Are two Pawleys Island golf courses up for re-development? Here’s what we know
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A Facebook post led to speculation that two golf courses near Pawleys Island could be sold and re-developed. However, the company managing the courses says the claim is false.
On April 16, 2024, a Facebook user posted a photo of a document that claimed Georgetown County’s April 12, 2024, future land use proposal could dramatically increase the density of development throughout Georgetown County. The document also alleged that the future land use proposal allowed for residential development at Litchfield Country Club and Founders Club at Pawleys Island golf courses, setting the stage for both to be closed, sold, and converted into something else.
Founders Group International manages both golf courses— operating 21 links in the Grand Strand area. Indeed, Founder Group International completed major renovations and re-opened Long Bay Golf Club in Longs and Pawleys Plantation, Jack Nicklaus-designed courses, in 2023.
However, Founders Group International has no intention of selling Litchfield Country Club or Founders Club at Pawleys Island at this time.
In a statement to The Sun News, Chris King, a public relations professional with Founders Group International, said there’s no planned re-development for either course, and neither is for sale. The genesis of speculation regarding the two golf courses could be related to each’s current zoning, Georgetown County Director of Planning and Code Enforcement Holly Richardson said.
Richardson said most golf courses in Georgetown County are planned developments, which have many protections from re-development and would require a complex process to close and convert to high-density properties. Richardson added that Litchfield Country Club and Founders Club are zoned R-10, which allows for single-family homes aside from mobile homes. Richardson said that R-10 zoning is more amendable to re-development plans than planned development zoning.
“A developer could conceivably look at Litchfield Country Club or Founders Club; it’s zoned R-10 today. If they can meet those requirements, something like that can happen under the current zoning,” Richardson added.
However, Richardson clarified that the land use proposal had language protecting golf courses from being converted into higher-density developments. She added that the planning commission has yet to receive any requests to re-develop Litchfield Country Club or Founder Club at Pawleys Island, which were always zoned R-10.
“We can’t prohibit them from closing the golf course(s),” Richardson added. “But any re-development would be at a very low density and would respect the open space and the natural features and the wetlands that were there.”
The speculation surrounding the two golf courses also regards what residents and officials want Georgetown County to look like in the future.
The April 12, 2024, iteration of the future land use proposal included proposed changes to the Murrells Inlet and MarshWalk area, including making way for denser development. Some residents expressed concerns that the plan would overdevelop Georgetown County, specifically the Waccamaw Neck, which includes Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island.
Residents’ pushback contributed to the Georgetown County Planning Commission ultimately asking for the future land use plan to be reworked. The amended version of the land use plan, which Richardson said May 13, 2024, includes more language protecting golf courses and ensuring that only low-density development can replace one if it closes, goes before the Georgetown County Planning Commission again May 16, 2024, at 5:30 EST.
“There is a designation called conservation agriculture in the new plan,” Richardson added. “So we’re looking at applying that to the golf courses themselves for those two courses as an extra added layer of protection.”
The meeting takes place at Howard Auditorium at 1610 Hawkins Street in Georgetown. If the Planning Commission recommends the amended future land use proposal to the county council, it would have to give the plan three readings and an additional public hearing before final passage.
