The Valley at Eastport Golf Club: Round Recap

Some trips are booked specifically around golf. Bandon, for example, is hours from any city or airport and still welcomes droves of visitors eager to play some of the country’s finest tracks. If you visit Pinehurst and its 9+ professional courses, hotels, restaurants, and more, there’s no reason to ever leave the resort (although you should drive 20 minutes to Tobacco Road). And while the coasts of North and South Carolina offer countless courses and resorts, the truth is that golf is often a vacation add-on in this part of the country rather than the primary draw. Yes you’ve got Kiawah and Harbour Town and Caledonia, and Golf Digest ranks TPC Myrtle and Dunes in their top 100, but Myrtle Beach golf courses are sometimes overlooked. I’m not saying people don’t take golf-centric vacations on the Carolina coast – but if you’ve ever looked around while you’re stuck in endless traffic on 95 South, you know there are thousands of players hoping to sneak out for a day while their family is on the beach.

The Valley at Eastport Golf Club is for those people.

If you found a little bit of room in the minivan to travel with your clubs, this course is an ideal spot. In my opinion, it fits the mold for vacation golf, which should be fun and unique. The Valley at Eastport is 6,200 yards from the tips and carries a 68.6 rating, meaning it’s a little easier than average. There are plenty of holes with water and tree-lined fairways, but not enough to leave you feeling frustrated and defeated. And because it’s near lots of other golf courses, I found that it wasn’t overly crowded even in peak tourist season. 

One of the perks here is the overall beauty. Vacation golf should be fun and challenging with views that remind you you’re on vacation. Eastport checks those boxes. It boasts the only golf course view of Governor’s Lighthouse, has enough on-course water to attract wildlife and inspire memorable photos, and routes players through a picturesque and interesting little neighborhood. It doesn’t have ocean views or sweeping vistas, just enough to stay engaged and enjoyably distracted.  

The On-Course Experience

The course opens up with a few short par 4s and an approachable par 3. The first holes are relatively open and allow you to get into the groove without a lot of trees or water to contend with. The exception here is the third hole where there’s water along the right side of the fairway, though it’s short and provides several different ways to get around. The tee box on hole 6 offers some beautiful views of the Intracoastal Waterway, including Governor’s Lighthouse.

Holes 7 and 8 bring you back along the road where you’ll see houses, condos, traffic, and strip malls. Sometimes it’s nice to be in the middle of all that on the golf course and sometimes it’s detracting. But the 9th hole settles you back over a small pond toward the clubhouse – which, on the day we played, was a nice reprieve from the heat and relentless sun.

The back nine offers a few more challenges than the front, featuring more water and narrower fairways. However, the course is nicely balanced in terms of handicap and there are lots of fun features on the back. Holes 13, 14, and 17 are memorable for their water features – most of which can be avoided with conservative shots. But we’re not always trying to play conservative golf so there were a couple penalties accrued on the back. The turtles on hole 14 made us feel better.

Overall, I was happy with the choice to play the Valley at Eastport. The pace of play was generally good and everyone was friendly and accommodating. As an Upstate New York golfer, I almost forgot how nice it is to play on bentgrass greens. They are difficult to manage in mid-summer heat, but the conditions were very favorable and true and I felt a little more confident in my putting and chipping as a result. The zoysia grass, however, was a different story. Without a lot of experience playing in that gnarly, soft netting, I definitely added a few strokes.

A lovely view of the par-3 4th from the tee box on number 3. The Valley at Eastport Golf Course near Ocean Isle Beach.

Centrally-Located Ocean Isle and Myrtle Beach Golf Course

While there are certainly more “prestigious” public golf courses near Myrtle Beach, this one was just what we were looking for. We were able to book online for the next day’s tee sheet, the cost was under $50 per person with a cart, and it was close enough to our rental in Ocean Isle Beach – situated perfectly near the border of North and South Carolina. Right from the first tee, it was evident that the golf course was comfortable and accessible to women and minorities, and the staff seemed friendly and sociable overall. In fact, when one pro shop employee noticed I was carrying a drone, he made a couple recommendations for great views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Next time you’re looking for a golf course to escape the beach house for a few hours, be sure to consider The Valley at Eastport.