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.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 72 | 6658 yards | 72.6 | 129 |
| White | 72 | 6143 yards | 70.8 | 125 |
| Gold | 72 | 5452 yards | 67.6 | 117 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 5452 yards | 73.5 | 133 |
| Red | 72 | 4520 yards | 63.0 | 106 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4520 yards | 67.5 | 114 |
| Teal (W) | 72 | 3553 yards | 61.7 | 101 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 72.5/134 | 389 | 172 | 482 | 412 | 412 | 394 | 165 | 394 | 531 | 3351 | 398 | 369 | 188 | 525 | 393 | 382 | 203 | 383 | 462 | 3303 | 6654 |
| White M: 70.4/129 | 348 | 162 | 453 | 384 | 399 | 359 | 136 | 366 | 490 | 3097 | 383 | 343 | 154 | 494 | 356 | 363 | 162 | 359 | 422 | 3036 | 6133 |
| Gold M: 67.5/116 W: 72.8/132 | 310 | 137 | 427 | 323 | 373 | 320 | 119 | 330 | 457 | 2796 | 359 | 273 | 116 | 456 | 343 | 333 | 128 | 309 | 405 | 2722 | 5518 |
| Red M: 63.0/107 W: 67.4/112 | 248 | 112 | 312 | 299 | 324 | 217 | 105 | 289 | 373 | 2279 | 310 | 218 | 100 | 383 | 248 | 269 | 112 | 261 | 343 | 2244 | 4523 |
| Teal M: 59.9/100 W: 62.0/99 | 211 | 107 | 262 | 223 | 228 | 177 | 100 | 232 | 267 | 1807 | 231 | 202 | 92 | 271 | 203 | 244 | 105 | 204 | 236 | 1788 | 3595 |
| Handicap | 9 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 17 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 10 | 16 | |||
| Par | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 9 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 10 | 6 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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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
Great course for the value
Tee boxes and fairways were in excellent condition. The greens did not look the best but surprisingly the ball rolled like any other well maintained greens. Lots of dog legs so if you want to take the chance and bomb it over the trees the reward is there. The only complaint is that they do not allow you to drive your cart to the range, you have to walk...what the heck? Overall great course.
Great Day at Byrd/Sea Trail
Nice course, being tourists we arrived 10 minutes behind schedule, and the staff was totally understanding, will play this course again on our next visit to NC.
Happy to hear it! Thank you for your 5 star review. Looking forward to seeing you next time you're in the area.
women friendly
Great course for women. Good setup and not too long.Greens had been punched and were very bumpy so I want to replay the course soon.
Thank you for your review. We hope to see you back soon!
Enjoyed the round
I really enjoyed this round!
Condition of the course, especially the greens, was better than average as compared to some of the other courses in the area.
Nice layout that includes a good mix of tightness, water, sand but not overly challenging. I played a mix of white and gold tees to make the overall length of the loop slightly over 6000 yds.
The only somewhat negative was pace of play. I took about 4 3/4 hours to complete but even that was too bad considering the tee time was 11:45 on a Sunday.
Thank you for your review! We are glad to hear that you had an enjoyable round. We apologize for the slow pace of play and hope this will not deter you from returning!
A Must Play Course
This course was probably the best value and in the best shape of any of the 6 different courses I have played in the last 2 weeks. I was a single and was placed with a threesome who have also been playing other area courses and agreed with my evaluation.
The pro shop had my reservation, the starters had me placed with the threesome, allowed us time to visit the putting green and spaced the groups well so we didn't push a group in front of us and never saw a group behind us.
The course itself was a fine collection of doglegs in both directions, forced carries, some water in play on tee shots, laterals, and protecting the greens, and some tight tee shots on shorter holes. Tee boxes, fairways, and greens were all in great shape.
There were some wet spots in some fairways which the starter had asked us to avoid, but we had rain earlier that morning. My only negative about the Byrd Course was the bunkers. They didn't have any soft white sand, but were more of a clay dirt mixture. But as Matt Kucher says, fairways good, bunkers bad!
Hey "rmharz" thank you so much for the 5* review! We are sure any golfer reading your review will appreciate your insights. We are happy to hear that we were able to provide you with an all around great golfing experience and hope you come see us again soon.
Decent track but . . .
Nice layout if you like doglegs, which I do. Fairways are generous and greens are large. I would have rated this course higher except that the bunkers are trash. Not much sand in all but a few so you have to pick the ball to get out. Greens rolled nicely.
Hi "Barry6396080" thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We are glad that you liked the layout of the course. Come see us again soon!
