The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, links fairway along the Atlantic shore, South Carolina
Ranked · 10 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in South Carolina

From the windswept Atlantic theatre of Pete Dye's Ocean Course at Kiawah to the lagoon and lighthouse of Harbour Town and the live oak artistry of Mike Strantz at Pawleys Island, South Carolina packs more world class golf into one coastline than almost any state. Here are the ten we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, Matthew Johnson, via Google

How we chose them

South Carolina golf runs the length of a single, glorious coast, from the Grand Strand at Myrtle Beach down through Charleston and the sea islands to Hilton Head and Bluffton in the Lowcountry, and the best of it is genuinely world class. We weighed three strands. The championship courses come first, led by Pete Dye's Ocean Course at Kiawah, host of a Ryder Cup and two PGA Championships, and Harbour Town, the Dye and Nicklaus design that anchors the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage every April. The architectural artistry of Mike Strantz, whose Caledonia, True Blue and Bulls Bay are among the most original courses in the Southeast, sits alongside them. And the classics, from Seth Raynor's Yeamans Hall to Robert Trent Jones at the Dunes Club, give the list its depth.

Every fact here, from designers and opening years to host events and restorations, was checked at the time of writing. Where a course is a private members club, such as Long Cove, Yeamans Hall, Secession and Bulls Bay, we say so plainly, and we have favoured the many superb resort and public courses that make South Carolina such a rewarding trip. The verdicts and the order are ours, and reasonable people will reorder the top five. If you want any of these built into a costed Lowcountry or Grand Strand trip, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

01

The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island

Pete Dye, 1991 · Kiawah Island · resort, public

The finest course in South Carolina and one of the great resort tests in America. Pete Dye laid it out in 1991 along two and a half miles of Atlantic shore, with more seaside holes than any course in the northern hemisphere and the wind as its chief defence. It hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, the War by the Shore, and the PGA Championship in 2012 and again in 2021, when Phil Mickelson became the oldest major winner. Brutal off the back tees and beautiful from the right ones, it is fully bookable through the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, and it is the round every visiting golfer in the Lowcountry wants.

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02

Harbour Town Golf Links

Pete Dye with Jack Nicklaus, 1969 · Hilton Head Island · resort, public

The most famous course on Hilton Head and the home of the RBC Heritage, played the week after the Masters every April. Pete Dye, with a young Jack Nicklaus, opened it in 1969 in the Sea Pines resort, breaking from the era's big, brawny style with small greens, tight corridors through the oaks and a demand for precision over power. The closing eighteenth plays along Calibogue Sound to the candy striped lighthouse, one of the most recognised finishing holes in the game. Tour players rate it among their favourite stops, and it is fully bookable to resort guests.

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03

Caledonia Golf and Fish Club

Mike Strantz, 1994 · Pawleys Island · public

The most beautiful round on the Grand Strand and the course that made Mike Strantz's name. Built in 1994 on a former rice plantation at Pawleys Island, Caledonia threads through centuries old live oaks draped in Spanish moss, tidal creeks and marsh, with an avenue of oaks framing the entrance and a short, nerve testing par 4 eighteenth that plays back over water to a clubhouse veranda. It is a compact, artistic, endlessly photogenic design, public and bookable, and paired with its sister course it is the heart of any Pawleys Island golf trip.

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04

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club

Robert Trent Jones Sr, 1948 · Myrtle Beach · semi private

The grand old centrepiece of Myrtle Beach golf and one of Robert Trent Jones's finest early works. He laid it out in 1948 in his vintage style, with long teeing grounds, wide fairways, gaping bunkers and big, often elevated greens, stretching to around 7,165 yards. The famous par 5 thirteenth, nicknamed Waterloo, sweeps around a lake in a great curve and is regularly ranked among the best holes in America. A semi private club that hosts visitor play through resort packages, it remains the standard against which the Grand Strand measures itself.

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05

May River Golf Club, Palmetto Bluff

Jack Nicklaus Signature, 2004 · Bluffton · resort, members and inn guests

The polished modern jewel of the Lowcountry, set within the vast Palmetto Bluff estate between Hilton Head and Savannah. Jack Nicklaus opened this Signature design in 2004 on sandy, oak shaded ground beside the May River, with caddies, white sand bunkers and a routing that runs out to the tidal water in its closing stretch. Immaculately kept and quietly exclusive, it is open to members and to guests of the Montage inn, and it pairs a bucket list round with one of the most luxurious bases on the Southeast coast.

