South Carolina Coastal Golf

Demon Deac · March 6

My wife and I are exploring a winter home in SC and maybe GA, focusing roughly between Charleston and Savannah. She wants to be reasonably near the beach and doesn't play golf. I've been checking out clubs in the Bluffton area (Callawassie, Berkeley Hall, and Belfair at the top of my list), but wondering if there are other areas I should explore? One of the clubs has a "national membership" that has a greatly reduced initiation fee and dues, in exchange for a max of 50 rounds a year, which would be plenty in the max of 4-5 months we'd be down there in the winter. Any suggestions?

TIA

Drwoods2017 · March 6

2 hours ago, Demon Deac said:

My wife and I are exploring a winter home in SC and maybe GA, focusing roughly between Charleston and Savannah. She wants to be reasonably near the beach and doesn't play golf. I've been checking out clubs in the Bluffton area (Callawassie, Berkeley Hall, and Belfair at the top of my list), but wondering if there are other areas I should explore? One of the clubs has a "national membership" that has a greatly reduced initiation fee and dues, in exchange for a max of 50 rounds a year, which would be plenty in the max of 4-5 months we'd be down there in the winter. Any suggestions?

TIA

It's probably more of a what are you looking for. You've got kiawah that has several clubs on it and seabrook which is a couple minutes drive from the beach. You can go further down to sea island or st simons island. Hilton head is always a good call because of location. I find charleston to be the least appealing when also wanting beach options because there's really no beach there. You'd need to go out to folly or over to isle of palms. I think the bluffton option is good but still a bit of a drive into hilton head for the better beaches.

Edited March 6 by Drwoods2017

hangontight · March 7

I would consider what "near" the beach means to you. Kiawah and Seabrook are AT the beach....right there. The Bluffton courses you mentioned are NEAR the beach, but while 30 minutes doesn't sound like a lot , it can be a BIG difference. Living in Charleston, I meet people all the time who moved here to be "at the beach", but live 30 minutes inland and never go. Heck, I now live 15 minutes from beach...used to live 5, and we go to beach maybe 20% of the frequency we used to. Being at the beach makes it easy to pop over for a walk after dinner, run in he morning, etc.....being NEAR the beach means more of a planned event. That being said, they all have different vibes. I personally like the Beaufort area a lot....more low key than Hilton Head/Bluffton and several very solid golf clubs that should fit the bill for National Membership - Chechessee Creek Club, Secession to name a few.

Demon Deac · March 9

We live outside Philly right now and going to the beach means a drive of 1.5 - 2 hours, so 30 minutes isn't bad. I would like a club with a full range of activities (pool, fitness, etc.) and not just golf, since my wife doesn't play golf. We're heading down to SC next week to check out the Bluffton / Beaufort area, so will get a feel for clubs there. Kiawah initiation is a bit steep (I'd like to stay in 5 figures). Seabrook Island looks like it might be worth a visit. Thanks guys!

tomba51 · March 10

Of the places you mentioned, Callawassie is the furthest from the beach. Berkeley Hall and Belfair are at least 20 minutes closer to the Hilton Head beaches than Callawassie, with Belfair being a little closer than Berkeley. Callawassie has 27 beautiful holes. Berkeley Hall and Belfair both have 36 holes and are both impeccably groomed. Played Belfair a couple of days ago and the golf course and the club house were both immaculate. Be aware that Belfair's initiation fee is about $70,000 and the annual property owner's fee is about $20,000. Berkeley's initiation is about $65,000 and the POA is about $23,000. Callawassie's initiation is $25,000 and the annual dues are about $14,000. Be aware that I got those numbers from a local real estate comparison article that is several months old, so the numbers might be different now.

Edited March 10 by tomba51

caniac6 · March 10

There are several privates in Pawleys/ Murrells Inlet area that are very close to the beach. The Reserve in Pawleys Island is part of the McConnell network, and it gives you access to a lot of good courses, mostly in the Carolinas. Debordieu is a bit further south, and has a beach on their property. Don’t know if you would be interested in expanding your search to the Myrtle Beach area, but these are far enough south of Myrtle, especially Debordieu, that it’s way more relaxed.

Demon Deac · March 11

@caniac6 - thanks for the tips. I'll check out The Reserve and Debordieu

Demon Deac · March 11

@tomba51 Thanks for your feedback on Callawassie, Berkeley Hall, and Belfair. I'll be checking them all in person next week. As you suspected, your $$ are a bit dated. Callawassie is $50k initiation now, Belfair is still $70k,, but BH is now $80k. I believe you get what you pay for, but only one way to find out!

krtgolfing · March 11

1 hour ago, Demon Deac said:

@tomba51 Thanks for your feedback on Callawassie, Berkeley Hall, and Belfair. I'll be checking them all in person next week. As you suspected, your $$ are a bit dated. Callawassie is $50k initiation now, Belfair is still $70k,, but BH is now $80k. I believe you get what you pay for, but only one way to find out!

