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Top 5 Most Scenic Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach

By Terry Massey Sep 21, 2011

The twin courses at The Pearl are some of the most scenic golf courses on the Grand Strand.

Selecting the top five most scenic courses on the Grand Strand is sort of like picking Miss America out of a lineup of 50 beautiful women. There are simply too many.

In this case, beauty is in the eye of the beholder of the golf club, and there's no shortage of lovely local links to choose from. While I could easily make this a top 50 list, here are the five that stand out most in my mind's eye. Your list might look very different, but that's the beauty of ranking them. They're all beautiful, so pick away:

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawleys Island is a jewel among jewels on the South Strand. Driving through the rows of towering live oak trees to the entrance to the plantation-style clubhouse, you know you've arrived someplace special. Then marvel at the salt marshes and lowcountry woodlands while you play 18 holes and one starts to wonder if they're playing golf or taking a nature walk.

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club

Located in the northern section of Myrtle Beach, this seaside course has history on its side. Opened in 1949 as the second oldest course on the Strand, The Dunes was bult with old Southern charm in mind. The holes weave through a myriad of lowcountry settings - the ocean, marshes and pine forests - giving golfers a real feel for local geography as well as a true test of golf.

Pawleys Plantation

Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus said he wanted to build this course so that it stood out in a crowd. Mission accomplished. Surrounded by other lovely links like True Blue and Caledonia, Pawleys Plantation distinguishes itself with a mix of manmade and natural scenery. The marshes and live oaks that were there long before golf balls surround more than 7,000 yards of golf course.

The Pearl East & West Courses

Nothing's more beautiful than a lovely set of twins, and that's exactly what you get in the Pearl's sister courses. Located just over the North Carolina border in Sunset Beach, the Pearl courses are built upon a former preserve of wetlands and salt marshes. The proximity to the ocean also allows for nice views of the beach and the courses also meander through maritime forests for a real feel of the Carolina lowcountry experience.

River's Edge

Two of the biggest names teamed up to make this course the spectacle that it is - Arnold Palmer and God, not necessarily in that order. It took God to make the beautiful landscape along the banks of the Shallotte River in southeast North Carolina, but it took Palmer to carve a wonderful course around the piece of land. With a combination of lowlands and river bluffs, this course is a looker from top to bottom.