South Carolina

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.