Tidewater Golf Club

The verdict

Tidewater is the course Myrtle Beach golfers point to when they want to show off the scenery of the Grand Strand. Ken Tomlinson built it in 1990 as his first design, on a rare piece of high, sandy ground that juts out between the saltwater Cherry Grove Marsh and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, and the setting does the talking. A par 72 of about 7,044 yards, it climbs from low holes by the water to elevated tees that look out across the marsh to the ocean beyond, a combination of views you simply do not get on most of the area's flatter parkland courses.

It is also a genuinely good golf course, not just a pretty one. The routing uses the natural elevation to create real risk and reward, the bentgrass greens are well conditioned and the holes along the water demand commitment off the tee. As a public, daily fee course it is one of the must plays of a Myrtle Beach golf trip, best enjoyed in the spring and autumn peak when the Strand is at its busy, buzzing best.

The holes worth the trip

Tidewater is a course of two characters, and the magic is in the way Tomlinson moves between them. Much of the round plays through pine and oak on the higher ground, classic low country parkland, before the layout breaks out to the water for its showpiece holes. The third and fourth, and again the twelfth and thirteenth, run along the marsh and the Intracoastal Waterway, with elevated tees, forced carries and greens perched above the water that make for thrilling, photogenic golf.

The par 3s are a particular strength, several of them played across an arm of the marsh to greens that leave no bail out, the kind of holes that reward a confident swing and punish a tentative one. From the back tees the course measures every yard of its 7,000 plus, but the multiple tee options make it a fair and enjoyable test for the resort golfer who plays from the right markers.

What lingers is the scenery. Few courses anywhere give you sweeping views of salt marsh, waterway and distant ocean from the same round, and Tidewater delivers them again and again. It is the round on a Myrtle Beach trip that everyone photographs and talks about afterward.

Where to stay nearby

Tidewater sits in the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach, so the easiest base is one of the many beachfront hotels, condos and golf resorts of the northern Strand, all a short drive from the first tee. Myrtle Beach is one of the great value golf destinations in the country, with a huge choice of accommodation geared entirely around golf packages.

The Grand Strand is built for a buddies golf trip, with more than a hundred courses, easy package pricing and a lively beach town scene for the evenings. Pair Tidewater with the best of the area's other layouts for a full week of value golf. Let one planner match the stay to the group and line up the tee times.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near North Myrtle Beach.