Meredith:
Welcome to the Gimme Golf podcast, powered by Myrtlebeachgolftrips.com. I'm your host, Meredith Kirk. Okay. I get this question quite a lot. What are your favorite golf courses? In this episode, I'm going to give you that answer with my top five favorite Myrtle Beach golf courses.
Meredith:
All right. Let's get right into this. So for my number five, it is going to be Prestwick Country Club. And it was a tough choice, because I almost selected King's North. But I'm going to go ahead and stick with Prestwick on this one.
Nate:
You can't go wrong with that choice. One of peak dye design, great layout, premium on short game, but beautiful, beautiful golf course.
Meredith:
It really is. And hole number 18, when you come into the clubhouse, probably one of my favorite holes. Very challenging, very narrow on the first part of 18. It's not a great hole for driver, but by the time you get there, everybody pulls out their driver.
Nate:
Exactly.
Meredith:
And then when their ball goes in the water, they realize, "Oh, I can't use driver."
Nate:
Yeah.
Meredith:
I've seen many, many balls go in that water. I've seen players go up there, tee off, ball goes in the water, tee off, ball goes in the water. Tee off for the third time and then they're like, "What?"
Meredith:
I've seen disastrous double digit numbers on that hole, but yet, I've also seen people birdie that hole. So it's hit or miss. It's like, how are you going to finish number 18 at Prestwick? I love coming to that finishing hole.
Nate:
Well, you got a great vantage point because you got the clubhouse there. You can overlook 18 and you can overlook number nine.
Meredith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Nate:
And which in my view, is just as difficult the par five. You've got the bunkering around the green, tough driving hole.
Meredith:
And the wind picks up in the afternoon.
Nate:
Oh, gosh. Yep. So you can have a lot of fun on that back porch, kind of watching, watching people come in and play those two holes. But I just think that course puts a premium on your short game.
Meredith:
It really does.
Nate:
If you miss greens, you've got to be creative around the greens.
Meredith:
Yep, very much so. King's North, I want to give it an honorable mention because I love the gambler. I love the risk reward hole. Out there in Myrtle Beach National, the vibe out there, I love it. It's very energetic. Because you can see many of the groups out there, everything's kind of together.
Meredith:
Usually, when you're out there playing, you're going to hear people yelling and hollering. It's more of a party atmosphere, which to me, energizes me if I'm playing golf. So I do like that aspect of going out to Myrtle Beach National, because when you hear groups out there, they're having a really good time.
Nate:
It's a good time, yeah. Some great vantage points out there. And I think about that would be a great place to have a PGA Tour, or a tour-like event, because you've got so many vantage points where people can sit and cheer on,
Meredith:
Yes.
Nate:
Whether someone makes the green from the gambler, or goes for it.
Meredith:
Uh-huh (affirmative).
Nate:
But yeah, so many cool vantage points out there. And a good design.
Meredith:
Oh, it really is. All right. Number four, TPC Myrtle Beach. I love that course for so many reasons, but I will say it's long. Be prepared.
Nate:
Not a shocker. For sure. It could be in anyone's top five or top two, or top three, actually.
Meredith:
Right. I love the greens out there. That would probably be the number one reason why I selected it as my fourth pick, because the greens are consistently fast, more so than my experiences with other courses.
Meredith:
So when I go out to TPC, I know that the greens are going to be a little bit quicker. So I just love fast greens. And I'm pretty much guaranteed I'm going to get that at TPC. It is really long. When I'm out there, I play the ladies' tees and I still feel like it's long with the ladies' tees.
Nate:
Yeah.
Meredith:
Number nine is a beast. So you have these holes that really, really challenge you. Number nine, I've played that hole well several times, and it's been a complete disaster. So again, it's almost like Prestwick. You come into 18, you could be playing really well up until number 18.
Meredith:
And then it could come out like a beast and just grab you. And same thing at TPC with number nine. You can be playing well up until number nine and bam. So I kind of like that pressure from core styles like that. So TPC is very challenging. But all in all, the experience that you get at TPC, I love, from the moment you pull up, to the staff.
Meredith:
The clubhouse coming in at number 18, beautiful and challenging finishing hole. The food there is great. The practice facility is huge. I love that, a great place to go practice. So I just think overall, that's why I selected it as my fourth pick.
Nate:
Yeah, and we've got to see that. TPC is always in great shape, but we get to see it at its complete finest during the Dustin Johnson World Junior that happens in March.
Meredith:
Right.
Nate:
You get to see kids play it in a tour-like experience.
