If you haven’t already planned your fall golf trip to Myrtle Beach, you need to get started.

Tee times are quickly filling and there are four layouts poised to over deliver in terms of value and experience. As you put together your itinerary, target any or all of this quartet of courses in the fall of 2023.

– Long Bay Club closed on May 17 for a greens renovation project, and when golfers return in early August they will be greeted by complexes that are more than 60 percent larger than their predecessors. That’s not a typo. Long Bay had just 66,000 square feet of putting surface prior to the renovation but in addition to installing new TifEagle Bermudagrass, the new greens, which are being restored to their original size and specifications, will encompass 110,000 square feet. The Jack Nicklaus design will be in outstanding condition and the expanded putting surfaces will enhance the number of pin positions, helping revitalize the course.

– Speaking of Nicklaus designs, Pawleys Plantation is undergoing a major greens restoration project and a complete reimagining of the layout’s bunkers. The greens at Pawleys will expand by 48 percent as they return to their original size and specs, but that might not be the most notable part of the project. Every bunker on the course will be overhauled and sprawling bunkers on holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 18 will be replaced by smaller fairway traps, native areas and expanded fairways. It’s also worth mentioning the clubhouse bar and grill is being completely remodeled and will feature outdoor seating, offering stunning marsh views. The changes will be dramatic. Pawleys will reopen in late September or early October and tee times will be at a premium.

– River Hills Golf Club is criminally underrated. Perhaps it’s the location in Little River, leaving the Tom Jackson layout removed from the hustle and bustle of Myrtle Beach, but this is a course knowledgeable group leaders seek out. Following a greens restoration project in 2022 and a bunker renovation in 2023, River Hills is better than it has ever been. The course is in great condition, the layout is strong, and it offers the value to match.

– The weather is idyllic in the fall and so is a round at Pine Lakes Country Club. Myrtle Beach’s first golf course is less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean, oozes history – the clubhouse is on the National Registry of Historic Places – and it enjoys a central location in the heart of town. Pine Lakes is at its best every autumn and with mimosas or chowder being served at the turn, a round at the Granddaddy makes every trip better.

Our four courses to target this fall offer different experiences but the one thing they have in common is the guarantee of a memorable round of golf.

(Pine Lakes Country Club top photo, Pawleys Plantation pictured right)