Best Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach made its claim to fame as the home of the golf package, bundling up hotel and green fees into one low rate. But many of the best golf courses in Myrtle Beach now offers online tee times and last-minute specials.
The Dunes Golf & Beach Club is widely known for putting Myrtle Beach on the golfing map (even though Pine Lakes — recently renovated — preceded The Dunes, opening in 1927s). The Dunes is one of Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s most acclaimed works and was one of the great marketing triumphs in golf travel. The Dunes would invite sports writers on their way down to cover the Masters for a weekend of fun, and plenty of content was penned as a result. The 1950s and 60s brought mostly bargain golf courses and hotels to the Grand Strand. It wasn’t until the 1980s when signature golf course architects like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio really began to ramp up construction of high-end courses. Today, most nationally-known architects have all contributed to the list of best golf courses in Myrtle Beach, including Rees Jones, Pete Dye, Davis Love III, Greg Norman and Mike Strantz.
At one point in the early 2000s, there were over 120 golf courses in Myrtle Beach. That number has contracted a bit since, but what remains, still nearly 100 golf courses, is still as deep of as anywhere on the east coast.
Starting from the northern end of Myrtle Beach, Brunswick County is located across the state border in North Carolina. Ocean Ridge Plantation is the biggest game in town with five 18-hole golf courses. Calabash’s River’s Edge, an Arnold Palmer design, is one of the most scenic courses in the area with dramatic closing holes on each nine.
On the other side of the state line, North Myrtle Beach is another big-time enclave of great golf, and it starts at Barefoot Resort, home to 72 holes of golf designed by an all-star lineup of architects. Nearby, Tidewater Golf Club has some of the best coastal scenery of any course in the state with stretches of saltwater holes on each nine. Beachwood Golf Club (image above) is also a great option having previously hosted the Carolina Open and Senior PGA championship.
In the south, Pawleys Island is a great home base for golf groups who want something a little quieter and scenic than the busier city center and North Myrtle Beach. Mossy oaks and marshy views at courses like Pawleys Plantation, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and TPC Myrtle Beach dazzle golfers.
As far as seasonality, golf courses have dizzying rate structures of up to a dozen or so seasons. The busiest and most expensive time for golf tee times is late March thru April. In the summer, tee times for the best golf courses in Myrtle Beach are at their cheapest, but oceanfront hotel rates are high. Your best bet for low green fees and accommodations is between Thanksgiving and the New Year’s. While the weather may be a little spotty, you’ll have open tee sheets and more money for seafood buffets.