Best golf courses in South Carolina.

Hilton Head Island, SC

Harbour Town Golf Links opened in 1969 at Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It was Pete Dye's breakthrough design, built with a young Jack Nicklaus consulting, and it deliberately rejected the long, wide, heavily contoured style that dominated American golf at the time. Harbour Town is short by modern standards and defended by narrowness. Live oaks and pines press in on the fairways, the greens are small and mostly flat, and Dye used railroad ties and sharp-edged bunkers to frame targets tightly. Position off the tee matters far more than distance, which is why the course still holds up against professionals. The par-4 18th runs along Calibogue Sound to a green beside the red-and-white Harbour Town Lighthouse. The course has hosted the RBC Heritage every year since it opened, making it one of the longest continuous relationships between a PGA Tour event and a course. It is open to resort guests and the public.

Kiawah Island, SC

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, near Charleston, South Carolina, is a Pete Dye design that opened in 1991. Ten holes run along the Atlantic and the rest sit close behind. At Alice Dye's suggestion, the whole course was raised above the dune line so every hole has a view of the ocean. That decision leaves the course fully exposed to shifting coastal wind, which can change club selection by several clubs from one round to the next. Much of the sand is unedged waste area rather than formal bunkers, and the greens are firm and hard to hold into the breeze. The Ocean Course hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, known as the War by the Shore, the 2007 Senior PGA Championship, the 2012 PGA Championship won by Rory McIlroy, and the 2021 PGA Championship won by Phil Mickelson at age 50. It is open to resort guests and the public, walking with a caddie is encouraged, and carts are allowed after 10 a.m. in summer.

Bluffton, SC

May River Golf Club at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina, is a Jack Nicklaus design that opened in 2004. It sits on a 20,000-acre preserve between the May and Cooper rivers, in a setting of live oaks, salt marsh and tidal creeks. The course was built with no cart paths, so the corridors read as continuous turf from tee to green, and the routing was laid out to protect the existing oak stands rather than clear them. Fairways are wide, the bunkering is sandy and shallow in places, and the greens are large. Several holes finish alongside the marsh with the river beyond. Walking with a caddie is the standard here, and pace and quiet are part of the experience. Access is for club members and guests of the Montage Palmetto Bluff resort.

Aiken, SC

Donald Ross 1912 design on Aiken's sand hills: walkable, short, and cheap to play

Isle of Palms, SC

The Links Course at Wild Dunes opened in 1980 on the northeastern tip of the Isle of Palms and was the first solo commission for architect Tom Fazio. The routing moves through natural dunes, marsh and maritime forest before finishing along the Atlantic Ocean. From the back tees the par-72 course plays 6,722 yards with a course rating of 72.7 and a slope of 131. Bermuda grass covers the fairways and greens. Wind off the ocean and dune-set greens supply most of the course's difficulty despite its modest length. It is one of the two 18-hole courses at Wild Dunes Resort, alongside the Harbor Course.

Kiawah Island, SC

Osprey Point occupies inland ground on Kiawah Island and began life as the resort's members course. Tom Fazio designed it and it opened in 1988, and he returned in 2014 to lead a full renovation. The routing crosses lagoons, marshland and pine forest, with several holes running alongside water that tightens driving lines and sharpens the approach. Its shift from wooded corridors to open marsh views gives it a different character from Kiawah's exposed oceanfront courses. The 2014 work refreshed bunkering and turf while keeping the playability that defined the original.

Kiawah Island, SC

Turtle Point sits on the eastern end of Kiawah Island and was the second course to open at the resort. Jack Nicklaus designed it and it opened in 1981, winding through maritime forest and marsh before reaching three consecutive oceanfront holes on the back nine. Lagoons are placed to make the golfer choose a line rather than simply punish a miss, and the fairways are generous but angled. Nicklaus returned in 2016 to lead a renovation that regrassed the course in paspalum and refined the bunkering and green complexes. The result balances Lowcountry woodland golf with a genuinely dramatic run along the Atlantic.

