One of Myrtle Beach golf’s most renowned designs has seen its final foursome.
When it first opened in 1975, Waterway Hills Golf Club joined The Dunes Golf and Beach Club as the lone pair of Myrtle Beach-area courses designed by legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones. Some 40 years and more than 1.5 million rounds later, Waterway Hills closed its doors for good on June 24, 2015.
The course was purchased in March 2015 by LStar management, which owns the adjoining property where the Grande Dunes residential community currently resides. Though Waterway Hills has ceased operations, no immediate plans for redevelopment had been announced by that time.
Waterway Hills opened in 1975 as one of 16 area golf courses that were built in the early- to mid-1970s, to meet a rapidly growing popularity in the game and a corresponding demand for tee times. Mr. Jones’ design was more than up to the task, putting its own unique stamp on the golf vacation market by shuttling visiting golfers to their tee times via Waterway Hills’ renowned gondola ride that crossed high over the Intracoastal Waterway. First-time visitors were often awestruck at the unique aerial view that served as a one-of-a-kind welcome to a memorable round to come.
With more than 80 Grand Strand golf courses serving the Myrtle Beach golf market, Waterway Hills set itself apart by offering something only six additional area courses could: holes that play along the Intracoastal Waterway. Today the Palmetto Course at Myrtlewood Golf Club, Grande Dunes Resort Club, Arrowhead Country Club, Glen Dornoch, the Norman Course at Barefoot Resort and Tidewater Golf Club share this distinction.
Waterway Hills’ proximity to the Grand Strand’s famed Restaurant Row also made it a popular choice for visiting golfers’ vacation itineraries. In addition to the aforementioned courses, Pine Lakes Country Club, Arcadian Shores Golf Club and the PineHills Course at Myrtlewood are high-quality alternatives for your vacation planning consideration.
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