Golf’s national ratings panels annually have their say in ranking courses and we’ve even surveyed PGA Professionals, asking them to assess Myrtle Beach’s best layouts, but the time had come to let a far more important constituency voice their opinion.
MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com asked golfers from across America to rank their top 10 Grand Strand courses in order and you responded in droves. After sifting through the votes and tabulating results, here are Myrtle Beach’s 10 best courses, as ranked by real, public golfers.
10. Heritage Club – The Dan Maples design plays through a beautiful piece of Lowcountry land and is home to some of the area’s most diabolical greens complexes.
9. Pawleys Plantation – This stunning Jack Nicklaus design is highlighted by six holes along the back nine that bring a tidal marsh into play, making it one of the area’s prettiest layouts. With a
summer renovation project that will include new greens and a complete overhaul of the course’s bunkers in 2023, Pawleys will likely climb this ladder in future editions. (Pawleys Plantation 13th hole pictured right)
8. Barefoot Dye – No surprise the long-time host of the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters is a fan favorite. Featuring the waste bunkering and visual deception architect Pete Dye is known for, the Dye Course offers a firm but fair test golfers enjoy.
7. King’s North at Myrtle Beach National – An Arnold Palmer design, King’s North has long been one of the Grand Strand’s most popular layouts. On any list of the area’s most iconic holes you will find the par 5 sixth, otherwise known as “The Gambler,” the island green, par 12th with its signature “SC” bunkers, and No. 18, a par 4 that features 40+ bunkers. King’s North is fun to play and that’s why golfers love it.
6. TPC Myrtle Beach – No matter their handicap, players love to test themselves on a PGA Tour-level layout and TPC Myrtle Beach delivers just such a challenge. The Tom Fazio-Lanny Wadkins design is one of the area’s best, highlighted by a finish that includes the risk-reward par 5 18th hole. The TPC brand carries great expectations and this layout meets every one of them.
5. Grande Dunes Resort Course – Featuring five holes that play along a bluff overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway, Grande Dunes offers the stunning
coastal view golfers crave. Following a 2022 renovation project that included the restoration of the greens to their original specifications and the overhaul of every bunker on the course, Grandes Dunes is better than ever. (Grande Dunes 9th hole pictured right)
4. Dunes Golf & Beach Club – This one will likely catch people by surprise as the Dunes Club is typically the area’s top-ranked course. While the Robert Trent Jones Sr layout may not top the list, players still loved this classic design. As the host of the U.S. Women’s Open and six Senior PGA Tour Championships, the Dunes Club helped put Myrtle Beach on the map.
3. Tidewater Golf Club – With nine holes that play along either the Intracoastal or Cherry Grove Inlet, Tidewater is one of the prettiest courses in all of South Carolina. The holes along Cherry Grove – 3, 4, 12 and 13 – are particularly stunning. This was the first layout ever named best new public course in America by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine.
2. True Blue Golf Club – Everything about this Mike Strantz design is big – the fairways, waste bunkers, greens and most of all the fun. The layout is
among the Myrtle Beach area’s most creative, providing mid to high handicappers the comfort of playing to large fairways while demanding more skilled golfers play to the proper spots if they want to score. (True Blue 10th hole top photo) is a delight to play, despite being occasionally overshadowed by its sister course …
1. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club – Architect Mike Strantz’ first solo design, Caledonia is one of the area’s treasures. Situated on approximately 120 acres of prime Lowcountry land, the course treats golfers to live oak trees draped in Spanish moss, the marshy waters of the Waccamaw Neck, and Strantz’ peerless architectural vision. (Caledonia 18th hole pictured right)
Those are the 10 courses your fellow golfers have identified as Myrtle Beach’s best. Let us know what you think.
Click here to view the top 20 Myrtle Beach Golf as ranked by PGA Professionals
