6 Things You May Not Have Known About Arcadian Shores Golf Club

There are courses in Myrtle Beach golf that get all the headlines, and then there are courses that quietly earn the respect of everyone who actually knows the market. Arcadian Shores Golf Club falls firmly in the second category. It’s been around since 1974, it sits right in the heart of the Grand Strand, and it carries a backstory that most golfers — even regular Myrtle Beach visitors — don’t fully know. Here’s what’s worth knowing before you tee it up.

It Was Where Rees Jones Launched His Entire Career

This is the big one. Before Rees Jones became “The Open Doctor.” Before Bethpage Black, before Torrey Pines, before the Ryder Cup venues — Arcadian Shores became the very first solo design in what has become a legendary golf course architecture career when it opened in 1974. Jones had spent years learning the craft from his father, Robert Trent Jones Sr., but Arcadian Shores was the moment he stepped out on his own. The fact that he chose the Grand Strand as his proving ground — and that the course still stands as one of the better layouts in the market 50 years later — says a lot about what he built.

It Once Ranked No. 51 in the Country

Arcadian Shores was once ranked No. 51 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses. In a market that now has more than 80 courses, earning a national ranking of that caliber is remarkable — and it’s a fact most people have no idea about. It wasn’t a regional nod. It was a top-100 ranking in the entire country, confirming that what Jones built here wasn’t just good for Myrtle Beach. It was genuinely elite.

It Shares DNA With The Dunes Golf & Beach Club

If you like The Dunes Golf & Beach Club and Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s work in particular, you will enjoy Arcadian Shores. With its wide fairways, large bunkers, and undulating greens, there are definite similarities between the two courses — both classically designed layouts. That’s not a coincidence. Rees Jones grew up watching his father work, and the architectural language he absorbed shows up clearly at Arcadian Shores. If you’ve played Dunes Club and wondered what a more accessible version of that design philosophy might look like, you’ve found it.

Two of Its Holes Made the Grand Strand’s Dream 18

In a ranking by the Myrtle Beach Sun News, golf experts voted two holes — No. 2 and No. 13 — as part of the “Dream 18,” a compilation of the best 18 holes in Myrtle Beach. In a market with well over 1,400 holes to choose from, landing two on that list is a significant distinction. The par-3 second is one of the most dramatic early-round tests anywhere on the Grand Strand — a full carry over water with no real bailout. The par-4 13th is the course’s signature, requiring a carry over water from a downhill lie, with a green ringed by blooming azalea bushes in the spring that makes the view stunning.

It Has 64 Bunkers — and That’s Part of the Design Philosophy

The course eventually received joking references as one course that had as much sand as it did grass. That’s not far off — 64 creatively placed sand bunkers and natural lakes woven in and out of the fairways make this a challenge you will long remember. The bunkers aren’t just obstacles — they’re architectural statements. Jones used them to frame tee shots, protect greens, and force decisions. The course is built around sand the same way a links course is built around wind.

A Major Renovation Brought It Back to Peak Form

A 2017 renovation project included a new clubhouse, greens, cart paths, and bunkers — a project that reenergized the course and pushed it back toward the top of the area’s offerings. Like many Rees Jones designs, trees and bunkers line the fairways requiring quality ball-striking, and many greens are elevated — approaches that don’t reach the surface can roll back down the fairway. The renovation restored those original green perimeters, recaptured lost hole locations, and returned Arcadian Shores to the condition its design always deserved.

The Bottom Line

Arcadian Shores Golf Club isn’t just a good Myrtle Beach course — it’s a piece of golf architecture history hiding in plain sight. The birthplace of one of the game’s greatest careers, a former top-100 course in the country, and home to two of the Grand Strand’s best holes — all in a package that delivers genuine challenge and classic design at a price point that makes it one of the best values on the entire trip. It belongs on your list.