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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
Sadly unhappy!
The course has fallen in stature over the years. Beverages cart was slow and no more personal beverages is bad policy.
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!
Good
Course was in great shape but cart paths leave a lot to be desired. Overall my wife and I enjoyed the round. We we will return
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!
Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Terrible Shape, Terrible Service
On Sunday, July 10th, our foursome tee'd off at 1:30. We made it through three holes in 30-ish minutes (the course was wide open--we now know why) only for a monsoon to start. My friends and I waited out the rain under a tree for around an hour, but it never stopped. Once we were finally able to return to the clubhouse for a rain-check, we were informed that we would only be receiving a 9-hole rain-check instead of the 18-hole rain-check we were expecting. Jim at the pro-shop was extremely rude and refused to give us more than a 9-hole rain check since being on the course for an hour constituted 9 holes. Again, we tried to explain that we only played three holes and spent the rest of our time waiting out a thunder storm. However, Jim continued to discount our reasoning and said the best he could do was give us a 9-hole rain check.
The service was almost as bad as the shape of the course. For this area, I would consider it a cow pasture. There were seed stalks in the middle of the fairways, brown greens, and 2-4ft tall weeds right off the THREE (not nine) tee boxes we were able to make it to.
Terrible course. Terrible service. There are several much better courses in the area for the price. We will never play Sea-Trail again. Hopefully, they can use some of that money for lawnmower gas because the course sure needs it.
Take my advice and please take your money elsewhere.
Thank you for taking the time to review and leave feedback on your recent round with us. We would like to apologize for any inconvenience you experienced. Your feedback is extremely important to us. It is always our utmost goal to provide our golfers with a fun and enjoyable time and apologize if we missed the mark. For further resolution in this matter, please feel free to reach out to our staff in the pro shop at (910) 287-1100. We hope to hear from you soon, and thanks for choosing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Terrible Shape, Terrible Service
On Sunday, July 10th, our foursome tee'd off at 1:30. We made it through three holes in 30-ish minutes (the course was wide open--we now know why) only for a monsoon to start. My friends and I waited out the rain under a tree for around an hour, but it never stopped. Once we were finally able to return to the clubhouse for a rain-check, we were informed that we would only be receiving a 9-hole rain-check instead of the 18-hole rain-check we were expecting. Jim at the pro-shop was extremely rude and refused to give us more than a 9-hole rain check since being on the course for an hour constituted 9 holes. Again, we tried to explain that we only played three holes and spent the rest of our time waiting out a thunder storm. However, Jim continued to discount our reasoning and said the best he could do was give us a 9-hole rain check.
The service was almost as bad as the shape of the course. For this area, I would consider it a cow pasture. There were seed stalks in the middle of the fairways, brown greens, and 2-4ft tall weeds right off the THREE (not nine) tee boxes we were able to make it to.
Terrible course. Terrible service. There are several much better courses in the area for the price. We will never play Sea-Trail again. Hopefully, they can use some of that money for lawnmower gas because the course sure needs it.
Take my advice and please take your money elsewhere.
Hi, 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.
Hello, 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.
Hello, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave an excellent rating! We really appreciate your business. Please let us know what we can do for you in the future to earn that last star!
We're glad you enjoyed your 5-star experience with us. Please comment or reach out to our team in the golf shop to let us know more about your round at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Hello, We appreciate the review. You rated us 3-stars which means there is room to improve on your recent experience at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. Let us know, in the comments, how and where you would like to see changes from the course. Thanks for the feedback!
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!
We would love to hear more about your positive experience on our course. Please contact us to share your favorite part of your experience and what we can do to earn that last star! Thanks for golfing at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Hello, we appreciate the review. You rated us 3-stars which means there is room to improve on your recent experience at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. Let us know, in the comments, how and where you would like to see changes from the course. Thanks for the feedback!
Hello, 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.
We would love to hear more about your positive experience on our course. Please contact us to share your favorite part of your experience and what we can do to earn that last star! Thanks for golfing at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center!
Challenging but fair
Staff is always great. Course is in good shape overall, although a few tee boxes could stand improvement.
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.
Overall very good golf experience
We were very pleasantly surprised. My son and I are low hcp golfers, who have played some very good courses,, and we really enjoyed the course. The layout and condition were top notch. The facilities were a little dated, the cart paths were rough, and there were no signs for the practice area or putting/chipping green, but those are very minor constructive comments. It was nice that this course allows practice chipping. Some courses no longer allow (I guess those courses have forgotten that they are a golf course! ) The bent greens were thick, healthy, and very consistent in the way they received approach shots and chips/pitches. They were planning to aerate the greens on Monday, the 6th, so you may want to give them a week or so to fill back in. I would definitely play this track again. Hope this is helpful to others.
Hi, Dave. Thank you so much for your feedback. We are glad you had enjoyed your time at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center, and pride ourselves on delivering the best experience possible.
We hope to see you again soon!
We appreciate the review. You rated us 3-stars which means there is room to improve on your recent experience at Byrd at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center. Let us know, in the comments, how and where you would like to see changes from the course. Thanks for the feedback!
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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!