With a name like "Golf Capital of the World", there's just no denying it—Myrtle Beach is by far one of the best golf destinations in the US. While the options for golfers are seemingly endless throughout the region, you won't have to go far from your Myrtle Beach hotel to play in championship style. You'll even be tempted and teased as soon as you step off the plane—there’s a course just across the street from Myrtle Beach International Airport.
Barefoot Resort & Golf: Celebrated Designs
Tee up with buddies, or go for solo play at the incomperable Barefoot Resort & Golf.
Rated among the best courses by Golf Digest, Barefoot Resort & Golf tends to your toes as well as your tees with a complimentary shoeshine. But golf experts note that it's this course's design that really shines: Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Tom Fazio and Pete Dye all designed a layout at Barefoot. The Love course is part golfer’s paradise and part Southern history exhibit, with recreated plantation home ruins scattered along the early holes. The driving range offers a variety of targets from fairway cuts to flags and lights up for some after-dark practice. This public course also offers plenty of specials for the penny-conscious player, from lower prices each Wednesday to holiday offers and flexible tee-time rates.
Grand Dunes Resort Club: Soak in the Scenery
Take the kids for a beautiful day of scenic play on the fairways.
One of the top-rated Myrtle Beach courses is the Grande Dunes Resort Club, and not just for its sweet bluff-top perch along the Intracoastal Waterway. But scenery is a nice perk, with seven Waterway-view holes and 34 acres of lakes within the championship links. You’ll want to practice those swings on the impressive two-tier driving range, and if you need a bit of coaching, the club’s academy has been a longtime favorite of Golf Magazine. Courses are as short as two hours to squeeze in some pro tips that will last a lifetime. If you’re bringing along the kids, they’ll be able to break bad golf habits early as free students if you book a one- to three-day adult academy course.
Dunes Golf and Beach Club: Meet Your Waterloo
You'll find challenging play on a truly historic course at the Dunes.
Golf Magazine ranked the Dunes Golf and Beach Club as a “must-play” course in Myrtle Beach, noting its “fiercely trapped, elevated greens to its collection of scorecard-wrecking water holes.” The club has the credentials to boast, having hosted PGA Tours and many other top golfing events, and has stayed true to its heritage by keeping most of its original 1947 design. The “Waterloo” 13th hole is as legendary throughout the golf world as Napoleon’s 1815 defeat, and the Championship Course was extended to 7,450 yards in 2013. The catch? It’s all about whom you know: You can play at this private club as the guest of a member or as a member of another PGA private club that can arrange a reciprocal round on your behalf.
Whispering Pines Golf Course: The Birdie has Landed
Discover a world-class golf-experience mere minutes after landing in Myrtle Beach.
If you've just flown into Myrtle Beach International Airport and truly can't wait to get onto the green, head to the Whispering Pines Golf Course across the street. The Travel Channel notes that this certified Audubon sanctuary not only satisfies the ecological golfer, but the low prices also satisfy the economical golfer. Prices drop even further in the late afternoon. In addition to the 6,771-yard course, you’ll find a driving range, practice greens and a golf academy to help perfect your game if the chips are down. If you’re flying into town, you can even have your clubs shipped directly to the course’s pro shop and they’ll be waiting for you upon your arrival.
Pine Lakes Country Club: The Course that Started it All
Schedule some time on the green at Myrtle Beach's first golf course.
Holding the title of Myrtle Beach's first golf course and a designation on the National Register of Historic Places, the Pine Lakes Country Club was designed by the first PGA president, architect Robert White. The 1927 property—blessed by its rolling dunes and location just a half-mile from the ocean—underwent an extensive renovation in 2009 that added the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame. You might hear people at Pine Lakes also boast that they’re the birthplace of Sports Illustrated magazine; the first sales meeting for the monthly was held here in 1954; and, after the renovation, a room at the Pine Lakes clubhouse, featuring clippings and more, was designated a shrine to that historical occasion.