Pinehurst No. 2, crowned green and wiregrass framed fairway in the North Carolina Sandhills
Ranked · 12 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in the Carolinas

Between them, North and South Carolina hold one of the richest concentrations of great golf in America, from Donald Ross's crowned greens in the Pinehurst Sandhills to Pete Dye's wind lashed Ocean Course on the Atlantic and the lyrical Lowcountry artistry of Mike Strantz. Here are the twelve we rate most highly across both states, 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: Pinehurst No. 2, via Google

How we chose them

A true Carolinas top twelve has to span two states and three golf landscapes. Inland, the North Carolina Sandhills around Pinehurst and Southern Pines is the engine room, a sandy, free draining region where Donald Ross built more great courses than anywhere in America, led by the four time U.S. Open host Pinehurst No. 2. On the coast, South Carolina runs from the Grand Strand at Pawleys Island down through Charleston to Kiawah Island and Hilton Head, home to Pete Dye's championship pair and the artistry of Mike Strantz. The North Carolina mountains add the cool, scenic grandeur of Wade Hampton.

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 we say so plainly, and we have favoured the many superb resort and public courses that make the Carolinas 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 Carolinas trip, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

01

Pinehurst No. 2

Donald Ross, 1907 · Coore and Crenshaw restoration 2011 · Pinehurst, NC · resort, public

The most important course in the Carolinas and one of the most important in American golf. Donald Ross opened it in 1907 and refined it for the rest of his life, and the Coore and Crenshaw restoration of 2011 stripped the rough back to reveal his sandy, wiregrass framed original. The genius is in the turtle back greens, which repel anything but a perfect approach and turn the short game into the whole examination. A four time U.S. Open host, in 1999, 2005, 2014 and 2024, and best of all it is owned by a resort, so you can play it. The number one course in the Carolinas, full stop.

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02

The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island

Pete Dye, 1991 · Kiawah Island, SC · resort, public

Pete Dye's seaside epic and the most dramatic championship course in the Carolinas. Built along two and a half miles of Atlantic shoreline for the 1991 Ryder Cup, the War by the Shore, it has since staged the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships, the latter won at fifty by Phil Mickelson. Every hole is exposed to the wind off the ocean, the bunkering is vast and the finish is brutal, which is exactly why it ranks as the toughest resort course in America. It is a public, resort accessed round and among the dearest in the country, but for a bucket list day on the South Carolina coast nothing else compares.

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03

Harbour Town Golf Links

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

The course that made Pete Dye's name and the long time home of the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage. Opened in 1969 on Hilton Head Island with a young Jack Nicklaus consulting, Harbour Town broke every convention of the era with its small greens, railroad tie bunkers and tight, tree lined corridors through the Lowcountry pines and marsh. The closing stretch along Calibogue Sound, finishing beneath the candy striped lighthouse, is one of the most photographed in golf. A resort course you can play, and a complete contrast to the muscle of the Ocean Course down the coast.

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04

Wade Hampton

Tom Fazio, 1987 · Cashiers, NC · private

The finest course in the Carolina mountains and one of Tom Fazio's enduring masterpieces. Built in 1987 in a high valley at Cashiers, ringed by the cliffs of the Blue Ridge, it was named the best new private course of its year and has ranked among the country's elite ever since. Fazio worked with the land rather than against it, and the cool mountain air, the streams and the towering backdrops make it as beautiful as it is testing. It is a private club, so access runs through a member, but on pure quality it sits near the very top of any Carolinas list.

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05

Pine Needles

Donald Ross, 1928 · Southern Pines, NC · resort, public

Ross at his most playable and the host of four U.S. Women's Opens, most recently in 2022. Laid out across rolling Sandhills terrain a few miles from Pinehurst, Pine Needles has the same crowned greens and sandy character as No. 2 but a friendlier, more flowing rhythm, which is exactly why it makes such a satisfying round. The conditioning is immaculate, the lodge on site is comfortable and unpretentious, and the whole place feels like a Donald Ross course should. Pair it with its sister Mid Pines for one of the great value days in the Sandhills.

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06

Caledonia Golf and Fish Club

Mike Strantz, 1994 · Pawleys Island, SC · public

The most beautiful course on the South Carolina coast and Mike Strantz's first solo design. Opened in 1994 on a former rice plantation near Pawleys Island, Caledonia runs beneath centuries old live oaks draped in Spanish moss, along tidal creeks and marsh, to a famous closing green set hard against the clubhouse veranda. It is short by modern standards but endlessly strategic and quietly thrilling, an artist's course in the truest sense. Fully public and a fraction of the bucket list fees, it is the most charming round on the Grand Strand and a must with its sister True Blue.

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07

Yeamans Hall Club

Seth Raynor, 1925 · Hanahan, near Charleston, SC · private

A Seth Raynor gem hidden in the live oaks outside Charleston and a connoisseur's favourite. Opened in 1925 and sensitively restored by Tom Doak's Renaissance team, Yeamans Hall is a classic template course, with Raynor's Redan, Biarritz and Eden greens fooling many into thinking the modest yardage makes it easy. The greens are the whole defence, bold and beautifully sited, and the low country setting is serene. It is a very private club reached through a member, but for students of golf architecture it is one of the most rewarding rounds in the Carolinas.

