A Victorian man has drowned after getting caught in a rip at a beach on the NSW South Coast on Sunday.

Emergency services were called to Pretty Beach, about 30 kilometres north of Batemans Bay, at 2.30pm, after reports of a man becoming distressed in the water.

Westpac Life Saver Helicopter CEO Stephen Leahy said two men were swimming when one of the men, aged in his late 30s, became caught in a rip.

Mr Leahy said the man was unable to make it back to shore.