The arrival of the New Year brings the unveiling of “Golfweek’s Best: Top 200 Resort Courses in the U.S.,” the magazine’s annual ranking of America’s premier destination layouts.
When Golfweek tabulated the 2023 results, based on evaluations from a nationwide panel of raters, seven Myrtle Beach golf courses were lauded as among the nation’s best.
Ranked 44th, the Dunes Golf & Beach Club led the Myrtle Beach contingent, followed by No. 49 Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (pictured right), No. 85 True Blue, No. 158 Moorland (Legends Resort), No. 165 King’s North (Myrtle Beach National), No. 178 Dye Course (Barefoot Resort), and No. 193 Grande Dunes Resort Course (top photo).
A Robert Trent Jones Sr. classic, the Dunes Club is widely regarded as the driving force behind Myrtle Beach’s emergence as an international golf destination. Offering views of the Atlantic Ocean, a rolling piece of property, and the area’s most demanding greens, the Dunes Club is a consensus top 100 layout.
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, architect Mike Strantz’ first solo effort, delights players with a creative design that plays among beautiful, sprawling live oak trees draped in Spanish moss. While Caledonia is a shot makers course, rewarding precision as much as power, its sister course, True Blue, provides a more physical test. The brawny layout features some of the area’s widest fairways, largest greens, and expansive waste bunkers.
The Moorland Course at Legends Resort is a P.B. Dye design that long ago earned a reputation as one of Myrtle Beach’s most demanding exams. The 16th hole, known as Hell’s Half Acre, is a 223-yard (white tees) par 4 that is as dangerous as it is drivable.
King’s North (pictured right) has long been one of the Myrtle Beach area’s most popular courses. From the par 5 sixth hole, otherwise known as “The Gambler,” to the 40+ bunkers that line the Arnold Palmer design’s closing hole, King’s North is unforgettable.
The Dye Course, Pete’s only solo layout along the Grand Strand, is the longtime host of the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am and one of four outstanding courses at Barefoot.
Featuring five holes that play along the Intracoastal Waterway, the Grande Dunes Resort Course is among the area’s best and most memorable layouts. Following a 2022 renovation project that included the restoration of the course’s greens, an overhaul of every bunker, and a clubhouse renovation, highlighted by the opening of Terrazza 19, a new onsite restaurant, expect Grande Dunes to rocket up this list in the coming years.
While these seven layouts help make Myrtle Beach golf’s most popular destination, they are hardly alone in appealing to golfers. Checkout a complete list of area courses and golf packages.
(All photos for this story from the @MyrtleBeachGolfTrips Instagram Account)