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08

Tobacco Road

Mike Strantz, 1998 · near Sanford, NC · public

The most divisive and most thrilling course in the Carolinas, and a genuine cult object. Mike Strantz carved it in 1998 from an old sand quarry, and the result is pure theatre: blind shots over towering dunes, fairways pinched between vast waste areas, and greens hidden behind ridges that demand faith as much as skill. You will either love it or argue about it, and either way you will remember every hole. Fully public and within easy reach of the Sandhills, it is the perfect wild card to break up a week of Ross classics. Nothing else plays quite like it.

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09

Mid Pines

Donald Ross, 1921 · Southern Pines, NC · resort, public

The sister course to Pine Needles across the road, and many a regular's quiet favourite. Ross routed it in 1921 over compact, rolling land, and a Kyle Franz restoration has brought back the sandy edges and the firm, fast turf. There is not a wasted yard on it, the green complexes are pure Ross, and the walk is intimate and old fashioned in the best way. It will not overpower you, but it will test every part of your game with charm and precision. Stay at the Mid Pines inn and play both sisters back to back for the soul of Sandhills golf.

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10

True Blue

Mike Strantz, 1998 · Pawleys Island, SC · public

Caledonia's bolder, brawnier sister, and the other half of the best one two on the Grand Strand. Strantz opened True Blue in 1998 across an old indigo and rice plantation, and where Caledonia is intimate and lyrical, True Blue is wide, wild and dramatic, with sprawling sandy waste areas, huge greens and room to swing away. The two share a clubhouse operation and are routinely paired on a Pawleys Island stay. Public, well priced and unmistakably the work of golf's most imaginative modern artist, it is essential South Carolina coastal golf.

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11

Bulls Bay

Mike Strantz, 2002 · Awendaw, near Charleston, SC · private

Mike Strantz's personal masterpiece and the course he built to call home. Opened in 2002 north of Charleston, Bulls Bay was sculpted from flat Lowcountry ground that Strantz dramatically reshaped, raising the clubhouse on a man made hill with panoramic views over the marsh to the Atlantic. Bold, sandy and full of his trademark theatre, it is widely regarded as the finest of his nine designs and a fitting final statement. A private members club reached through a member, but for Strantz devotees it is a pilgrimage and one of the best courses in the state.

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12

Pinehurst No. 4

Gil Hanse redesign, reopened 2018 · Pinehurst, NC · resort, public

The modern counterpoint to No. 2 and proof that the Pinehurst resort keeps pushing. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner tore up the previous version and rebuilt No. 4 in 2018 as a rugged, sandy, native areas layout that plays firm and bold across the same Sandhills ground. It is wider and more dramatic than No. 2, with sprawling waste areas and big, bold greens that reward the aggressive line. As a resort course it is fully playable, and a round here alongside No. 2 is the easiest way to feel how a century of Sandhills design has evolved.

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Designers, opening years and host events verified June 2026. Wade Hampton, Yeamans Hall and Bulls Bay are private members clubs reached through a member. 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 the Carolinas

Tell us which of these are on your list, the Sandhills classics, the South Carolina coast or the mountains, and roughly when. One concierge arranges the access, the tee times and the base, from the Pinehurst resort to Kiawah Island, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Carolinas golf questions

What is the best golf course in the Carolinas?

Pinehurst No. 2, Donald Ross's 1907 masterpiece in the North Carolina Sandhills, restored by Coore and Crenshaw in 2011 and a four time U.S. Open host, is our clear number one across both states. Its closest rival is Pete Dye's Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, the most dramatic championship course on the coast. Both are resort courses you can actually play, which sets them apart from many top ranked layouts.

Can you play the best Carolinas courses as a visitor?

Many of the very best are resort or public courses you can book directly, including Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4, the Ocean Course at Kiawah, Harbour Town, Pine Needles, Mid Pines, Caledonia, True Blue and Tobacco Road. The mountain gem Wade Hampton, plus Yeamans Hall and Bulls Bay, are private and reached through a member. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking.

Where is the best golf in the Carolinas?

Three regions stand out. The North Carolina Sandhills around Pinehurst and Southern Pines is the inland heart, with Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Needles, Mid Pines and Tobacco Road. The South Carolina coast runs from the Grand Strand at Pawleys Island, home to Caledonia and True Blue, down through Charleston and Yeamans Hall to Kiawah's Ocean Course and Harbour Town on Hilton Head. The North Carolina mountains around Cashiers add Wade Hampton.

When is the best time to play golf in the Carolinas?

Spring and autumn are prime in both states, with warm, settled weather and the courses at their firm, fast best, which is why April, May and October fill up fast. The Sandhills and the South Carolina coast are hot and humid in high summer but bring real value and twilight deals, while the North Carolina mountains are at their finest then. Winters are mild and quiet on the coast and in the Sandhills. Always check the forecast for your dates.

Related

All best lists Best courses in North Carolina Green fees in South Carolina Pinehurst No. 2 The Ocean Course at Kiawah Golf on Hilton Head Golf in the United States

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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.