between the cost and late afternoon tee time availability, I'd recommend Sea Trail and play it again and again.
The greens were on the slow side but smooth and playable,
fairways and rough were in excellent condition, traps and tee boxes are decent.
Well worth $30-$55!
We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. Thank you for the 4 stars! We aim for a 5-star experience, so we always welcome feedback for improvement. Thank you for playing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center.
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Hi. Thank you for reviewing the course. Let us first start by apologizing for the poor experience you had during your visit. Your feedback about the course is important to us. We are working to get everything up to par. We have projects ongoing to recover the fairways and greens. The current condition is by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We are going to escalate your feedback to our team so we can make improvements before your next game, and we will continue to work towards an excellent experience by using your comment for guidance. Thank you for playing Sea Trail Golf Resort- Rees Jones Golf Course. We hope to see you again soon.