For golfers looking to pack as much golf as possible into a Myrtle Beach trip, playing 36 holes in a day can be a great option.

But which courses should you pair together? And just as importantly, how much time should you leave between rounds?

We asked someone who deals with those questions every day.

Jon Wilkie has spent 15 years as a golf director and today helps golfers plan their trips as a Myrtle Beach Golf Trips Golf Director. He knows the courses, but he also knows something equally important when you’re trying to play 36: how to get from one to the next without spending your afternoon worrying about the clock.

We asked Jon to give us two of his favorite 36-hole combinations, along with a few tips groups should keep in mind when planning a two-round day.

The Familiar Choices — And Two You Might Not Think About

There are some obvious choices when golfers start talking about playing 36.

True Blue and Caledonia are a natural combination, and playing two courses at Barefoot Resort is another popular option.

But Jon believes there are plenty of other combinations worth considering, particularly in April, May, September and early October when the amount of available daylight provides groups with more flexibility.

Here are two pairings he likes.

Wild Wing Avocet + King’s North

Jon’s first combination brings together two courses that are close enough geographically to make a 36-hole day relatively easy to navigate: Wild Wing’s Avocet Course and Myrtle Beach National’s King’s North.

“You’re talking maybe a 10- to 15-minute drive apart, and that’s basically due to traffic patterns on 501,” Jon said. “Really easy to get to two high-end courses.”

The pairing has become even more intriguing following the 2026 restoration of Wild Wing’s Avocet Course.

Avocet reopened in September following an extensive project led by architect Jeff Brauer that included new Tif 3D greens, restoration of the putting surfaces to their original size and contours, bunker improvements and work around the green complexes.

From there, golfers can make the relatively short trip to King’s North, an Arnold Palmer design that has long been one of Myrtle Beach’s most recognizable layouts.

“With the renovations that just happened at Wild Wing Avocet, and King’s North has always been there as a top-level course, it’s a really good combination,” Jon said.

For a group trying to play 36, the proximity is a significant part of the appeal. You get two distinctly different rounds without building a long drive into the middle of an already golf-filled day. (Wild Wing 15th Hole top photo, King’s North 1st pictured right)

Jon’s “Sneaky Good” Pick: Long Bay Club + Shaftesbury Glen

The second combination is one Jon believes golfers may overlook.

“Another sneaky good one that people wouldn’t think of is Long Bay to Shaftesbury Glen,” he said. “It’s actually a pretty simple drive, and you get two top-quality courses, two completely different styles of courses as well.”

That contrast is what Jon particularly likes about the pairing.

Long Bay Club, a Jack Nicklaus design, asks golfers to be precise. Elevated, smaller greens and challenging rough put a premium on approach shots and the short game.

“You’ve got to be good around the greens with your short game,” Jon said.

Then you head to Shaftesbury Glen, where the style of golf changes.

The Clyde Johnston design features wider, more forgiving fairways and longer par 4s, providing golfers with more opportunities to be aggressive with the driver.

“Shaftesbury is completely different,” Jon said. “Wide, forgiving fairways, longer par 4s, where you can just try to hit driver as far as you can all day.”

There’s another reason Jon likes the combination: what happens after the second round.

Once the group finishes at Shaftesbury Glen, Highway 22 and Highway 31 provide a convenient route back toward the heart of the Myrtle Beach area.

“Once you’re done at Shaftesbury, it’s an easy drive back to your resort,” Jon said.

The Biggest Mistake Jon Sees When Golfers Plan 36

Picking two courses that work together is important.

So is resisting the temptation to squeeze the tee times too close together.

That’s one of the biggest issues Jon sees when golfers plan their own 36-hole days.

A group may look at a map and see that the courses are only 10 or 15 minutes apart. But that doesn’t account for everything that can happen between the final putt of the morning and the first tee shot of the afternoon.

Myrtle Beach continues to grow, and afternoon traffic can become congested, particularly between approximately 12:30 and 2 p.m. An accident or unexpected delay can quickly turn a comfortable schedule into a race against the clock.

Then there’s the morning round itself.

Jon recommends allowing four-and-a-half to four-and-three-quarter hours for your morning round to be safe, along with enough time afterward to grab something to eat, load the clubs and make the drive to the next course.

His preferred schedule?

Try to tee off around 7:45 or 8 a.m. and schedule the second round after 2 p.m.

“Give yourself plenty of time,” Jon said. “Too many people try to go, ‘Oh no, it’s just 10 minutes, 15 minutes away.’ But you’ve got to account for traffic.

More Daylight Gives You More Options

The time of year can also change how Jon approaches a 36-hole day.

During April, May, September and early October, additional daylight provides groups with more flexibility. That can allow golfers to consider combinations with a little more travel between courses without putting the second round in jeopardy.

But the key is knowing which combinations make sense.

Distance on a map doesn’t always tell the full story in Myrtle Beach. Traffic patterns, time of day and the routes between courses can be every bit as important as mileage.

That’s where having someone like Jon help plan the trip can be especially valuable.

After 15-plus years as a golf director, he understands more than which courses golfers want to play. He knows how the pieces fit together — which courses pair well geographically, how much time groups should leave between rounds and how to build a trip around the experience and budget they’re looking for.

If 36 holes are on your Myrtle Beach golf itinerary, the goal isn’t simply to fit two rounds onto the same day.

It’s to pair the right two rounds together — and give yourself enough time to enjoy both.

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Photos for this feature from MyrtleBeachGolfTrips Instagram Account