Sea Trail Plantation & Golf Resort (Byrd)

Overview: Sea Trail's Byrd Course plays 18 holes at par 72 in Sunset Beach under the name of Willard Byrd. The current course page lists 6,649 yards and describes a routing refreshed with cleaner sightlines, improved drainage, natural areas, rebuilt bunkers and new TifEagle greens. The course remains tree-lined and strategic, but the renovated presentation opens more fairway views and makes the sequence easier to read from tee to green.

History: Byrd originally opened in 1990 as one of Sea Trail's three 18-hole courses. A recent multi-million-dollar renovation was led by architect Tim Cate, who updated greens, collars, bunkers, irrigation, bridges and selected holes while preserving the original character. This profile therefore separates the 1990 opening from the 2024 restoration instead of treating the renovation as a new course.

Did You Know? The renovation used the Better Billy Bunker system throughout the course and added TifEagle greens with Tahoma collars. Those technical changes are easy to miss in a course description, but they explain why the current Byrd routing is described as smoother and more consistent while still carrying Willard Byrd's original name.