Myrtle Beach vs. Pinehurst for a buddies golf trip

By Peter Ford, who built Outta. Updated October 6, 2026.

Short answer

Choose Myrtle Beach for a big group, mixed budgets, and lots of rounds: it has dozens of courses, packages that start around $400 per golfer, and a beach and nightlife off the course. Choose Pinehurst for a golf-first, bucket-list trip built around U.S. Open venue No. 2, and expect to pay much more for it.

How do they compare?

Compared	Myrtle Beach, SC	Pinehurst, NC
Courses	Myrtle Beach Golf lists 66 championship courses along 60 miles of coast. Other counts run from 80 to over 100, depending on what’s included.	Pinehurst Resort has 10 courses and a nine-hole short course, the Cradle. More public courses sit nearby in the Sandhills.
The draw	Volume and variety: many designers, many price points, and easy tee times for several foursomes.	Pinehurst No. 2, host of the U.S. Open in 1999, 2005, 2014, and 2024, and again in June 2029.
Typical cost	Packages run about $400 to $700 per golfer on a budget, $700 to $1,000 mid-range, and $1,000 and up premium (May 2026).	No. 2 requires at least a two-night resort stay. In 2024, a three-night premier package ran $3,002 to $3,530 per person.
Getting there	Myrtle Beach International (MYR) has nonstop flights to more than 50 destinations.	The nearest major airport is Raleigh-Durham (RDU), about 70 miles and an hour and 20 minutes by car.
Off the course	Beach, boardwalk, and plenty of restaurants and bars for a big group.	A small, walkable historic village with quieter evenings.

Prices change by season and year. Check current rates before you send numbers to the group.

When is Myrtle Beach the better pick?

Myrtle Beach fits groups that are big, mixed, or price-sensitive. With that many courses, you can book several foursomes on the same morning, play a different course every day, and still find something at every budget. Package pricing makes the trip easy to quote: Myrtle Beach Golf’s May 2026 guide puts most packages between $400 and $1,200 or more per golfer, depending on the season, courses, rounds, and lodging. Spring and fall are the busiest seasons.

It also works for the people in your group who care more about the trip than the golf, because there’s a lot to do once the round is over.

When is Pinehurst the better pick?

Pinehurst fits a golf-first group that wants a bucket-list round. No. 2 has hosted four U.S. Opens and gets a fifth in 2029. To play it, you stay on property for at least two nights, and the green fee is bundled with lodging, meals, and other rounds. Golf.com reported in June 2024 that No. 2 cost $470 for a standalone round and that a three-night premier package with unlimited golf ran $3,002 to $3,530 per person.

That price puts Pinehurst out of reach for some groups, which is exactly why budgets should be asked privately before anyone suggests it in the chat.

How do you decide as a group?

Put both on the list, add a third option if you have one, and write a rough per-person cost next to each. Have everyone answer privately: which weekends work, how they feel about each place, and the most they can spend. Then go with the place the most people can attend and afford. If Pinehurst only works for half the group, Myrtle Beach is your trip this year.