The saga of the former Carolina Shores Golf & Country Club has reached a conclusion, and it will end in redevelopment.
The approximately 150-acre property is slated to become a 109-home residential community.
The master plan and Phase 1 of the redevelopment project have been approved by the town of Carolina Shores.
Homes will be built on one-acre lots, which meet requirements under the property’s current zoning as a Conservation Recreation District (CRD).
“It’s going to be something I think that’s desirable, that’s unique to this marketplace,” said former golf course owner Philippe Bureau.
Bureau operated the course for 13 years and closed it in November 2024, citing its financial struggles.
The 6,755-yard Tom Jackson design opened in 1974 and had been the centerpiece of the small town of Carolina Shores, N.C., which was founded in 1998 when it split from Calabash, N.C.
Bureau said JMM Land Development, headed by Mike Matheny, who owned the golf course prior to Bureau, has purchased the property from him, and Ryan Homes is contracted to build the houses. Ryan Homes is based in Virginia and has developments in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwest.
Phase 1 is close to 25% of the overall development, and will consist of lots that will be off existing roads, Bureau said.
Bureau said the owner is in the process of getting state approval for stormwater drainage for Phase 1, after which ground will be broken on the redevelopment.
Bureau attempted to receive a zoning change on the property on two occasions, but both were denied by the town’s board of commissioners.
On Feb. 9, the board of commissioners voted 3-1 to deny the second request to rezone the property for 119 single-family homes on lots that were smaller than one acre, extensive stormwater facilitation and other amenities.
Proposed neighborhood features included a pool, amenity center, pickleball court, and open space.
Bureau said the project called for significant work on stormwater drainage done in concert with Brunswick County to mitigate flooding issues in the area, and included 19 retention ponds.
The new homeowners association would have been responsible for maintaining the ponds and stormwater system once completed.
The redevelopment proposal that was denied in February called for homes on about 25% of the property, which would have primarily been contained between the clubhouse and portions of holes 9, 10, 14 and 18, Bureau said.
The requested rezoning would have changed the land from a Conservation Recreation District (CRD) to Planned Residential District (PRD).
“We wanted the first plan mainly for the stormwater for the town, but since they weren’t interested we always knew we had the 1-acre lot plan, so we reverted back to that,” Bureau said.
Many Carolina Shores residents have rallied against proposed redevelopment, and filled the Carolina Shores town hall for the board vote in February. Residents have voiced concerns about stormwater, infrastructure, public safety and possible property value decreases, and many who have been against the redevelopment organized through the Carolina Shores Residents’ Liaison Committee.
The existing planned housing development will take up a large percentage of the property, and won’t have or require the same amount of stormwater mitigation, Bureau said.
“The golf course was not going to be able to continue sustaining itself, so it’s nice to see the property being used for something beneficial, and selfishly I get to retire,” said Bureau, who has been in the Myrtle Beach golf market for more than two decades and took over Carolina Shores in 2011 after being director of golf at the four-course Ocean Ridge Plantation from 2005-08.
Bureau and his wife plan to remain in Calabash, N.C. “We love this area and we love the community, so this is where we planned to retire and we’re going to retire,” he said.
A dwindling market
Carolina Shores is the latest of nine-plus courses to close in Brunswick County over the past 26 years.
The others include Marsh Harbour Golf Links (early 2000s), Ocean Harbour Golf Links (early 2000s), Ocean Isle Beach Golf Course (2005), two 18-hole courses at Angels Trace Golf Links (2006), Calabash Golf Links (2010), Brierwood Golf Club (2017) and Farmstead Golf Links (2021), which had holes in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Additionally, nine of 36 holes at The Pearl Golf Links closed in 2020.
Angels Trace was expected to be turned into the fifth course at Ocean Ridge Plantation, and though nine holes were designed and cleared, the course was never fully built.