Meredith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Nate:
And you just think to yourself, it's like, "Yeah, this course was built for a tour event." So many great places to watch. But if you think about TPC Myrtle Beach, there are a couple of short par fours. I think of number one on the front, but there's really no reprieve or let up there.
Meredith:
There's not.
Nate:
It's not normally a couple of golf courses you play, you say, "Okay, well, I got past that stretch."
Meredith:
Right.
Nate:
"I've got a couple easy holes coming up." That to me, is not generally the case at TPC.
Meredith:
No, you grind.
Nate:
For my game, anyway.
Meredith:
Yeah, you're grinding. No, I agree with you.
Nate:
Yeah.
Meredith:
Number three, Grande Dunes Resort Club, one of the courses here in Myrtle Beach that's on the Intracoastal Waterway. My opinion? You can't beat the par three hole number 14, which is located on the Waterway. And it's really a unique hole. You're hitting onto or up on this cliff over some water. It's amazing. And then you're looking down from this cliff at the Intracoastal Waterway, and it's a really cool view. When I'm out there, I don't realize I'm in Myrtle Beach.
Meredith:
It's such a different type of view. It's a really cool hole. I love the experience when you pull in. It's very Mediterranean. You have the marina that you can stay at. You go over the bridge and it's wide open out there. And the practice facility, like TPC, is very large. And I like that. It's just very spacious. And then the food there is really good. So anytime I go to Grande Dunes Resort Club, I always stay for lunch or eat after, because the food is amazing.
Nate:
Yeah, I agree with all your points. The Intracoastal Waterway holes are awesome. You mentioned 14? 15 to me, is beautiful, too.
Meredith:
15 is just as good. Right.
Nate:
Obviously, 14 is a par three.
Meredith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Nate:
It feels like you're hitting the ball a little bit downhill.
Meredith:
Right.
Nate:
But I kind of describe Grande Dunes Resort Club as a big golf course. It's fairly generous off the tee, but it's a challenge. But it's a lot of fun to play. The views are great.
Meredith:
Yeah, the views are great. On the Intracoastal Waterway, holes are a little narrow. So when you bring out the driver it's a little intimidating, because you're like, "Am I going to hit it into the water?" But again, the view, you're high up. You're kind of perched up there, and you can't beat it.
Nate:
Yeah. It's like, there's very few golf courses in Myrtle Beach that you feel like you have any elevation change.
Meredith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Nate:
And that course feels like some elevation change.
Meredith:
Yeah, that's a great way to describe it. Number two, Caledonia.
Nate:
Not a shocker, right?
Meredith:
Yeah, it's beautiful. So when you drive into Caledonia, if you've never played Caledonia, it's the most beautiful drive into any golf course in Myrtle Beach. I guess that's why they host so many weddings there. So you drive about a half mile down this road and there are oak trees that are just draped with moss, the Spanish moss. It's so beautiful.
Meredith:
And then when you get to the clubhouse, there is water behind the clubhouse. The marsh, it's stunning, like captivating, stunning, bring your camera. It's a complete experience just going out there. Your jaw will drop. It's that gorgeous. The course itself is beautiful.
Meredith:
It's short. I like it. I score well. It's probably why I put it as number two, because usually when I play Caledonia, I play really well. So of course, I'm going to pick a golf course that I play really well at. But it's to me, very player friendly, the course.
Meredith:
And also, you can rent the scooters. And last year, I ran in the scooters and had so much fun on the scooters. So I highly recommend at least trying it one time.
Nate:
Great place to play golf. It's in every ranking, it seems like. It's either one, two, three, but you can't go wrong playing there. And we talked about the back porch on Prestwick. Now, they're known for people hanging around on number 18.
Meredith:
Yes, it's so pretty.
Nate:
Hanging around on the porch, watching people come in and booing. It's a little nerve-racking sometimes if you're out in that fairway and you're hitting your put shot into number 18.
Meredith:
Oh, yeah.
Nate:
I'd call them the peanut gallery.
Meredith:
Right.
Nate:
But it's like, people are watching you out there on 18.
Meredith:
Yeah. The sunset will make up for all of it because I don't think you can catch a better sunset over the water with that low country feel anywhere else, but Caledonia, because of how it's situated on the marsh there.
Nate:
Spectacular.
Meredith:
Yeah.
Nate:
It's one of those golf courses, all the course are in your top five. You could play every day, not get tired of.
Meredith:
Oh, absolutely.
Nate:
Yeah.
Meredith:
Well, let's go ahead and move into number one then. This is a no-brainer for me. I don't even have to think about what my number one is. It's just so natural, it comes up. But Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club, another low country course here on the southern end of Myrtle Beach. A Nicklaus design? That says enough right there. Need I go further?
