Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is home to over 100 beautiful golf courses including three courses that rank in Golf Magazine’s top 100 courses you can play. Caledonia, Dunes Golf & Beach Club and Barefoot Resort are the absolute top three courses you must play while in Myrtle Beach.
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, located in Pawleys Island just south of Myrtle Beach, is the perfect course for golfers of all ages and skill levels. The course is ranked No. 27 on Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses and appears frequently on “Best of Myrtle Beach” lists. Caledonia features beautiful Champion Bermuda greens, wide tee boxes and a gorgeous lake that runs throughout the course. However, don’t let the beauty blind you from the challenging and unforgiving holes the course possesses. With a par of 70, the course features three par fives and a short 9th hole, surrounded by bunkers which calls for caution. The course finishes with a 383 yard par four, which brings you up to the beautiful iconic clubhouse.
The next must play course is The Dunes Golf and Beach Club. The course has played host to numerous PGA tours, including the PGA Professional National Championship in June 2014. The Dunes was the creation of famous architect Robert Trent Jones. The course features long and narrow tree lined fairways with multiple bunkers along the way. This course is both beautiful to look at as well as playfully challenging. The Dunes Club also includes unique names for each hole, giving golfers an idea of what is to come before they tee off. The most famous hole not just on the course, but in the world, is the No. 13 “Waterloo” hole. “This legendary hole features Lake Singleton, which comes into play, and has received every accolade and award as one of the greatest golf holes in the world”.
The third must play course in Myrtle Beach is the Barefoot Resort and Golf Course. The resort features four unique courses named Norman, Love, Fazio and Dye. The Norman Course, named after Greg Norman, is a 7,200 yard par 72, is designed “with Norman’s philosophy to bring into play the ‘bump and run’ shots around the greens” (barefootgolf.com). The Love Course, named after Carolina native Davis Love III, is a 7,000 yard par 72, that “embraces a tradition of Low country character in award- winning design. Th e course features the recreated ruins of an old plantation home along holes 3-7”. The Fazio Course, named after Tom Fazio, is a 6,834 yard par 71, described as a “Low country course, filled with live oaks, pines, sand, natural areas and native grasses” .
The fourth course at Barefoot is the Dye Course, named after Pete Dye. The course “upholds Dye’s reputation of building memorable and challenging golf courses by creating a stunning design filled with his infamous pitfalls to capture errant shots” . These three courses represent the best golf has to offer. Whether you are looking for a day surrounded by natural beauty or a day filled with challenges that will earn you bragging rights, everything you could ever want out of golf is waiting for you in Myrtle Beach.
