FEATURE STORY

Myrtle Beach tallies four golf courses on "Top-100 you can play" rankings

Some of the best golf courses in Myrtle Beach are receiving high praise from Golf Magazine.

Myrtle Beach garnered four spots in the magazine's "Top 100 Places You Can Play" rankings released earlier this year, showing that not only does Myrtle Beach offer unrivaled variety and value, but some of America's most prestigious golf courses to boot.

Course review: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club Review: Barefoot Resort's Love Course Course review: Tidewater Golf Club What's your group's perfect Myrtle Beach golf itinerary?

The courses span from the historic fishing village of Pawleys Island on the South Strand to North Myrtle Beach and in the heart of Myrtle Beach as well, which means you're never too far from a "Top 100" golf course in the Grand Strand.

The rankings are put together with input from the magazine's World Course Ranking Panel, its editorial staff, industry insiders, and the magazine's network of "course spies." Click here to see the complete list.

Golf Magazine's Top 100 Myrtle Beach golf courses

No. 25: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club: A walk around Caledonia can feel like the turn of the 19th century, thanks to its countless live, mossy oaks. The drama-laden 18th hole was a finalist to be used as the 18th in "Tin Cup," but there wasn't enough room around here to house a Hollywood movie crew. That said, the 18th has become legendary around Myrtle Beach for it's sometimes raucous patio fans cheering - and jeering incoming approach shots over the water.

No. 47: Dunes Golf & Beach Club: The Dunes Club is Myrtle Beach's second oldest golf club, younger than only nearby Pine Lakes Country Club, which is closed until the spring of 2009 for renovations. This is a classic Robert Trent Jones Sr. design and considered one of his most influential. "Waterloo", the par-5 dogleg that wraps around a lake, is considered to be the first "signature hole" implemented into golf course design. The par-3 ninth hole also holds the distinction of the only one with a beach view in all of Myrtle Beach.

No. 86: Barefoot Resort, Love Course: The Barefoot Resort features four of golf's biggest names in course architecture, including Pete Dye, Tom Fazio and Greg Norman. But lowcountry son Davis Love III's course has come out on top according to most national magazines thanks to this player-friendly resort course awash with charm. The Love Course is getting better and better, according to Golf Magazine, jumping up nine spots from No. 95 in 2006.

No. 100: Tidewater Golf Club Plantation: Rounding out the Top 100, there may not be a more scenic round of golf in Myrtle Beach than Tidewater, thanks to its abundance of marsh and Intracoastal Waterway holes on each nine, including two par 3s where greens play so close you'll be smelling the salt water. Bring not only your camera but your game here, Tidewater is one of Myrtle Beach's most difficult courses from the tips at over 7,000 yards and a 144 slope.

Ocotber 8, 2007