The Reserve is a gated golf and marina community in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, built in 1998 around the Greg Norman-designed Reserve Golf Club. Homeowners have private beach access through Litchfield by the Sea, boat access via the Harbor Club Marina on the Waccamaw River, and optional membership at The Reserve Golf Club. It's one of the most sought-after gated neighborhoods on the Waccamaw Neck / South Strand, known for large custom homes, mature live oaks, and low-country wetland views.
Ask anyone on the South Strand which gated community sets the bar for the Waccamaw Neck, and The Reserve comes up first. Established in 1998 on 350 acres — 160 of them protected wetlands — this Pawleys Island neighborhood was built around one of only two Greg Norman-designed golf courses in the entire Myrtle Beach area, and it shows in everything from the winding streets to the way the homes sit tucked among the oaks instead of crowding the fairways.
The Reserve Golf Club itself is consistently ranked among the top courses on the Grand Strand, and it's a private club under McConnell Golf, so membership is optional for residents — not a requirement to live here. That's part of what makes The Reserve work for so many different buyers: you can be an everyday golfer, an occasional golfer, or someone who never picks up a club and still get full value out of the community.
What really sets The Reserve apart, though, is the layered amenity package. Residents get:
That combination — golf, marina, and beach, all in one gated address — is genuinely rare on this part of the coast, and it's a big reason homes here tend to hold their value well.
The Reserve sits on the northern end of Pawleys Island, minutes from the shops and restaurants of Pawleys Island proper and close to Litchfield Beach, Murrells Inlet, and Huntington Beach State Park. It's an easy drive to Georgetown to the south and Myrtle Beach to the north, which makes it a favorite for buyers who want a quieter, more residential feel without giving up access to everything the Grand Strand offers.
Architecture in The Reserve leans classic Lowcountry — brick and cedar shake, deep porches, metal roofs — alongside more updated coastal-contemporary builds, so there's real variety street to street. Lot sizes run larger than most neighborhoods in the area, with many homes backing up to the golf course, a pond, or preserved wetlands. Because of the amenities and lot sizes, The Reserve typically sits at a higher price point than other gated communities on the South Strand — buyers are paying for privacy, acreage, and that rare golf-marina-beach combination.
Families are drawn to the gated security and the golf-course lifestyle. Boaters value having deep-water access minutes from their driveway. And almost everyone who tours the neighborhood mentions the same thing: how established it feels, with mature trees and a settled, private character you can't recreate in a newer development.
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