7 Myrtle Beach Area Courses on America's 100 Greatest Public Courses

Seven area courses appear on Golf Digest's 2009 - 2010 list of America's 100 Greatest Public Courses. Last year, there were 10 courses on the list.

The 2009 - 2010 list includes the following courses (ranking shown in parenthesis):

The Heritage Club (#33)
The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (#38)
Tidewater Golf Club & Plantation (#41)
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (#66)
Grande Dunes - Resort Course (#77)
Barefoot Resort & Golf - Fazio Course (#96)
Barefoot Resort & Golf - Dye Course (#99)

The Grande Dunes - Resort Course is a newcomer to the list.
The four courses that fell off the list are: Tiger's Eye, River's Edge, King's North, and True Blue. I don't believe these courses decreased in quality, for the most part. I think they were "pushed" off by other courses that gained in popularity and quality. For instance, Grande Dunes - Resort Course (new to the list) has continued to gain in quality and name recognition as the course has matured since its opening in 2001. In my opinion, it is definitely a better course now then it was 2 or 3 years ago. Meanwhile, I don't believe that Tiger's Eye, King's North and True Blue have slipped at all. They are still great courses. River's Edge has struggled with the conditions of its greens the last few years, so I can see where it could fall off the list (please note that the course is renovating its greens this summer, so we hope to see it come back to prominence).

The bottom line here is that the Myrtle Beach area still has more courses appearing on the list than any other area (more than Kiawah, Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst, Las Vegas, Robert Trent Jones Trail, etc.). You should really consider playing one of these courses the next time you are in Myrtle Beach.
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Several Myrtle Beach Area Courses Make Improvements This Summer

Several Myrtle Beach area courses are making improvements this summer.

Sea Trail Resort - Willard Byrd Course: The Byrd course is renovating nine greens this summer. The greens on the front nine were renovated during the summer of 2008, and the back nine is getting the same treatment in 2009.

River's Edge: This Arnold Palmer design is undergoing major work on the greens to correct a long-standing problem. The course is closed for the summer to convert all greens to SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum. This species of grass is very tolerant of salt. Seems like a great decision for River's Edge which is located along a saltwater marsh. I played on a course with "tee-to-green" Paspalum in Florida this past May, and the conditions of the fairways and greens were superb. Conditions were so good, that I actually thought the grass was artificial when I first stepped on the practice green. The green conditions at River's Edge always detracted from this scenic course, making it a hit or miss proposition. Hopefully, this will solve River's Edge's problem and the course will return to its previous high ranking.

Tidewater: One of America's 100 Greatest Public Courses (Golf Digest), Tidewater is closing for six weeks this summer to renovate tee-boxes and improve other areas of the course. A few months ago, the course removed numerous trees throughout the course which improved the look, feel and playability on some holes which had become overgrown.

Arrowhead and Sandpiper Bay: Both of these 27-hole complexes are converting all greens to Mini-Verde, a bermuda grass that is popular on the Grand Strand because of the way it tolerates heat. Both courses previously completed nine holes and are working on a second nine this summer. Sandpiper Bay will complete it's last nine during the summer of 2010, and Arrowhead will complete the project this year. Both courses have the luxury of doing this work while keeping 18-holes open for play.

Contact Golf Packages of the Carolinas when you are planning your next Myrtle Beach golf package to get the latest scoop on course conditions and great deals.

8 Myrtle Beach Area Golf Courses Make Golfweek's List

Eight Myrtle Beach area golf courses appear on Golfweek's "Best Courses You Can Play 2009" list.
The list is broken down by state. Each state has at least 5 courses listed; most states have 10 courses; some states have as many as 15 or 20 courses.
North Carolina has 10 courses on the list. Two of the courses are on the Grand Strand: Leopard's Chase at Ocean Ridge Plantation in Sunset Beach (#4), and River's Edge in Shallotte (#10).
South Carolina also has 10 courses listed. Myrtle Beach area courses include: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawleys Island (#3), Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach (#4), Tidewater Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach (#6), True Blue Plantation in Pawleys Island (#7), TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet (#8), and Barefoot Resort and Golf's Love Course in Myrtle Beach (#10).

Contact Golf Packages of the Carolinas when you are planning your next Myrtle Beach golf package.