Golf Courses on Drive Down to Myrtle Beach

I am wondering if anyone has any good suggestions for golf courses to play on the way down to Myrtle Beach from Washington, DC. My wife and I are headed down there at the end of March and I was looking for a good course to play on Sunday March 22. I checked with Golden Horseshoe in Williamsburg, VA, but they have a tournament on the Gold Course that day. I'm looking for a decent course not too far off of I- 95. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Royal New Kent is now open again. Never played it but have always been interested in it. It's a Mike Strantz course. I've played three of his courses and they are very unique.

The Neuse is a good one just outside of Raleigh.

Both great suggestions - thanks for sharing. I wanted to mention that I'm looking for public or semi-private courses, as I don't have connections for private courses. Both of these options are public, but I wanted to clarify just in case. Looking ideally for something about half way, as a chance to break up the trip. Thanks for your help!

So you're looking at something like a 7 hour trip, and half way from DC to Myrtle Beach puts you in the general area of the NC/VA state line. There's not really a lot of population in that area, so not a lot of golf courses. If you're thinking about spending a night along the way, the choices become wider.

I think the suggestion for Royal New Kent is a good one, its only a couple of exits from the I-295 bypass around Richmond. That leaves you something like 5 hours more to drive, which will make for a really long day if you drive close to 3 hours, then play golf, and then continue on to Myrtle Beach. Switching the "long drive" around a bit, you could look at playing Keith Hills, a few miles north of Fayetteville.

Having done that drive a number of times, Williamsburg is definitely not "on the way" from DC to Myrtle - so dont do that.

RNK is always an option. Belmont GC in Richmond is an old public course I have always wanted to check out. Its is an old Donald Ross design that has struggled to stay open in recent years, have always wanted to check it out.

If you make your drive down through Raleigh - there are a ton of options. It adds 45 minutes or so to your drive to route yourself that way - but thats no different than driving off 95 to some course and then driving back to 95. It was @ 4.5 to Raleigh from here and then 3 from there to Myrtle. The UNC course is supposed to be fantastic. I played Lonnie Poole a couple years ago - the NC State course - and it was a really fun Arnold Palmer design. Definitely more options in Raleigh.

Don't play Royal New Kent....most courses in MB will appear rather bland afterward.

Not if they play Caledonia and True Blue!

Keith Hills is not far off of 95. Owned by Campbell University. 27 holes, and usually in good shape.

Starting from DC, think about driving most of the way to MB.

If you drive 95 - 40 - 140 you will be at Leland NC, where you can play Cape Fear or Compass Pointe. Cape Fear is more premium.

This shortens your full drive to MB by 1.5 hours, but you only have 1.5 hours left after golf. It may not be fun having 3-4 hours left after golf.

If you are going to stay overnight after golf, then you would have more options off of 95. The few courses I have played on the way have closed.

I never liked doing that. It didn't waste a day, but we started the trip tired.

I would stop in play tobacco Road/ MID Pines/anything in the Sanford or Sand Hills area. Not too far off of 95 and probably a pretty easy track to get on 17 if you’re going to take the scenic route. If you get on 17 early enough, you can play down in Wilmington which has a few really good courses. Wilmington is about 20 minutes or so from the northernmost part of Myrtle Beach and about an hour-ish to the southern end/pawleys Island

Knew someone would bring those two up......both excellent courses by Strantz

Virginia

Mattaponi SpringsRoyal New KentStonehouseNorth Carolina

Duke University courseUNC FinleyLonnie Poole (N.C. State)Chapel RidgeTot Hill FarmBasically any course near Pinehurst (Tobacco Road, Dormie, Mid Pines, No.2, No.4, never-ending loops at The Cradle)

All excellent suggestions, I appreciate them. We decided to meet up with my brother, who lives just west of Durham, for a round near him. So we'll probably play the Duke or UNC course. But I will certainly keep the others in mind, as I know we will be down that way again. Thanks again for all of your expertise!

I haven't played Mattaponi Springs in years but i enjoyed it.

Here's some good options. I'm from your area originally so hopefully this will help:

Independence - Midlothian, VA (Been years since I've played here, but was an extremely fun track)

There is a course called Timberlake GC in Clinton, NC. Very remote area, not a lot of folks play there. It's been about 4 years since I got there, but the owner is stupid rich and used to put a lot of money into keeping it up. Super cheap rates and great layout.

If you wanna venture off 95 a little ways, in the Raleigh area: Lonnie Poole, Pine Hollow, Finley, Duke U GC, Tobacco Road, River Ridge (a mix of higher prices and standard prices for the Raleigh area)

It is a nice track. The Zoysia grass takes a little to get used to. Reminds me of North Carolina with the pines everywhere. Pendleton is also worth playing, not far from there with some solid holes.

I try to play Timberlake at least once a year. I did not know that about the owner but wondered why it was always so reasonable but in awesome shape. If I lived closer, I would definitely be a member there. Pretty net that as flat as the general area around Clinton is that there are a few holes with a little roll in the landscape.

For those who are members of a club, you might consider making arrangements to play at Benvenue CC, in Rocky Mount NC. A friend keeps telling me to play it, apparently its an old Donald Ross design, always in great shape. Heck, its worth a call even if you don't have a connection to a club, maybe they'll let you play a round.

Try River Landing in Wallace NC -