Rankings have become somewhat of a national pastime of Americans. We rank everything. Party schools. Breakfast cereal. TV shows from the 80s. College football mascots from Iowa. You get the picture. Almost everything that exists in the world is subject to a ranking. Golf and golf courses are not exempt from this practice. Some professional golfers seem to fall apart when they become the number one golfer in the world. These are guys that can sink a thirty-foot putt with 25,000 people staring at them, but tell them they’re the best and pressure gets to them.
One of our favorite types of golf rankings, however, has to be golf course rankings. What makes them so interesting is the subjectivity involved. One columnist may love the way a tree near the fairway makes it a blind approach shot. Another may say that was a terrible design and drop the specified course in the rankings. In the end, it’s just fun to see how courses stack up. Being in a golf-rich area like Myrtle Beach, many courses are no strangers to top courses lists. Let’s take a quick look at how golf courses in Myrtle Beach and along the Grand Strand stand in the rankings:
While some courses may require you to sit on a waiting list for decades or accept a second mortgage as payment, one of our favorite lists is Golf.com’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play. Sure, some of these courses are pricey for 18 holes, but all in all you can access these courses and make a tee time, no matter who you are.
27. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club – True Southern charm and beautifully designed golf holes. Can’t argue with this ranking.
42. Dunes Golf & Beach Club – A timeless course that seems to get better with each passing day. The rankings reflect the recent course upgrades, as Dunes Club moved up from #47 in 2012.
86. Barefoot Resort – The Love Course – You can’t go wrong with the Fazio, Dye or Norman courses either, but the Love course feels like a genuine Carolinian experience created by Charlotte native Davis Love III.
Ok, so we’re a little bit biased, but our other favorite golf course ranking is GolfDigest.com’s Myrtle’s Super 60. That’s right. When you have as many awesome courses as Myrtle Beach, the town gets its own top 60 list. Not surprisingly, Caledonia is number one and Dunes Club is number two. Here is the rest of the top five:
3. True Blue Plantation – The sister course to Caledonia does not take a back seat when it comes to nearly flawless plantation golf. Fully taking advantage of the natural setting with water and waste bunkers, it is a “true” test for all golfers.
4. Tidewater Golf Club – This North Myrtle Beach course offers mounds and undulating terrain not seen at a lot of courses in the area. You will have trouble focusing with some of the views on the ocean inlet, especially on 13.
5. Wachesaw Plantation Club – A pristine private club that’s welcoming to new members with impressive bunkers and rolling terrain. The 18th leaves you with an unforgettable finish. Just wait until you see it, ending along the Waccamaw River.
Have you played the Myrtle Super 60? What about the top golf courses you can play in Myrtle Beach? Which courses are overrated or underrated? It’s all subjective, but when you get to play courses like these, it’s certainly a fun debate!
(posted 11/3/14)