A pad for the cart and a path to the road — the Grand Strand's own concrete job
South Carolina lets a permitted cart run on 35-mph roads within four miles of home in daylight, and half the houses on the Strand have one. A reinforced pad by the drive and a path to the street keep it off the lawn and out of the garage.
Golf carts are how the Grand Strand gets to the beach, the pool and the neighbor's. State law (SC Code 56-2-105) lets a cart with a $5 DMV permit and liability insurance run on roads posted 35 mph or less, within four miles of the registered address, in daylight, with a licensed driver sixteen or older — which covers nearly every neighborhood east of 17 and most of the golf communities west of it. (The City of Myrtle Beach keeps carts off its multipurpose paths and sidewalks.) What the law doesn't cover is where the cart lives, and that's where we come in: a cart parked on the lawn kills the grass and sinks in the first wet week; a cart in the garage takes the second car's spot; a cart on the driveway blocks the car. The answer is a pad beside the driveway, doweled into it, with a short path to the street or the community's cart trail.
A cart pad is a small job with the same rules as a big one. Six by twelve feet fits a standard cart with room to walk around it; eight by fourteen fits a lifted six-seater. Four inches of fiber-reinforced concrete on a compacted base, sloped to drain, with a broom finish or a stamped border to match the drive. Inside the city a pad that extends the driveway can't push the apron past twenty feet wide at the property line, so the pad flares behind the sidewalk; in the HOA communities — Carolina Forest, Grande Dunes, Barefoot, Prince Creek, the Market Common neighborhoods — the architectural committee wants a drawing, often a plat, and we supply it. Cart paths through a yard to a community trail are poured four feet wide, four inches thick, with the same base.
What's included
Sized for the cart
6 × 12 ft for a standard cart, 8 × 14 for a lifted six-seater, drawn to your cart.
Tied to the driveway
Doweled into the existing slab so it doesn't settle away from it; finish matched.
Path to the road or trail
Four-foot-wide reinforced path with the grade eased at the curb.
HOA drawings
Plan and plat for the architectural committee in the communities that require one.
City width rule
Inside Myrtle Beach the apron stays within 20 ft at the property line; the pad flares behind the sidewalk.
Charger-ready
Conduit sleeve under the pad for a charger outlet if you want one by the cart.
Golf cart pad and path cost in Myrtle Beach, SC
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard cart pad, 6 × 12 ft | $700 – $1,500 | 4 in, fiber reinforced, broom |
| Large cart pad, 8 × 14 ft | $1,000 – $2,000 | Lifted or six-seat carts |
| Cart path to the street, 4 ft wide, per linear ft | $28 – $45 | Reinforced, graded |
| Pad plus 30-ft path | $1,800 – $3,200 | The most common package |
| Stamped border to match the drive | + $300 – $900 | Cobble or brick band |
| Conduit sleeve for a charger | + $100 – $250 | Electrician wires it |
These are 2026 Grand Strand ranges so you can budget. Your written price is itemized — removal, base, thickness, reinforcement, finish, joints, the permit and its inspections — and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about golf cart pads and paths
Do I need a permit for a golf cart pad?
On your own lot in unincorporated Horry County, no — it's flatwork. Inside the City of Myrtle Beach, only if it touches the right-of-way. The HOA is the real approval: most Grand Strand communities review any new concrete, and we provide the drawing.
Can the pad double as a parking pad for a rental?
Yes, and for short-term rentals that's often the point — North Myrtle Beach requires rental parking to be fully on private property, not the sidewalk or the landscape bed. An 8 × 14 pad handles a cart or a compact car.
How thick does a cart pad need to be?
Four inches is plenty for a cart; we go to five or six if a car will ever park there.
Can you match the stamped pattern on my driveway?
Usually — most Grand Strand driveway borders are cobble or brick in a standard color, and we stamp the pad border to match. Exact color on weathered concrete is an approximation.