Founder's Club at St. James Plantation

Played the Founder's Club at St. James Plantation again for the first time in about 2 years. This is really a great course - but tough! It's a P.B. Dye design with some narrow landing areas and strategically placed bunkers. In addition, there are a lot of undulating greens. So even if you reach a green in regulation you will probably face a challenging putt (or 2!) unless you are in the right spot.
The course was in very good shape, although the greens were a little slow due to the extremely hot weather conditions, and spare rainfall that we've experienced this summer. Pace of play was pretty good, and they have a very nice clubhouse.
Other courses at St .James Plantation are the Player's Club, Member's Club and Reserve Club. All have a large membership and just a few packagers can book rounds on the courses. The Reserve Club is the newest of the 4 courses. It's a Jack Nicklaus signature design that opened in 2006, and will be going private in early 2008. The Reserve Club was voted "Best New Course in North Carolina" in 2006.
The courses at St James Plantation are a long drive from Myrtle Beach, but not too bad from North Myrtle Beach. They are definitely worth playing, and may work out very well if you are traveling from the north and can play them on your way in or out of the area. If you are making the trip to St. James during your stay, you may want to consider playing 36 holes.

Willbrook Plantation Golf Club

Was invited to play Willbrook Plantation a few days ago. This was the first time I played the course. I had heard good things about it and they were all true.
This Dan Maples design impressed me from the first hole to the last. Scenery was very nice, featuring large live oaks, ponds, lakes and a few marsh areas. There are also some historic markers pointing out items of interest from the days when the property was home to a couple of southern plantations.
My wife played with us and she really enjoyed the course, which has been ranked by Golf for Women as one of the top courses in the country for women golfers (ranked #31 out of 50 in the 2007 rankings).