Myrtle Beach

Few golf destinations in America have earned their reputation as organically as Myrtle Beach. What began as a modest stretch of South Carolina coastline gradually evolved into the undisputed capital of the buddies trip, a place where the sheer volume of courses — well over a hundred tracks spread across the Grand Strand — creates a kind of gravitational pull for groups who want to play every day without repeating themselves. The names alone carry weight among those who follow the game seriously: Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, True Blue Plantation, Tidewater Golf Club, the historic Dunes Golf and Beach Club, and TPC Myrtle Beach represent just a handful of the headliners on a Sunday tee sheet that can take an hour to read through properly.

The courses here run a wide and satisfying spectrum, from wall-to-wall resort designs built for fun and fast play to genuinely demanding layouts that reward precision off the tee. Caledonia and True Blue, both crafted by Mike Strantz, deliver dramatic risk-reward architecture wrapped in stunning Low Country scenery, while Tidewater offers some of the most visually arresting coastal golf on the East Coast. Conditions are generally well-maintained given the volume of traffic these courses absorb, and value is woven into the fabric of the place — comparable rounds at comparable quality levels would cost significantly more in most other top American markets.