Pawleys Island, SC

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club opened in January 1994 on a former rice and indigo plantation near Pawleys Island. It was the first solo design by Mike Strantz, who treated the routing as a composition rather than an engineering problem. The course plays through oak-canopied allées, marsh edges and sandy, tree-dotted Lowcountry terrain. The entrance drive beneath moss-draped live oaks and the marsh-side closing holes are its signature images. Compact and strategic rather than long, it set the template for the reputation Strantz built over a short career. Caledonia's Grillroom overlooks the old rice fields, the waterway and the closing hole. The back porch and full bar are the draw after golf, giving groups a front-row seat as later players take on the approach to 18.

Kiawah Island, SC

Cougar Point lies near the entrance to Kiawah Island, originally a Gary Player design and extensively reworked by Gary Player Design in a ten-month project that reopened in October 2017. The layout threads between maritime forest and expansive tidal marsh, with sweeping views across the Kiawah River. The redesign focused on shot values and playability while keeping the marsh-edge drama that defines the front nine. Play moves from tight, tree-lined corridors into open, wind-exposed holes on the water. Player himself framed the project as a chance to correct elements of his original.

Hilton Head Island, SC

Atlantic Dunes occupies the site of the Ocean Course, the first golf course built on Hilton Head Island, inside the Sea Pines Resort. Davis Love III led a complete reconstruction and the course reopened under its current name in 2016. The rebuild leaned into Lowcountry character, with coquina shell bunkering and seaside grasses framing holes that move between maritime forest and open coastal ground. The par-3 15th, played along the water, is its most photographed hole. At roughly 7,000 yards from the back tees, it modernized the shot values while keeping the sense of the island's oldest golf ground.

Pawleys Island, SC

Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club in Pawleys Island is a Jack Nicklaus design that opened in 1988, routed through saltwater marsh and centuries-old live oaks on the Waccamaw Neck. The par-72 layout stretches to 7,031 yards from the back tees and plays down to 4,932 from the forward markers. Nicklaus Design returned in 2023 with design associate Troy Vincent for a full greens, bunker and clubhouse restoration, removing the sprawling bunkering on more than half the holes, widening fairway corridors and enlarging the greens; the course reopened that October. The par-3 13th plays from a marsh-ringed tee to a peninsula green and is the hole most players remember.

Hilton Head Island, SC

The Robert Trent Jones Course at Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island opened in 1969 as the first course built at the resort, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and renovated by Roger Rulewich in 2002-03. The par-72 layout plays 7,005 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 74.3 and a slope of 135. The routing moves from inland lagoons to an oceanfront stretch, including the par-5 10th hole, which runs along the Atlantic with an elevated green. Multiple lagoons connected to the resort's water system come into play on several holes.

North Myrtle Beach, SC

Tidewater Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-72 public course in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, designed by Ken Tomlinson and opened in 1990. The course sits on a wooded point framed by the Intracoastal Waterway to the north and House Creek to the south, giving much of the routing a secluded feel. From the back tees it plays to a course rating of 73.9 and a slope of 148. Holes move between marsh-edge water views and inland corridors lined with pines and live oaks, with five sets of tees.

Last verified 2026-09-17

Hilton Head Island, SC

The George Fazio Course is the championship test at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort on Hilton Head Island, opened in 1974 and one of the youngest courses ever to appear on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Best. The par-70 layout plays to about 6,873 yards with only two par 5s, an open, tree-lined front nine and a tighter, more severe back nine. It is regarded as the island's truest championship challenge.

North Myrtle Beach, SC

The Dye Course at Barefoot Resort & Golf is an 18-hole, par-72 semi-private course in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, designed by Pete Dye and opened in 2000. It is the longest of Barefoot Resort's four courses, stretching to 7,343 yards from the back tees. The layout has Dye's familiar look, with waste bunkers, railroad ties and native grasses framing the holes, and it rewards accurate ball-striking over length. The par-3 5th plays over water to a narrow green, and water guards the approaches at the 9th and 18th.

