Course guide · Myrtle Beach

The Best Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach for a Buddies Trip (Ranked)

The best public golf courses in Myrtle Beach and along the Grand Strand for a buddies golf trip, ranked — from the top-rated Caledonia to the historic Dunes Club.

Updated June 2026·7 min read

  1. 1

    Caledonia Golf & Fish Club

    Pawleys Island · Bucket-list

    A Mike Strantz design routed through a former rice plantation, with a moss-draped oak entrance and a clubhouse-porch finish over the marsh. Perennially the #1-ranked public course on the Grand Strand and the one round every group should book.

  2. 2

    True Blue Golf Club

    Pawleys Island · Bold & big

    Caledonia’s wilder sibling, also by Strantz — vast sandy waste areas, huge greens, and dramatic, heroic lines. Polarizing and unforgettable. Play it the day before or after Caledonia for the full Strantz double.

  3. 3

    The Dunes Golf & Beach Club

    Central · Historic

    A 1948 Robert Trent Jones Sr. classic that has hosted Tour and amateur championships, anchored by the famous "Waterloo" 13th — a sweeping dogleg around Lake Singleton. The most prestigious course on the Strand; usually accessed through resort and package play.

  4. 4

    TPC Myrtle Beach

    Murrells Inlet · Polished

    A Tom Fazio design that hosted the Senior Tour Championship, with the conditioning and big-league feel of a tournament venue. A great "play like a pro" round for a group that wants the marquee experience.

  5. 5

    Barefoot Resort — Love Course

    North Myrtle Beach · Group hub

    The standout of Barefoot’s four courses (alongside the Fazio, Dye, and Norman tracks), a Davis Love III design dotted with faux plantation ruins. Barefoot is the most group-friendly complex on the Strand — four courses, one base.

  6. 6

    Kings North at Myrtle Beach National

    Central · Fun & memorable

    An Arnold Palmer redesign full of risk-reward theater — the island-fairway "Gambler" hole and the brawny par-5 "SOB" 6th. Endlessly fun for a mixed-skill group and an ideal trip opener.

  7. 7

    Tidewater Golf Club

    North Myrtle Beach · Scenic

    One of the few Grand Strand courses with genuine ocean and marsh views, perched above the Cherry Grove inlet. Worth it for the scenery alone — a memorable, photogenic round.

  8. 8

    Pine Lakes Country Club

    Central · The Granddaddy

    Myrtle Beach’s very first course (1927), lovingly restored. Walkable history, mimosas at the turn, and a relaxed, classic feel — a perfect easy closer with a sense of occasion.

Myrtle Beach’s gift and its trap are the same thing: 80-plus courses. That’s endless choice — and an easy way to end up on four forgettable, randomly-bundled tracks. Below is how we’d rank the public courses for a buddies group, weighing the experience, the conditioning, the value, and how much fun a group of mixed handicaps will actually have.

A note on the ranking: this is for buddies trips, weighting courses that are memorable, group-friendly, and bookable (most Grand Strand golf is, via resort and package play). It leans toward the south end’s standouts because that’s genuinely where the best public golf clusters.

How to sequence them

Density is the advantage here — so use it to build an arc, not just fill days:

  1. Open central and fun. Start near your base on something playable and memorable — Kings North is perfect — to shake off travel.
  2. Head south. Make a day of Pawleys Island: the big, bold True Blue.
  3. Peak. Make Caledonia your bucket-list round, ideally mid-trip when everyone’s warmed up.
  4. Relax. Finish on a classic like Pine Lakes near the airport so the trip ends easy.

A word on cost

Even the marquee Grand Strand rounds tend to cost less than a mid-tier desert or links round, and shoulder-season and package rates push them lower still. That value is exactly why we don’t publish package prices — we build each trip backwards from your budget, spending where it counts (the bucket-list round) and saving where it doesn’t.

Want this sequenced, booked, and confirmed without the spreadsheet? Tell us about your group and we’ll handle it.

Frequently asked

What is the best golf course in Myrtle Beach?
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club on Pawleys Island is the most consistently top-ranked public course on the Grand Strand — a Mike Strantz design with one of golf’s great finishing settings. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club is the most historically prestigious, a 1948 Robert Trent Jones Sr. classic.
How many golf courses are in Myrtle Beach?
More than 80 courses line the roughly 60-mile Grand Strand, the densest concentration of golf in the United States — which is why Myrtle Beach is called the "Golf Capital of the World."
Should we book a Myrtle Beach golf package?
Packages bundle lodging and tee times and are the norm in Myrtle Beach — often genuinely good value. The downside is they can be cookie-cutter, filling your days with whatever courses are bundled. A concierge builds a custom version around the courses, pace, and base your group actually wants, while keeping the value.
Are Myrtle Beach golf courses walkable?
Most Grand Strand courses are cart-path golf with carts included, though a few classics like Pine Lakes are pleasant walks. If walking matters to your group, we’ll prioritize courses and tee times that allow it.