For generations, many South Carolinians have lived in the "upstate" region and owned vacation homes at the beach, a trip of no more than 3 1/2 hours from even the farthest regions of the state. In fact, Pawleys Island, just south of Myrtle Beach, claims to be America's first beach resort. Whether it is or isn't, Pawleys is just one of many golf happy areas of South Carolina, led by its neighbor immediately to the north, Myrtle Beach, which even after some pruning in the golf course ranks, can still boast about 100 layouts in the area. Farther down the coast, in the Low Country, Kiawah Island (10 golf courses within 12 miles or so) can boast of arguable the best in the state, the fabled Ocean Course by Pete Dye. But don't ignore upstate, where Greenville, a sophisticated burgh can lay claim to top 5 Chanticleer, one of Greenville Country Club's two outstanding tracks. We could go on about South Carolina golf (and reference Bluffton, Beaufort, Aiken, Columbia and other areas); we encourage you to go see for yourself.
Typically, a hulking condo building behind a green is depressing enough for a golfer, but the sandbags that line the left edge of the 18th fairway and the green at Wild Dunes' Links Course are even...
At 224 from the tips, the 11th at Coosaw Creek requires length and accuracy. I am a big fan of Arthur Hills' designed courses. Everyone of the half dozen or so that I have played stress course...
Darwinian selection has a great Petri dish in Myrtle Beach. Dozens of courses in the acknowledged golf supermarket of America have closed forever in the last three years, victims of overbuilding and...
Any golfer who has been to Myrtle Beach knows "The Grandaddy." It is the nickname for Pine Lakes International Golf Club, circa 1927, the oldest course on the Grand Strand and the one with the most...
The dike at Pawleys Plantation holds the tee boxes for #13 (shown here) and #17, two challenging par 3s. New sod will be added to tees next week. Some of my fellow members at Pawleys Plantation in...
Our friends at Golf Vacation Insider visited Daufuskie Island, SC, recently and report in their latest email, and on their web site, that the food service at the local resort left a little to be...
More and more communities are hosting professional golf tournaments. A couple of weeks ago, the massive Cliffs Communities hosted a Nationwide Tour event, the BMW Charities Pro-Am, at three of their...
Sea Trail Plantation, the huge complex north of Myrtle Beach, will open a new section of townhomes in their Eastwood Bluff section June 29 - July 1. The amply sized Eastwood units, at 2,300 square...
Faithful readers of our newsletter and this site know that we are obsessed with traffic. It is one big reason we haven't rushed to review golf course communities on the coasts of Florida or in...
The golf world turns its attention to Augusta, GA, this weekend, which is a mixed blessing for residents of the golf communities of Aiken, SC, just across the border. The Augusta area can't quite...
The venerable Sea Gull Golf Club was one of the original 19 courses in the Myrtle Beach area around 1970 when I played my first rounds of golf on the Grand Strand. Over the next four decades, it was...
Note: We've added to this post a few more photos than typical. They may take a little longer to load. We think your patience will be rewarded. We have played the majority of the courses in the...