April 2025 Issue of Home on the Course

How to Make a Buddy Golf Trip Last Forever

Think about it.  If you love golf, when are you more relaxed and have more fun than on a buddy golf trip?  A golf vacation is a time to dream, not only of a perfectly struck approach shot or a long putt for birdie, but also of how you might make the magic last for pretty much a lifetime.  Making that dream a reality might be easier than you think – with a little help from your friends…er, buddies.

Since Myrtle Beach, S.C. is among the meccas for buddy golf in America – 80-plus golf courses, fair prices for golf and lodging, and easy to get to from major metropolitan areas – I am going to use it as an example of how a foursome might pool its resources, buy a modestly priced home and then use it, pretty much forever, as a group as well as with their families.  In effect, four buddies with a dream can set up their own private timeshare in a golf community with all sorts of additional golf options within a short drive.

First the setup.  For your next buddy golf trip, choose courses that are tucked inside residential communities – most courses in the Myrtle Beach area fit that description.  Use one of the real estate sites like Realtor.com or Zillow and search the current listings for sale in those communities.  Set a total price, to be split four ways, that will be modest for you and your buddies.  In round numbers, I suggest condominiums and the occasional single-family homes that are priced at $400,000 and lower, making each friend’s investment $100,000 or less.  Of course, there will be carrying costs that include taxes, homeowner association fees (if applicable) and, naturally, fees for golf.  Virtually all golf courses along Myrtle Beach’s Grand Strand are accessible to the public but check if there are membership plans as well; you will be surprised at how modestly priced they are.  Better yet, membership in one course often confers reciprocal play at many other golf courses in the area.  (See reference to Founders Group International below.)  A membership may be the smart way to go if, for example, you and your buddies intend more than one visit together annually, and if your families and you will visit at other times of the year.

You may get some pushback on the home front at first.  Imagine that you return from your buddy golf trip and pose to your family the idea of investing in a home with your friends.  “Who are you,” your spouse might respond, “and what have you done with my husband/wife?”  (Note:  More and more women are going on buddy golf trips, so this scenario could certainly be reversed to feature women golfers.)  You might respond that the beaches on the Grand Strand are beautiful, accessible to all and within minutes of most any golf community you choose.  Myrtle Beach is a resort town and exists to entertain families, not only with its beaches but also with plenty of activities for kids (aquarium, minor league baseball, a zoo at the famous Brookgreen Gardens).  And dozens of the area golf courses offer a “Kids Play Free” program during the summer months. (I saved a lot of money in green fees for my nine-year old golf-obsessed son in the 1990s.)  In short, the idea of a home in a golf community will mean much more to the family than simply golf for golf-obsessed daddy or mommy.

I looked at the latest listings for homes in some popular and reasonably priced Myrtle Beach golf communities.  All listings are at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and are priced under $400,000.  If you would like some specific help with identifying a golf home for you and your buddies, or just you and your family, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will be happy to assist.  Because there was a short lag between writing this article and publishing it, one or more of the homes listed may have been sold. They are representative of other properties in each community.

True Blue Golf Club, Pawleys Island, SC 

Mike Strantz was one of the most creative golf architects in the history of the game but, at his death at age 50, he left only a limited number of designs that bear his particular – some might say “peculiar” – stamp.  Although Tobacco Road in the Sandhills of North Carolina stands out as his most unusual layout, True Blue is unique as well.  From above, the bright green misshapen fairways appear to have been laid down over acres of sand, so much sand, in fact, that cart paths run through most of the waste bunkers.  It sounds more intimidating than it is, and given the wide fairways and huge greens, hit the ball straight and you can score well. (You can strike most shots easily from the tamped down sand.)

True Blue. Golf Club, Pawleys Island, SC

The condos adjacent to the golf course won’t win any creative design awards, but they are comfortable and among the most reasonably priced along the Grand Strand.  This listing features three bedrooms and three baths over 1,400 square feet and terrific views of the golf course from the screened in deck.  Priced at $359,000.

Myrtlewood Golf Club, Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtlewood and its 36 holes of golf – the Palmetto and Pinehills courses – is one of the oldest clubs in the Myrtle Beach area and is centrally located within just of few miles of dozens of other golf courses.  The Palmetto, designed by the respected Ed Ault, was the first on the Grand Strand to be built beside the Intracoastal Waterway, and the entire length of the finishing hole runs along the water.  Pinehills is the product of another renowned designer, Arthur Hills, who produces layouts that golfers love for their playability without being routine or boring.

I played the Pinehills course last summer, my first round at Myrtlewood since 1969 before any homes were built beside the courses.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the condo buildings have been designed with as much care as the golf courses were, not the usual “stack-a-shacks” that are eyesores on many layouts.

A three bedroom, two bath unit with lake views from its lanai and close access to Myrtlewood amenities is listed at the super-reasonable price of $298,000.  Myrtlewood is one of the Founders Group International courses; therefore, Myrtlewood members have reciprocal access to the 22 other FGI courses, which include Pawleys Plantation, Grande Dunes, Kings North and TPC Myrtle Beach.

Tidewater Golf Club, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Some golf courses are more notable than their designers.  Such is the case with Tidewater, one of the most entertaining layouts in the Myrtle Beach area.  It was designed by Ken Tomlinson, a Columbia, SC, attorney and “amateur” golf architect whose only solo effort gained national recognition in 1990 as the best new public golf course in America from Golf Digest and Golf Magazine.  Described by at least one reviewer as the [Kiawah Island] “Ocean Course without the blind shots,” Tidewater is as unique a layout as its designer. 

Tidewater Golf Club, North Myrtle Beach, SC

There are relatively few condos in the Tidewater community that have been listed in recent years at under $400,000, but this one – at $399,900 – offers views of a pond and the Intracoastal Waterway.  The three-bedroom, three-bath condo is an end unit, giving you total privacy on one side, and is offered almost fully furnished (except for a grandfather clock and some kitchen appliances). 

Barefoot Resort, North Myrtle Beach, SC 

With its four golf courses designed by some of the most notable architects working today, a foursome of buddy golfers would hardly have to stray off campus to find any other challenging and entertaining rounds of golf.  The layouts by Norman, Fazio, Love III and Dye  provide one of the widest range of experiences in one place on the Grand Strand.  And the resort’s central location means shopping, entertainment, restaurants and the Atlantic Ocean beaches are within minutes.

Barefoot Resort, Love III Course, Myrtle Beach, SC

This three bedroom, two bath condo is located in the Harbor Cove section of the resort and features views of the inland waterway from the master suite, a large balcony overlooking the Greg Norman golf course, and a transferable golf club membership. It is listed at $389,900.

Crow Creek, Calabash, NC

The Crow Creek Golf Club is celebrating its 25th year in operation.  It was designed by Rick Robbins, who cut his teeth working for the Nicklaus organization in China before going out on his own in 1991. He is credited with designs all over the world, including in his native North Carolina.  He designed the golf course at Compass Pointe in Leland, near Wilmington, NC. (I played Compass Pointe shortly after it opened in 2016, and Robbins drove out in his golf cart to have a chat with me about his easygoing layout.  Nice guy, solid golf course designer.)

This first floor, three bedroom, two bath unit is close to the golf course as well as the clubhouse and pool.  It is priced at a reasonable $283,500.

Thanks for reading,

Larry Gavrich
Founder & Editor
Home On The Course, LLC