Myrtle Beach dominates new Golfweek rankings

By Alabama Golf News Staff

Myrtle Beach dominated the ranking of South Carolina’s best layouts in the latest Golfweek list of the best courses in the Palmetto State.

In all, 13 Myrtle Beach-area courses were ranked in the state’s top 20 public designs.

Here are the courses and their rankings:

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, No. 3;
No. 4 Dunes Golf & Beach Club;
No. 5 True Blue Golf Club;
No. 8 TPC Myrtle Beach;
No. 9 Tidewater Golf Club;
No. 10 Moorland Course at Legends Resort;
No. 11 King’s North at Myrtle Beach National;
No. 13 Heathland Course at Legends Resort;
T14 Dye Course at Barefoot Resort;
T14 Grande Dunes Resort Club, T16 Heritage Club;
T16 Prestwick Country Club;
No. 20 Love Course at Barefoot Resort;

In related news, King’s North at Myrtle Beach National, which made the top-20 list, will undergo a two-year renovation.

Founders Group International, Myrtle Beach National’s parent company, selected Brandon Johnson Golf Course Design to oversee a project that will transform the course.

Brandon Johnson worked for Arnold Palmer Golf Design for more than 17 years. His hiring ensures that Palmer’s vision for the King’s North is maintained while modernizing a design that last enjoyed an overhaul in 1996.

Highlights of the project will include:

The greens at King’s North will be renovated and restored to their original size, reclaiming 30,000 square feet of putting surface, an expansion that will make them 36 percent larger, while adding pin positions that were eliminated by encroachment over the years. The new greens will feature TifEagle ultradwarf bermudagrass, a hearty strain that has performed exceedingly well in Myrtle Beach’s subtropical climate.
Every bunker on the course will be renovated and have Capillary Concrete bunker liners installed, eliminating washout and drastically improving drainage, both factors that will significantly enhance playability. Premium bunker sand will also be installed.
There will be significant changes to the layout as well, with an emphasis on reimagining the green surrounds. Many of King’s North’s current greens are framed by mounding that limits creativity on the approach and recovery shots. When the course reopens, players will be greeted by a layout that can be attacked through the air and along the ground.
King’s North has always enjoyed a rugged look, showcasing waste bunkers and the area’s naturally sandy soil, and Johnson will lean into that aesthetic as he remakes the course. Among the holes that will be getting significant makeovers will be No. 6, the iconic par 5 otherwise known as “The Gambler.” In addition to some technical work along the edges of the lake, one of “The Gambler’s” three fairway bunkers will be eliminated and replaced by a large waste area that will improve the look of the hole and the challenge.

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