From the mountains to the ocean, list ranks best golf courses in South Carolina

South Carolina is blessed with an embarrassment of riches in golf courses, a fact on display in examining one organization’s ranking of playing opportunities in the state.

From the brawny Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort to the Aiken Golf Club that measures less than 5,800 yards and everything in between, the Palmetto State offers a smorgasbord of links that whets every golfer’s appetite.

The South Carolina Golf Course Rating Panel’s annual survey emphasizes the obvious again in this year’s rankings of the best classic courses, designed pre-1980, and modern layout, those designed since 1980.

The Ocean Course, scene of high-profile events ranging from the 1991 Ryder Cup to PGA Championships in 2012 and 2021, takes its usual place at the top of the modern category. Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head Island’s Sea Pines Resort, the home of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage each April, headlines the classics.

And those only scratch the surface.

“There are so many great golf courses in the state,” Aiken GC owner Jim McNair Jr. said. “There’s something from everyone. We have something like 37 acres of turf; I imagine a course like the Dunes (Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach) has 100 acres or more.”

McNair’s course, located within shouting distance of Aiken’s business district, ranks seventh in the classic category and drips with history. More than 100 years old, the club is among the first to have women’s tees and staged the Women’s Invitational Tournament (1937-39) that brought stars such as Babe Zaharias and Patty Berg to compete.

“We’re short by today’s standards, but we have members who say it’s too hard from the tips,” McNair said. “The green complexes are incredible. The course is about strategy, accuracy and position off the tee.”

Those are among the qualities the rating panel seeks and finds everywhere in the state.

Courses represented in this year’s rankings range from Aiken’s Palmetto Golf Club, which dates to 1892; Seth Raynor’s Lowcountry gems; Camden Country Club with Donald Ross’ influence and Robert Trent Jones’ beauties among the classics. The modern layouts include the handiwork of, among others, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Mike Strantz.

“Ranking the courses is really a challenge,” said Michael Whitaker, the association’s executive director. “As always, there are so many outstanding golf courses in South Carolina that you’re really splitting hairs in picking one over another.”

The top five in the classic category include Harbour Town, Yeamans Hall in Hanahan, Palmetto GC, the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, and Greenville CC’s Chanticleer Course. Joining the Ocean Course at the top of the modern list are the Secession Club (Beaufort), Congaree GC (Ridgeland), May River GC (Palmetto Bluff) and Sage Valley GC (Graniteville).

“To be included on a list with some of those exclusive private clubs is quite an honor,” McNair said. “That’s the beauty of the game. Courses such as ours and the Ocean Course are very different and yet are very challenging.”

The S.C. Golf Course Ratings Panel is composed of 125 golf enthusiasts who represent a diverse range of occupations, handicaps and backgrounds. The group’s objective is to promote excellence in the state’s golf course design and operation through competitive ranking, education and public advocacy. Criteria used in the judging include routing, variety, strategy, equity, memorability, aesthetics and experience. A panelist must have played the course to vote for it.

South Carolina Golf Panel 2021 Rankings

Classic Courses

(Designed Before 1980)

1. Harbour Town Golf Links

2. Yeamans Hall Club

3. Palmetto Golf Club

4. Dunes Golf and Beach Club

5. Greenville CC Chanticleer Course

6. CC of Charleston

7. Aiken Golf Club

8. Camden CC

9. Greenville CC Riverside Course

10. Surf Golf and Beach Club

11. Orangeburg CC

12. Florence CC

13. CC or Spartanburg

14. Myrtle Beach National King’s North Course

15. Columbia CC

16. Palmetto Dunes Resort R.T. Jones Course

17. Palmetto Dunes Resort George Fazio Course

18. Charleston Municipal Golf Course

19. Furman Golf Club

20. Pine Lakes CC

Modern Courses

(Designed Since 1980)

1. Kiawah Island Resort Ocean Course

2. Secession GC

3. Congaree GC

4. May River GC

5. Sage Valley GC

6. Cherokee Plantation

7. Kiawah Island Club Cassique Course

8. Long Cove Club

9, Chechessee Creek Club

10. Kiawah Island Club River Course

11. Bulls Bay Club

12. Caledonia Golf and Fish Club

13. Colleton River Plantation Dye Course

14. Old Tabby Links

15. Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards

16. Colleton River Plantation Nicklaus Course

17. Cliffs at Mountain Park.

18. Musgrove Mill GC

19. The GC at Briar’s Creek

20. Haig Point Club

21. Barefoot Resort Dye Course

22. Wachesaw Plantation Club

23. Belfair GC West Course

24. Reserve at Lake Keowee

25. Cliffs at Glassy

26. Tidewater GC and Plantation

27. Berkeley Hall North Course

28. Belfair GC East Course

29. True Blue Plantation

30. Grande Dunes Resort Club

31. Dataw Island Cotton Dyke Course

32. Wild Dunes Resort Links Course

33. Thornblade Club

34. Prestwick CC

35. Kiawah Island Resort Osprey Course

36. Cliffs at Keowee Falls

37. DeBordieu Club

38. Callawassie Island Club

T39. Oldfield

T39. Kiawah Island Resort Cougar Point Course

41. Reserve Club at Pawleys Island

41. Sea Pines Resort Atlantic Dunes Course

43. Daniel Island Club Beresford Creek Course

44. Kiawah Island Resort Turtle Point Course

45. Grande Dunes Members Club

46. Cliffs at Keowee Springs

47. Seabrook Island Club Ocean Winds Course

48. Berkeley Hall South Course

49. Cliffs Valley Course

50. Daniel Island Club Ralston Creek Course.