The back nine of the King’s North Course at Myrtle Beach National Golf Club will soon close to complete a full renovation of the Arnold Palmer-designed course.
It is expected to close on May 26 and reopen on Sept. 1, according to Steve Mays, president of Founders Group International, which owns and operates Myrtle Beach National and a total of 21 courses on the Grand Strand.
The front nine of the King’s North Course at Myrtle Beach National Golf Club, which was renovated last summer, will remain open while the back nine gets a makeover. Myrtle Beach National’s two other courses – Southcreek and West – will also be open.
The two-summer project on the 52-year-old course is the first extensive makeover of the layout since 1995-96, which resulted in the addition of ‘King’s’ to its name and led to a ranking among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest.
The renovation is being overseen by former Arnold Palmer Design Company lead architect Brandon Johnson, who oversaw the front nine project last summer.
Part of the renovation will include creating more open areas and waste areas, and making bunkers more visible and dramatic.
“I love what Brandon Johnson did to the front nine and can’t wait to see that full 18 come together,” Mays said. “He really did some great bunker work on that front nine. Though the routing is the same, as you stand on tees and look at the holes it becomes much more dramatic with the bunkering he did.
“It took a really good golf course and made it even better and really updated it as well, so I would expect those same concepts to be taken to that back nine as well.”
Course project details
The greens will be changed from Champion ultradwarf Bermudagrass to TifEagle ultradwarf Bermuda and will be expanded, though the goal isn’t to recreate the original size and contours, according to FGI vice president and director of agronomy Max Morgan. Johnson will determine the extent of the contours.
The par-4 18th is one of the layout’s memorable holes with 41 bunkers, “which is too many,” Morgan said. “We’re going to make big changes on 18. It’s not going to look the same.”
Waste bunkers on the 14th and 15th holes are expected to become a lot more dramatic, and an area around the 10th tee will become a waste area. Beach bunkers on the 16th and 17th holes, which flow into water hazards, will remain but be altered.
Johnson may move the tee box on the 13th hole up to 20 yards to the right to make the hole less of a sharp dogleg left.
The straightaway par-5 10th hole is expected to gain a fairway bunker in the second-shot landing area on the left side and a greenside bunker on the right side.
Some exterior areas of holes will gain waste area looks as well.
Morgan said the plan is fluent to give Johnson a chance to make changes as the project progresses.
“He has some ideas but we don’t know what’s going to happen until he comes out,” Morgan said. “We might have a rough idea of what we’re doing, but it may or may not look like what we end up with.
“As long as he stays within the time frame and budget, he has the autonomy to make changes on the fly.”
Morgan said the grow-in on the front nine, which reopened in early October, has been successful.
“It’s fun to look at and fun to play, and it’s really different from what it was,” Morgan said.
Clubhouse renovations upcoming
Mays said FGI hopes to begin a major renovation on the Myrtle Beach National clubhouse by the end of the year, with a reopening for the spring 2026 golf season. Exact dates for the work haven’t been determined.
“That’s a big project, a lot of variables there,” Mays said. “There may be delays getting the exact concept we want.
“Myrtle Beach National is such an iconic property in the Myrtle Beach area, and that clubhouse was built in 1971 I believe and it’s an iconic clubhouse, and we wanted to make sure what we did out there was appropriate and really a first-class facility that kind of matches the history and heritage of that golf course.”
The food and beverage area will essentially be within the same space in the clubhouse, though it might expand minimally. It will become a full-service restaurant that will serve dinner to the general public, much like FGI has created at Pawleys Plantation and the Grande Dunes Resort Course in recent years.
“It’s such a great community out there and we’ve never utilized them, they never thought about coming to Myrtle Beach National to eat if they weren’t playing golf. So we wanted to make sure we give them that opportunity,” Mays said. “It will be a complete recreation of the food and beverage area.
“We’ll have a [indoor] grab and go area where we’ll be able to facilitate quick turns for players between nines and grab a quick sandwich before they go, and grab a drink and beer when you come in, then we’ll create a full dining experience with a bar in that space. Then we’ll also incorporate a lot of outdoor space that’s being underutilized. It’s got great views, it’s got a great deck. We’ll expand upon that deck and really utilize that for our golfers.”
River Club clubhouse renovation
The clubhouse at River Club in Pawleys Island, another FGI course, is in the midst of renovations that are expected to conclude before the summer and include a reimagined kitchen and restaurant.
“It will be a really significant change,” Mays said. “That clubhouse has always had a really great view. It sits up on a mound that overlooks three or four holes there. It’s got a great kitchen, just the amenities and the bar weren’t great. So we’re really going to recreate that restaurant space. It’s going to have a bar that overlooks the property now. All new furniture, paint and flooring. It will be a significant change and will allow us to create more of a restaurant feel in there.”
River Club’s F&B facility and service will mirror that of FGI rebuilt restaurants and kitchens at Pawleys Plantation and the Grande Dunes Resort Course, which are now full-service community eateries.
“It will be a complete makeover of the facility and it will be much more restaurant/bar style where not only golfers will enjoy eating and drinking there, but the people in the community will also have the opportunity to eat and drink there even if they don’t play golf,” Mays said. “The food quality, the quality of the restaurant will all be at that level.”
The River Club course and clubhouse will remain open while the work is being done.
