Golfing at one of Myrtle Beach’s golf courses? Local pros say watch out for these holes
Golfing is a popular pastime in the Myrtle Beach area. In 2021, 2.4 million rounds of golf were played on 62 of the area’s courses, according to a Sun News report, and many seasoned players have preferred courses they like to tee off from.
The Sun News recently polled readers about their favorite courses on the Grand Strand, and voters listed their favorite golf courses as:
Prestwick Country Club, located at 1001 Links Road in Myrtle Beach.
Tidewater Golf Club, located at 1400 Tidewater Drive in North Myrtle Beach.
The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, located at 9000 North Ocean Blvd. in Myrtle Beach.
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, located at 369 Caledonia Drive on Pawleys Island.
Wedgefield Country Club, located at 129 Club House Lane in Georgetown.
A round of golf could always have memorable moments and specific holes that leave players with fond or rage-inducing memories.
Myrtle Beach’s golf courses are no different, and according to the head golf professionals at each course, these are some of the most memorable holes at the Grand Strand’s most popular links.
Prestwick Country Club
Golf Digest Rating: 3.6/5
The most popular golf course on the Grand Strand according to Sun News readers, the course is also well known by national outlets. Sports Illustrated rated the course 7.8 out of 10 on its “fun meter” and called it a tough but fair course.
“Don’t count on a long putt to roll straight at the hole,” the course review added.
Prestwick General Manager Jay Smith added the course requires a lot of skill and thought.
“The design of the golf course makes you hit about every club in your bag,” Smith said. “You hit a lot of different shots (which) makes you use your imagination when you’re playing.”
One such hole that is a fair challenge, and Smith’s favorite, is hole number nine. A par five that’s 537 yards from the black tees gives players a challenge from the outset aside from the sheer distance required to reach the green.
On the right-hand side of the fairway sits mounds that could trip up a player. On the left sits a water hazard that could add a penalty stroke if golfers are not careful.
“You can obviously miss to the right to keep it out of the water, but you’re not going to be in great shape,” he added. “That second shot has to be really, really good or they’re gonna find themselves in a deep bunker, or somewhere they don’t want to be.”
Tidewater Golf Club
Golf Digest Rating: 3.6/5
Tidewater visitors like the greens to be fast, according to Head Golf Professional Chris Cooper.
“When the spring and fall golfer is here, we make sure that they’re a lot faster,” Cooper added.
The course with the second most votes from readers, Tidewater, sits close to the Intracoastal Waterway and the Cherry Grove Salt Marsh. For Cooper, the view of the marsh helped make holes 12 and 13 Tidewater’s signature.
A par three, hole 12 curves around the marsh and offers players many obstacles. Shot too far to the right, and your ball could get lodged in trees or the Cherry Grove Salt Marsh. Overshoot and miss the green; more water and marsh sit behind it.
Hole 13 also presents challenges. A par five, it’s sheer size at 543 yards long from the black tees adds strokes to the scorecard of golfers without a strong driver.
Tidewater was ranked in the top 10 of Golf Digest’s best courses in South Carolina between 1991 and 1997, although in 2023-24, it was ranked 39th in the 2023-24 state rankings.
Between 2007 and 2010, the course was 41st of the 100 greatest public golf courses, according to Golf Digest.
The Dunes Golf & Beach Club
Golf Digest Rating: 4.8/5
Situated close to the beach, The Dunes has changed quite a bit recently. The course has had massive changes recently as it prepares to host the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic, the first PGA tournament on the Grand Strand.
Tee boxes were redone, and the eighth hole shrunk from a par five to par four. Renovations have cost $500,000.
The Dunes still has its signature holes despite the changes. For Dunes Head Golf Professional Dennis Nicholl, the par three-hole nine gives golfers a look at the surrounding area.
“While you’re putting, you look out over the ocean,” Nicholl said. “It’s (a) pretty good spot to stand and soak up the views.”
Holes 11, 12 and 13 are also some of the most notable for Nicholl added, particularly the par five 13, which is more than 600 yards long and wraps around a lake.
“Has a lot of character to it,” he said.
The 71st-ranked public golf course in 2023-24, according to Golf Digest, the course reached its highest ranking of 15th in 2003-04.
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club
Golf Digest Ranking: 4.1/5
Golfweek’s fourth-best public course in South Carolina for 2023, Caledonia, is an intimate course, said course Head Golf Professional Marc Guertin.
The green on hole 18, which lies behind a lake, sits next to the clubhouse and often draws a crowd as players finish their game.
“There’s usually a crowd of people out there, hooting and hollering with the shots coming into the green,” Guertin added. “You can hear every word of it from across the lake.
Caledonia’s signature holes are 11 and 16, according to him. A par three, 11 is less than 200 yards to the green and protected by a creek. A lake also guards hole 16’s green, the par four giving players the options to go for the green and risk ending up in the water or hit into the rough to avoid penalty strokes.
Guertin added precision is necessary to succeed at Caledonia.
“It’s more of a shot makers golf course,” Guertin said. “You’d much rather miss the green in the right spot then hit it in the wrong spot. The greens are the defense on the golf course.”
Wedgefield Country Club
Golf Digest Ranking: 4.3/5
When describing playing at Wedgefield, Director of Golf Champ Detamore laid out what future golfers can expect from the course.
“It’s old school,” Detamore said. “We have 17 ponds, of which pretty much all 17 come into play ... it’s a pretty difficult golf course.”
Some notable holes on the course include the par five hole 14 and the par three hole 16. But golfers will have to wait until near the end of their game to play what Detamore says is Wedgefield’s signature hole, number 17.
A par five close to 480 yards to the cup from the black tees, Detamore added there are two ways a player can approach the hole.
“It’s another risk-reward,” he said. “You can go for it in two (shots) or you can play your layup and play it the conventional way.”