Great course
Overall, my wife & I enjoyed the course. This was our first time playing and we will certainly score better the next time. The layout of the course is excellent and the course was in okay shape. Lots of traps on course. The only negative comment is that the cart paths are pretty bumpy due to all the pine trees on both sides of cart path tearing up the cart paths.
Hey "Fore1051" we are glad that you enjoyed the layout of the course and had a great time with your wife out there! We look forward to having you two back out here soon!
A good day
Course was in good condition. The day was as good as could be. Greens made it challenging to get around the course. It requires your ball to be in the right place on greens and in fairways.
Hey "razor0717" thank you so much for the positive review! We are happy to hear that you found the course to be challenging and in good condition. We look forward to seeing you soon!
I love the layout
The club House is Nice and the surrounding great. We enjoyed the curvy green and the size of them. The slope is great and give the players à good challenge. We play the game in 4h10m, which is very good. The fairways are pretty wide so we can ease our driver..
The price is good too.
Hey "mokalarousse" we are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your time out on the course! Come back and see us again soon!
Saturday Slow Day
Course was a little beat up around the edges, greens were good. A lot of pine cones, made it hard to find the ball. Pace of play was bad, then got worse when they squeezed a twosome in front of the foursome in front of us. Water comes into play on a lot of holes.
Hey "bej7013" thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We do apologize that you were not satisfied with the pace of play, but are glad that you enjoyed the greens. Come see us again soon!
Fun, interesting course but WET conditions.
Day we played was a weird weather day - rain, wind, sun, etc.
Due to the wet conditions, had to keep cart on paths which made for a good workout.
I would love to play again in dry conditions.
REALLY liked the course.
Hey "losFadeaways" we are glad that you really enjoyed the course and hope you come see us again soon, on a dry day!
Great layout - Unfortunately it was a little wet
We played this course in the afternoon. Great challenging layout with dog legs and lots of fairway bunkers. Lots of water but rarely in play unless you miss your shot. Unfortunately, golf cart on golf path only today so lots of walking with a few clubs in your hand. The front nine was wet and muddy but the back nine was dryer. Tee boxes, fairways, and greens are in great condition but the rough was not in good shape (stay in the fairway!).
The staff was friendly and accommodating. I really enjoyed this golf course because it was in the wood, very quiet, nice scenery and beautiful houses along the way that were remote enough so no need to worry about landing in someone's backyard!
Watch for the crows, they are really hungry and not shy to land on the seat of your golf cart for food...
Hey "u200188257' thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback and leave such an in-depth review. We appreciate the kind words about the course and our staff. You will have to come see us again soon and this time watch out for the crows!
Great day and great value. We will be back.
Wife and I and another couple played 9 holes. It was somewhat crowded, but really moved along very well. Course was in excellent condition, a little wet in a few places, but after all the rain, better than we expected. The staff was the friendliest we have met in the entire Grand Strand area,
Hey "miloresh" thank you so much for the 5* review! We apprecaite the positive words about the course and staff. Come see us again soon!
Great layout!
Only able to play 9 holes due to relayed knee injury.
Great layout. A bit of rain made rough areas a but soft. Enjoyable round in all aspects.
A nice play.....when it's dry.
We played the course a day after it rained a bit. The course does NOT drain well. It's a nice layout, the staff is decent and conditions appear to be otherwise solid. It's just tough to score when u can't compress the ball and there's standing water everywhere. We'll be back one day, but not after a rain.
great game course
conditions moderate in every part ofcourse
no title
course was nice there had been to much rain like to play again when not so wet
Flood Zone
The positive was that I got to play golf with my Brothers starting out the new year! The Course itself was unplayable due to much rain and inadequate drainage and should have been closed. Can't remember much about the round except that the greens were over seeded with winter rye and were as fury as my old 70's shag carpet and the fairways soaked with 2/3 inches of water and 3/4 inch high rye grass!
still pretty wet - cart path only and should be
great mix of types of holes and water hazards are in clear view.. always like the Byrd.
greens were in great shape but stimping maybe 8-9.
i know Sea Trail is on the way back. i am sure they will fix the cart paths by spring. got lots of pine cones for my Christmas decor back home.
the Byrd is the word,
t
Sea trail resort ( Byrd)
We thoroughly enjoyed this golf course. The staff and facilities were great. The course was extremely wet due to all of the rain, but was in excellent shape. Fairways were plush and the greens were impeccable. I would highly recommend this course to anyone.
Overall, a great day.
Thank you for your 5 star review! We are happy to hear that you have had a day well spent with us! We will take your complaint and address it internally. Hope to see you soon!