Carolina Shores, NC, golf club owner shares reason why course closed
Carolina Shores Golf and Country Club owner Philippe Bureau explains why the business was unsuccessful and why he is proposing to build homes instead.
- Carolina Shores Golf and Country Club, closed since late 2024, will not reopen as a golf course.
- The former owner, Mike Matheny, plans to develop the 156-acre property into a residential area with 120 single-family homes.
- Despite being zoned for conservation and recreation, the developer is seeking to rezone for Planned Unit Development.
- Residents are expressing frustration with the development plans, which include building on 40% of the former golf course, despite claims it’s the “best fit” for the community.
Any hopes of reviving a closed North Carolina golf course appear dead, despite residents’ anger with the new development plan.
Carolina Shores Golf and Country Club, which sits near the border of South Carolina, just 40 minutes from Myrtle Beach, closed less than a year ago. The 18-hole championship golf course, designed by Tom Jackson, opened in 1974. A driving range, pro shop, bar and grill and practice greens are also on the 156-acre property. Philippe Bureau was the director of golf at Ocean Ridge Plantation from 2005 to 2008 before taking over Carolina Shores Golf and Country Club in 2011.
The golf course permanently shut its doors in late 2024, after rumors about Bureau selling the property to a developer circulated. Bureau at that time told the Wilmington StarNews there were no plans to sell the golf course or reopen it and that he did not file for bankruptcy following the course’s closure.
But now, a former owner of the property is back in the picture and residents are frustrated with a plan to develop the area.
From our partner, the StarNews:
The preliminary site plan was submitted to the town of Carolina Shores on Aug. 1 and is designed by G3 Engineering. Preliminary site plans include 120 detached single-family homes on .80-acre lots and 82 acres of open space.
According to the preliminary plans, the engineers believe the property is in a flood hazard zone. This means the area is a moderate flood hazard area, per the Federal Emergency Management Agency website.
Developer Mike Matheny used to own the golf course and is now offering to build single family residential units on it. Matheny said he will not build multi-family units on the course and that the property has not been sold yet.
The property is officially done being a golf course, Bureau’s attorney Kenneth Moss and G3 Chief Business Development Officer Felix Pitts said on Aug. 5.
The property is currently zoned Conservation Recreation District. This district designation, per the towns code of ordinances, is intended to preserve Carolina Shores’ open space areas and protect natural resources.
“Large lot zoning for single-family residential development is conditionally allowed as an effective way to preserve natural and community open space resources,” the code states.
Charles Suggs, Director of Planning, Permitting, and Entitlement for G3, said Bureau voluntarily requested to rezone the property to Planned Unit Development.
And while it looks like less than half of the course’s footprint will be used for the development, that doesn’t mean the homes will be spread out.
Moss said developers could build 140 one-acre lots on the property under its current zoning. However, the preliminary plans will develop only 40% of the course and looks to be the “best fit” for the community, the attorney said.
“You can’t stop this property from being developed,” said Pitts, earlier stating he will “pack in” as many homes as he can on the property.
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