By Mike May
If you are seeking a fun, memorable, and affordable East coast golf getaway with your buddies, or your family, set your sights on the Sea Trail Resort, located in the Brunswick Isles area of North Carolina, just south of Wilmington.
Sea Trail is actually in Sunset Beach, where the nearby beaches along the Atlantic Ocean are as pristine and inviting as any sandy spot from Maine to Miami.
It’s a place….where the locally caught seafood is plentiful, tasty and delicious…where the ice cream at Calabash Creamery is second-to-none…..where the accommodations are on par with quality of the three championship golf courses…..and where the weather allows golf 52 weeks a year.
When you visit Sea Trail, the quality of the beach experience and the luxurious accommodations cannot be overemphasized. It’s like putting a red bow on a Christmas gift. The overall experience at Sea Trail is on par with any stay-and-play destination in the southeastern United States.
There is no stress at Sea Trail, with the exception of trying to drain a four-footer for par. The toughest part of your trip is having to say goodbye to this slice of oceanside paradise.
Sea Trail’s three golf courses – William Byrd Course, Rees Jones Course, and the Dan Maples Course – are well designed, fair, and player friendly.
The Bryd course has sand traps on every hole, plus every green. The large number of bunkers is somewhat penal, but not too harsh. There’s plenty of room to play the Byrd and avoid the sand. The home hole at the Byrd is a par five, which only measures 469 yards from the tips, but there are 12 bunkers and three water hazards from tee to green.
The Jones also has water hazards on 11 of its 18 holes. Many fairways feature large mounds, which will impact your stance and club selection, as you hit your approach shots to the greens.
The Maples course features short par fours, long par fives, and gettable par threes. The most difficult hole on the Maples is the right-to-left par-four 9th, which is over 400 yards. Accuracy off the tee is a must on the Maples Course, with five holes perched along the scenic Calabash.
North Carolina Magazine has rated the Maples the “Best Conditioned Course on the Coast.” Golf Digest has given the course four stars. This may be Dan Maples’ finest creation.
Golf Digest has ranked both the Byrd and Jones courses as “Top 100 Courses in North Carolina,” which is quite an honor considering how many great golf courses there are in the Tar Heel state.
One constant about each course is the presence of those tall Carolina pine trees, which border many fairways. The great thing about them, however, is that they are devoid of low-level branches. It’s possible to execute an escape shot from the woods, without having to worry about a well-struck punch shot clipping a low-hanging branch.
Set your sights on traveling to the Sea Trail Resort. It’s a true stay-&-play gem, which is fun, memorable and affordable.
Plus, Sea Trail is ready to play 52 weeks a year.
Find out more at: http://www.seatrail.com/
