211 Clubhouse Rd, Sunset Beach, North Carolina, 28468
1 Ranking
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Golfer Bob
Sunset Beach
2012-10-22
Guest (cart included), played on Saturday, October 2012 at 8am
Played here 10-20-12 as part of a group. We also played the Byrd course here at Sea Trail Resort, and IMHO, Jones is a MUCH better layout. We were to also play the Maples course, but it is reportedly in such poor condition that it was open only to residents, lest some of us tourists bad-mouth it in reviews (wait! did I just do that?).
Anyway, the Jones layout is quite nice, and visuals are much better than Byrd. However, Sea Trail is quite close to some very top-notch courses, including Sandpiper Bay, the Big Cats, Oyster Bay, and the Pearl, so it's very much the poor relative in this family.
Having said that, if you're gonna play one course at Sea Trail, I recommend the Jones course: much more entertaining than the Byrd and what I heard of the Maples, although also a bit more of a challenge. The basic design is pretty straightforward, with no tricked up stuff, no railroad ties, very few blind shots, moderate rough, etc. I did think the OB was pretty close to the fairways on several holes on the back nine, as the houses get pretty close in some spots. Otherwise, no design complaints. Greens are large, most are gently contoured, and all putted medium fast and true. Fairway bunkers were firm, but greenside bunkers were mostly devoid of sand, for no discernible reason. And, on both this and the Byrd course, the green aprons were sopping wet, making it impossible to run a ball up the front. Don't know why they do that, as it makes getting at the front pin locations exceedingly difficult, almost always results in going above the hole which then requires a downhill putt. Other than that, a good golfing experience.
The staff was uniformly excellent, clearly motivated to keep the customers happy (and in a mood to come back!). I recommend!
Would travel: 60-120 Miles
Bottom line: I would play again, Average course for the area
Guest (cart included), played on Saturday, October 2012 at 8am
Played here 10-20-12 as part of a group. We also played the Byrd course here at Sea Trail Resort, and IMHO, Jones is a MUCH better layout. We were to also play the Maples course, but it is reportedly in such poor condition that it was open only to residents, lest some of us tourists bad-mouth it in reviews (wait! did I just do that?).
Anyway, the Jones layout is quite nice, and visuals are much better than Byrd. However, Sea Trail is quite close to some very top-notch courses, including Sandpiper Bay, the Big Cats, Oyster Bay, and the Pearl, so it's very much the poor relative in this family.
Having said that, if you're gonna play one course at Sea Trail, I recommend the Jones course: much more entertaining than the Byrd and what I heard of the Maples, although also a bit more of a challenge. The basic design is pretty straightforward, with no tricked up stuff, no railroad ties, very few blind shots, moderate rough, etc. I did think the OB was pretty close to the fairways on several holes on the back nine, as the houses get pretty close in some spots. Otherwise, no design complaints. Greens are large, most are gently contoured, and all putted medium fast and true. Fairway bunkers were firm, but greenside bunkers were mostly devoid of sand, for no discernible reason. And, on both this and the Byrd course, the green aprons were sopping wet, making it impossible to run a ball up the front. Don't know why they do that, as it makes getting at the front pin locations exceedingly difficult, almost always results in going above the hole which then requires a downhill putt. Other than that, a good golfing experience.
The staff was uniformly excellent, clearly motivated to keep the customers happy (and in a mood to come back!). I recommend!