Nate:
It does. It's an amazing piece of property, like you say. You've got the marshals. I love catching out there. And if you ever follow our Instagram account, I'll get out sometimes and get some sunrise shots. It's just a beautiful, beautiful place.
Meredith:
Yeah, those are beautiful. Oh, it is. And a lot of weddings are out there as well, because it's just so beautiful. My favorite holes out there? The par threes, number 13 and number 17. The marsh holes? Incredible.
Meredith:
When I go out there, I pause. It's like I have these pause moments where I'm just driving the cart and I stop the cart, and I just stare. And I'm like, "Wow, this is breathtaking."
Nate:
Yeah. Those holes are great, but they overshadow a lot of the other golf courses too, the holes that don't get talked about too much. But the other holes, there are some other spectacular holes that don't even play on the marsh that are kind of forgotten. Because when you play 13, 14, come back and play 17, It's like, "Wow."
Meredith:
Yeah. Really, the course is very challenging. You have to manage every shot on that course very well. If you think about going into 10, 11, and 12, I find those holes challenging.
Nate:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Meredith:
So you're starting out on 10, getting over that water there, right in front of the green. And then you go to hole 11. 12 is pretty fun. 12 is not too challenging. 12 is the hole right before the marsh holes, very beautiful. You're coming into the water there and then you get to the marshals. But every single hole, you have to have a strategy.
Meredith:
If you go out to Pawleys Plantation and expect to play really good golf and you're not really conscious of where every ball is going to go, you're not going to play well. So when you get on the tee, take a look at the hole, say, "Okay, I'm going to play my first shot here. My goal with my second shot is here." Really strategically place each shot, because it really will reduce your strokes on that course.
Nate:
You took the words out of my mouth. You have to think about every shot out there.
Meredith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Nate:
There's not any, and we talked about reprieve, there's no kind of let up there. You have to, especially off the tee, you have to put it in a place where you've got a shot.
Meredith:
Absolutely. Well, this was a lot of fun putting together our top five. You're going to have a great trip. If you were to select these courses that I just mentioned, you're going to have a great time. I would definitely suggest contacting Myrtlebeachgolftrips.com, get a free quick quote.
Meredith:
You can call them and just see what the current rates are. Booking, you're going to get the best rates. And if you have any further questions on these courses, you can talk to one of our golf directors because they're great. They live here and they actually play golf.
Nate:
So what's really cool about your ranking, and this is really tough, it's tough to rank Myrtle Beach golf courses because they're so great. We did do a top 20 poll for local PGA professionals, which people have flocked to. And I will give you just the top five. And that poll, number five was Prestwick Country Club.
Meredith:
Wow.
Nate:
Which kind of matched yours. Number four was Grande Dunes Resort Club.
Meredith:
Okay.
Nate:
Number three was Tidewater.
Meredith:
I could see that.
Nate:
Yep. Number two is Caledonia.
Meredith:
All right.
Nate:
And then number one was the Dunes Golf & Beach Club.
Meredith:
That does not surprise me. The classic.
Nate:
Exactly.
Meredith:
Yeah.
Nate:
If you go to Myrtlebeachgolftrips.com, you can find these top 20 and you cannot go wrong with playing any one of these 20.
Meredith:
Oh, yeah. These are some great courses. Definitely a good time in Myrtle Beach. So it's funny, we all like different courses for different reasons. The courses I listed today, I think guaranteed, you're going to have a good time. The courses I selected is overall, more of an experience.
Nate:
Have you had good rounds at all five?
Meredith:
TPC would be my most challenging. I don't think I've ever really had a round that I'm super proud of at TPC, because each hole is a beast in itself. So I could score well, but then something will collapse at TPC. But TPC, I'm least confident. But TPC is such an overall, great experience. And the greens are so pure there that it still has to remain in my top five.
Nate:
So your top five is, I could classify them as aesthetically pleasing. They are really nice and fun to play. They're just beautiful.
Meredith:
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm going for the overall experience. And also, I'm thinking about food in the back of my mind, because I like to eat in all these places. I know you're going to have a really good meal if you want to stay after your round.
Nate:
Well, I like your list. I'll play all of those five.
Meredith:
Yeah? Good.
Nate:
Any day of the week.
Meredith:
All right. Me too. And I hope you guys enjoyed this podcast. I hope that listing these courses help you. So check them out. Go book your next Myrtle Beach golf vacation at Myrtlebeachgolftrips.com. We're here to help you.