Last verified 2026-09-17

Fripp Island, SC

Ocean Point Golf Links is the original course at Fripp Island Resort, designed by George Cobb and opened in 1964. The links-style par-72 layout plays to about 6,556 yards with five holes offering sweeping ocean views, and the flat, honest routing gives way to brisk coastal wind and forced carries. In October 2024 the course unveiled a multi-million-dollar renovation by Dye Designs Group, with recontoured greens, updated bunkers and improved turf that kept Cobb's original vision intact.

Murrells Inlet, SC

TPC Myrtle Beach is an 18-hole, par-72 resort course in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, designed by Tom Fazio with Lanny Wadkins and opened in 1999 as part of the TPC network. It plays to 6,950 yards from the back tees with a course rating of 74.2 and a slope of 146. The parkland layout winds through wetlands and stands of pine, with water or wetlands in play on eleven holes. Bermuda fairways lead to Bermuda greens, and the facility has a driving range, practice bunker and chipping green.

Last verified 2026-09-17

Pawleys Island, SC

The Heritage Club in Pawleys Island is a Dan Maples design that opened in 1986 on two former rice plantations along the Waccamaw River. The par-71 layout runs 7,118 yards from the back of four tee sets, with fairways set among live oaks, magnolias and freshwater lakes. Two holes play alongside antebellum cemeteries on the property. The par-3 13th requires a long carry over water, and the par-5 18th offers risk-reward options into the finish. The course remains open to public play year-round.

Clemson, SC

The Walker Course is Clemson University's home golf course, designed by D.J. DeVictor and opened in 1995 on the shore of Lake Hartwell. The par-72 layout plays 6,911 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 72.8 and a slope of 137. The final five holes run along the lake, including the par-3 17th, whose green and bunkering echo the university's tiger paw logo. The course operates as a semi-private facility with individual, family, and corporate memberships available alongside daily-fee public play, plus a full practice facility with driving range and chipping and putting greens.

Myrtle Beach, SC

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club was incorporated in 1948 near the ocean in Myrtle Beach, with Robert Trent Jones Sr. hired to design the layout as one of his early solo commissions. Rees Jones has led renovation work on the course. Every hole carries its own name, including the par-5 13th, "Waterloo," which doglegs around Lake Singleton. The par-72 course plays 7,450 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 76.1 and a slope of 148. The club is a member-owned, semi-private facility with more than 800 members that allows limited outside tee times.

Hilton Head Island, SC

Heron Point by Pete Dye is an 18-hole, par-72 course at The Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, designed by Pete Dye on the site of the former Sea Marsh course. The layout features risk-reward holes with Dye-style mounding and swales, along with lagoons and salt marsh views, and is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. From the back tees it plays 7,035 yards with a course rating of 73.3 and a slope of 134.

Edisto Island, SC

The Plantation Course at Edisto is a public course on Edisto Island, opened in 1973 under the name Oristo. Developer David Lybrand assembled a local team to build the course in 1971, and architect Tom Jackson completed the final design, blending greens and bunkers into the Lowcountry terrain. Sam Snead, Bob Goalby and Chuck Matlock played the first round after arriving by helicopter at the grand opening. The par-70 layout plays to about 6,175 yards past salt-marsh inlets and moss-draped live oaks, with water in play on 14 holes.

Myrtle Beach, SC

World Tour Golf Links is a public course in Myrtle Beach, opened in 1999 and designed by Mel Graham, who spent years researching the famous holes replicated here. The par-72 layout plays to about 6,525 yards across two nines: the Open Nine recreates holes from U.S. and British Open venues, including the 17th at TPC Sawgrass and the 18th at St. Andrews with a replica Swilcan Bridge, while the Championship Nine features holes from all four men's major championships, including Myrtle Beach's own Amen Corner.

Mount Pleasant, SC

Dunes West Golf Club is a semi-private course in Mount Pleasant, set along Wagner Creek and the Wando River on a plantation site with records dating to a 1696 land grant. The Arthur Hills-designed course opened in 1991 and plays as a par 72 stretching to about 6,859 yards, with marsh and river views on the closing holes. The property once held a nine-hole course on the estate of Henrietta Hartford, whose gardens were designed by the Olmsted firm.