This popular North Myrtle Beach area golf course could close for redevelopment this year

Possum Trot Golf Club in the North Myrtle Beach area may be among the next Grand Strand courses to close for redevelopment.

The Glens Group has operated Possum Trot through a long-term lease that expires on Sept. 30 and is not being renewed or extended by the course’s owners, according to Glens Group general manager George Gore.

Glens Group also manages Glen Dornoch Golf Links through a lease and has several years remaining on a lease of the former Heather Glen Golf Links, which closed in November 2017 after being sold to national homebuilder D.R. Horton.

Possum Trot’s land is zoned SF6, which allows for single-family homes with minimum lot sizes of 6,000 square feet – the equivalent of about seven homes per acre. A rezoning request has not been submitted to Horry County, according to Horry County Planning & Zoning Dept. interim director David Schwerd.

The nearly 170-acre property is owned by a trust involving dozens of members of the Bell, Edge and Gore families. A representative of the owners could not be reached for comment.

Possum Trot head pro Bill Hulett and Steve White, a resident of North Myrtle Beach Golf & Tennis Resort, which abuts Possum Trot, said land surveyors have recently been on the property.

White’s condominium complex, which has approximately 185 units, is one of two that borders Possum Trot, along with Golf Glenn Villas.

A recent inquiry into possible annexation into North Myrtle Beach on behalf of Possum Trot’s owners may indicate interest in redevelopment.

City of North Myrtle Beach Director of Planning & Development James Wood said representatives of both Possum Trot and nearby Azalea Sands Golf Club have initiated exploratory discussions about possible annexation with city officials in the past 15 months or so.

Possum Trot’s inquiry was the most recent, within the past three or four months, Wood said. “We’ve had inquiries from each of them, but no formal applications,” Wood said.

Possum Trot is essentially in a doughnut hole in unincorporated Horry County, surrounded by North Myrtle Beach property.

Any potential developer of Possum Trot, or Azalea Sands or Beachwood Golf Club that are in similar situations, may covet annexation into North Myrtle Beach city limits so they would have access to city water and sewer service.

That’s because the Possum Trot property is located in the city’s water and sewer service area and not in the Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority’s service area, according to North Myrtle Beach city spokesman Pat Dowling.

Annexation of any property would require approval by the North Myrtle Beach City Council.

Club fitter and club repairman Al Cloyd is based at Possum Trot but plans to move his operation to the Beachwood driving range, where a building will be built for his use. Cloyd said Beachwood plans to activate lights on the driving range, which will soon begin remaining open into the evening.

Possum Trot has been part of the Grand Strand golf market for half a century. The 6,966-yard, par-72 Russell Breeden design has been consistently popular since it opened in 1968 as a course on the mid- to low-end of green fees in the market.

In addition to Heather Glen’s sale and closing in favor of a planned housing development, redevelopment proposals have recently been submitted to the Horry County Planning & Zoning department for Indian Wells Golf Club in Garden City and nine holes of the 27-hole River Oaks Golf Plantation in Myrtle Beach.

More golf course closures for redevelopment are likely on the Strand with homebuilders looking for large tracts of land in a burgeoning housing market.

Approximately 20 Grand Strand golf courses closed from 2005-07 when the housing market was similarly flourishing prior to a crash and subsequent recession. The Strand market, from Georgetown to Southport, N.C., still has approximately 90 courses.

This story was originally published January 19, 2019 at 4:37 PM.