I'd check out Colleton River if you get the chance. 36 hole facility with a Jack Nicklaus course and a Pete Dye course.

tomba51 · March 11

1 hour ago, krtgolfing said:

I'd check out Colleton River if you get the chance. 36 hole facility with a Jack Nicklaus course and a Pete Dye course.

Yes Colleton is a beautiful place. Definitely worth checking it out.

BirdieRoll · March 11

Hampton Hall might still offer a non-property owner membership. This might give you the golf but with more flexibility on where you want to live. (But not sure if it includes other activities in addition to golf, more so for your wife).

I'd be interested to know details about the National Membership or DM if preferred.

That's a fun area down there.

tomba51 · March 11

1 hour ago, BirdieRoll said:

Hampton Hall might still offer a non-property owner membership. This might give you the golf but with more flexibility on where you want to live. (But not sure if it includes other activities in addition to golf, more so for your wife).

I'd be interested to know details about the National Membership or DM if preferred.

That's a fun area down there.

Hampton Hall is a $23,000 initiation fee and POA is $5,089 annually (These numbers are a year old so possibly outdated). Colleton River is $60,00 initiation fee and $26,565 annual POA with an optional lifestyle membership of $15,874. I don't know what that lifestyle membership is, perhaps it covers the cost of amenities, e.g. golf. I'm sure that those numbers are higher now.

Hampton Hall is a very nice community with a very nice golf course. Everyone that I know that lives there is very happy. It is also more affordable than Berkeley Hall, Colleton River, or Belfair. However if your budget can afford Berkeley Hall, Colleton River, or Belfair, I would choose one of them. Those 3 communities each have 2 courses (Hampton Hall has one) and the golf courses at those 3 communities have spectacular low country views.

Atwsc7 · March 12

On 3/11/2024 at 12:34 PM, Demon Deac said:

@caniac6 - thanks for the tips. I'll check out The Reserve and Debordieu

My buddy is a member at the Reserve. I think he pays between 300-400 per month. I don't think the initiation fee was anything crazy. It's a good layout and the greens are always pure and fast. Pace of play is always fast as well

JRSc · March 16

On 3/6/2024 at 1:20 PM, Demon Deac said:

My wife and I are exploring a winter home in SC and maybe GA, focusing roughly between Charleston and Savannah. She wants to be reasonably near the beach and doesn't play golf. I've been checking out clubs in the Bluffton area (Callawassie, Berkeley Hall, and Belfair at the top of my list), but wondering if there are other areas I should explore? One of the clubs has a "national membership" that has a greatly reduced initiation fee and dues, in exchange for a max of 50 rounds a year, which would be plenty in the max of 4-5 months we'd be down there in the winter. Any suggestions?

TIA

Pawleys checks all our boxes. I’m a member of a McConell course so get to play The Reserve a few times a year and we love the beach. Many great options to choose from.

T-MAC · April 3

On 3/11/2024 at 4:44 PM, tomba51 said:

Hampton Hall is a $23,000 initiation fee and POA is $5,089 annually (These numbers are a year old so possibly outdated). Colleton River is $60,00 initiation fee and $26,565 annual POA with an optional lifestyle membership of $15,874. I don't know what that lifestyle membership is, perhaps it covers the cost of amenities, e.g. golf. I'm sure that those numbers are higher now.

Hampton Hall is a very nice community with a very nice golf course. Everyone that I know that lives there is very happy. It is also more affordable than Berkeley Hall, Colleton River, or Belfair. However if your budget can afford Berkeley Hall, Colleton River, or Belfair, I would choose one of them. Those 3 communities each have 2 courses (Hampton Hall has one) and the golf courses at those 3 communities have spectacular low country views.

The golf is separate from the initiation fee and POA dues in Hampton Hall. The golf has it's own initiation fee which used to be 30K (then for awhile it went down to 5K so I'm not sure what it is today) and the monthly golf dues are around 450.00/mo. Plus if you have your own cart there is a trail free of around 2k per year.
When you buy into Berkeley, Belfair, and Colleton River you are a member of the golf club (although Colleton has their separate "lifestyle fee").
Dues at ALL of these private Clubs are going up pretty much every year now so get in while you can.

Edited April 4 by T-MAC