Myrtle Beach, the “Golf Capital of the World,” is renowned for its avant-garde, designer courses. With over 90 courses, choosing where to play may seem overwhelming. To help you with that, today, I’ll be casting the spotlight on some of the often overlooked but high-ranking “hidden gem” golf courses that Myrtle Beach has to offer.
Farmstead Golf Links
Farmstead Golf Links isn’t your ordinary golf course. Straddling across the border of the Carolinas, Farmstead offers a unique golfing experience and a chance to enjoy the best of both states. One of the key features of the course is finishing with a par 6 that starts in South Carolina and ends up in North Carolina. Besides the unique Par 6, the course has wide fairways, exemplary greens, and a forgiving layout that accommodates golfers of all levels while still providing an intriguing challenge for the more seasoned ones.
Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links
The Glen Dornoch Golf Links is often described as a bruiser of a course, notorious for its challenging last three holes. Nestled serenely along the Intracoastal Waterway, Glen Dornoch blends natural beauty with an engrossing game of golf. This Clyde Johnston design offers an intoxicating blend of natural beauty and challenging play, making it one of the hidden gems of Myrtle Beach’s golf scene. With balancing, varied elevation shots and strategic bunkering, the course manages to challenge golfers without overwhelming them.
Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club
Designed by Ault, Clark, and Associates, Shaftesbury Glen takes inspiration from traditional British and Irish courses such as Winged Foot and Augusta National. With its wide fairways, vast greens, and an homage to old-world design, Shaftesbury Glen is a stroll down golf’s memory lane. Recent renovations have added natural waste areas, pot bunkers, and additional teeing areas, making the course both challenging and memorable. Shaftesbury offers a combination of tradition, design, and modern course maintenance for an aesthetically pleasing and unforgettable golfing round.
Blackmoor Golf Club
Designed by Gary Player, Blackmoor Golf Club is Myrtle Beach’s testament to Player’s adventurous spirit. Emphasizing shot-making over power, Blackmoor uses its alluring terrain to create a strategic yet fair challenge for golfers. Its 16th hole, showcasing Player’s signature risk-reward design philosophy, allows for two completely different ways of playing the hole, making each visit to Blackmoor a new experience.
The Pearl Golf Links – West Course
If you’re on the hunt for a golf course that blends natural beauty, claustrophobic trees, and rolling fairways, look no further than The Pearl Golf Links – West Course. Sandwiched between the Calabash River and a maritime forest, the course is not merely a test of golfing skills; it’s an immersive natural encounter. The West Course is a shot-maker’s dream with strategic bunkering, small greens, and lots of water. It may be off the typical golfer’s radar, but a round here reveals its hidden charm.
The Heritage Club
The Heritage Club, snugly set amongst gigantic magnolias, freshwater lakes, and wetlands, is a quintessential southern golf course. Meticulously preserved by designer Dan Maples, the site’s abundant nature flawlessly meshes with the course’s design. The Heritage Club is renowned for its well-groomed greens and generous fairways and is justly renowned for its closing hole- a hefty par 5 that requires a well-judged approach shot to a green circumscribed by a scenic pond.
In conclusion, Myrtle Beach’s “hidden gems” offer not only a great golfing round but an opportunity to experience the diversity and beauty woven into the region’s golfing fabric. Don’t miss a chance to explore and enjoy these valuable golfing gems on your next visit to the “Golf Capital of the World.”