By the time 1990 arrived, Myrtle Beach was opening courses at a dizzying rate and that continued over the proceeding 10 years. Forty-three golf courses opened during the 1990s, but the decade is remembered for far than the volume of layouts it produced. From the opening of Tidewater Golf Club in 1990 to the first tee shot at TPC Myrtle Beach in 1999, Myrtle Beach saw its reputation for providing world class golf begin to soar.
Some of the area’s most acclaimed courses opened during the decade. Don’t believe me? Consider being a Myrtle Beach golfer trying to keep up with this array of course openings:
1990 – Tidewater
1996 – King’s North (Arnold Palmer returned to personally oversee the TOTAL renovation of the course)
1998 – True Blue
1999 – TPC Myrtle Beach, Rivers Edge, Thistle, World Tour
In a survey of Grand Strand PGA pros, asking them to rank Myrtle Beach’s top 20 courses, eight of the top 20 and five of the Grand Strand’s top 10 were constructed during the 1990s. Caledonia (No. 2), Tidewater (No. 3), TPC Myrtle Beach (No. 6), True Blue (No. 7) and King’s North (No. 10) led a group of designs that changed the reputation of the Myrtle Beach golf community, a transformation that continues to reverberate to this day.
In addition to the top 100 layouts, a slew of other courses that still enjoy great popularity opened in the ‘90’s, including all three layouts at Legends – Heathland, Moorland and Parkland – Wild Wing Avocet, Tradition Club and Crow Creek, among many others. When Y2K arrived, Myrtle Beach was golf’s hottest destination, thanks in large part to the quality of the designs that opened in the 1990s.