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06

True Blue Golf Club

Mike Strantz, 1998 · Pawleys Island · public

Caledonia's bigger, bolder sister, set across the road and built by Mike Strantz in 1998 on the same former rice and indigo land. Where Caledonia is intimate, True Blue is wide and dramatic, with enormous waste bunkers, sweeping sandy expanses and huge, rolling greens that reward the brave and punish the timid. It is one of the most distinctive public courses in the country and a perfect counterpoint to its neighbour, which is why most golfers play the pair back to back. Fully bookable, and a Pawleys Island day to remember.

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07

Long Cove Club

Pete Dye, early 1980s · Hilton Head Island · private

The connoisseur's choice on Hilton Head and, for many who know the island, the best course on it. Pete Dye built Long Cove in the early 1980s in a quieter, more strategic register than his stadium courses, weaving holes through lagoons, marsh and stands of pine and oak, with subtle green complexes and a premium on angles and thought. It is a private members club, so a round comes through a member, but on pure design it is consistently rated the top course in the Lowcountry and one of the finest in the state.

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08

Yeamans Hall Club

Seth Raynor, 1920s · Hanahan, near Charleston · private

A rare and beautifully preserved piece of golden age architecture just outside Charleston. Seth Raynor laid out Yeamans Hall in the 1920s, and the course carries his trademark template holes, the Redan, the Biarritz and the Short among them, across rolling, oak framed Lowcountry ground, with a sympathetic restoration by Tom Doak having returned much of Raynor's bold original character. It is a private retreat club of the old school, accessed through a member, and a quiet pilgrimage for anyone who loves classic design.

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09

Secession Golf Club

Bruce Devlin, early 1990s · Beaufort · private

A pure, walking only links experience on a tidal point near Beaufort, and one of the most atmospheric clubs in the South. Opened in the early 1990s to a Bruce Devlin design, Secession plays firm and fast across open, treeless marshland with the wind always a factor and the Lowcountry tide framing the closing holes. Caddies, no carts and a clubhouse steeped in low country tradition give it a feel closer to a Scottish links than a resort course. It is private, accessed through a member, and revered by those who get to play it.

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10

Bulls Bay Golf Club

Mike Strantz, early 2000s · Awendaw, near Charleston · private

The last and most ambitious of Mike Strantz's designs, built in the early 2000s north of Charleston on flat coastal land that he reshaped into a rolling, links inspired landscape crowned by a hilltop clubhouse with panoramic views to Bulls Bay. It is wild, sandy and strategic, full of the bold contours and visual drama that made Strantz a cult figure, and it stands as a fitting final statement from an architect who died young. A private members club, accessed through a member, and a treat for those who can.

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Designers, opening years and host events verified June 2026. Long Cove, Yeamans Hall, Secession and Bulls Bay are private members clubs; May River is open to members and inn guests. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Play the best of South Carolina

Tell us which of these are on your list, the Ocean Course, Harbour Town, the Strantz pair at Pawleys Island or a private introduction, and roughly when. One concierge arranges the access, the tee times and the base, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

South Carolina golf questions

What is the best golf course in South Carolina?

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Pete Dye's 1991 design on the Atlantic shore, is the clear number one. It hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2021, plays as the hardest resort course in America when the wind is up, and is fully bookable through the Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Harbour Town Golf Links, the Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus design that hosts the RBC Heritage, runs it close.

Can you play the best South Carolina courses as a visitor?

Many of the very best are resort or public courses you can book, including the Ocean Course at Kiawah, Harbour Town on Hilton Head, Caledonia and True Blue at Pawleys Island and the Dunes Club at Myrtle Beach. May River at Palmetto Bluff is open to inn and club guests. Long Cove, Yeamans Hall, Secession and Bulls Bay are private and run through a member. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.

Where is the best golf in South Carolina?

It is spread along the coast in three main clusters. Hilton Head and Bluffton in the Lowcountry have Harbour Town, Long Cove and May River. Charleston and the sea islands hold the Ocean Course at Kiawah, Yeamans Hall and Bulls Bay. The Grand Strand around Myrtle Beach and Pawleys Island has the Dunes Club, Caledonia and True Blue. A South Carolina golf trip usually bases in one of the three and tours out.

When is the best time to play golf in South Carolina?

Spring, from March to May, is the prime season, with warm days, firm conditions and the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head in April; rates and tee sheets are at their busiest. Autumn, from September to November, offers very similar weather with better value. Summer is hot and humid with afternoon storms and lower rates, and winter is mild and the cheapest, with some overseeding closures. Always confirm rates for your dates before booking.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, opening years and host events verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.