7 Little-Known Facts About Aberdeen Country Club

Tucked just off Highway 9 in Longs, South Carolina, about 20 minutes from the beach, sits a course that a lot of people drive right past without realizing what they’re missing. Aberdeen Country Club has a story worth knowing, and more than a few facts that might surprise you.

It Used to Be Called Something Else Entirely

Here’s one most golfers don’t know: Aberdeen Country Club was designed by Tom Jackson and opened in 1989 as Buck Creek Country Club, a family-owned enterprise. Tom Jackson returned in the early 1990s to add the Meadows Nine, expanding the facility. In 1999, Myrtle Beach National bought the property, changed the name to Aberdeen, and significantly improved the drainage — which was a recurring issue given the course’s proximity to the Waccamaw River.

It Was Nominated for Golf Digest’s Best New Course in 1990

This one tends to stop people mid-conversation. Formerly known as Buck Creek, the club was nominated by Golf Digest as “America’s Best New Course for 1990.” That’s a remarkable distinction for a family-owned facility in a rural part of South Carolina that most traveling golfers had never heard of. The nomination speaks directly to what Tom Jackson built there — something genuinely special, not just regionally, but nationally.

It’s the Only Carolinas Course to Win Golf Digest’s Dual Medallions

Even more impressive than the Best New Course nomination is what came later. In 1998, Aberdeen was the only recipient in the Carolinas of Golf Digest’s prestigious awards for both “value” and “service.” Not just one medallion — both. In a state packed with elite golf destinations, no other course in North or South Carolina pulled that off that year. In 2006, the course garnered additional recognition when Golf Digest awarded it a four-star rating in its “Places to Play” guide.

It’s Modeled After One of the Oldest Golf Clubs in the World

The name Aberdeen isn’t random. The course was modeled after the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland, the sixth-oldest golf club in the world. Royal Aberdeen was founded in 1780, and the earliest reference to a golf hole in Scotland was made in local Aberdeen records dating back to 1625. So when Tom Jackson set out to design the course, he was drawing on one of the deepest wells of golf tradition in existence. The rolling hills, the mounding, the strategic bunkering — it’s all a nod to that lineage.

Tom Jackson Designed Seven Courses on the Grand Strand

The man behind Aberdeen is no one-hit wonder in this market. Tom Jackson has built more than 100 golf courses, about 45 of which are located in the Carolinas, and Aberdeen is one of seven Tom Jackson golf courses on the Grand Strand. He studied architecture at the State University of New York and the University of Georgia, earning his degree in 1965 with a grounding in land planning and site development. Jackson’s work is defined by courses that play with the land rather than against it — which is exactly what you feel walking Aberdeen’s two championship nines.

It Sits on a Protected Wildlife Preserve

This isn’t just marketing language. Aberdeen’s Highlands and Meadows nines are nestled near the protected Waccamaw riverfront preserve, home to abundant wildlife, with wetlands and creeks contributing to water challenges on the courses. Scenic cypress and towering pine trees grow in profusion, creating a hushed sense of timelessness. The Waccamaw River system is one of the most biologically diverse in the Eastern United States. Playing Aberdeen feels genuinely removed from the resort world just down the road — quieter, more natural, and more alive with wildlife than almost any other course in the market.

The Two Nines Play Completely Differently

This is something that doesn’t get enough credit. The Highlands course features rolling hills that resemble those of Scottish golf courses, with generous fairways and severe undulations on the greens. The Meadows course demands accuracy and precision off the tee and on approach shots early in the round, but plays easier as the nine holes progress. Two nines that feel like two completely different design philosophies — one open and strategic, one tight and demanding. That variety is rare and it’s a big part of what makes Aberdeen worth revisiting.

The Bottom Line

Aberdeen Country Club near North Myrtle Beach is one of those courses that rewards golfers who dig a little deeper than the usual itinerary. A Scottish-inspired design modeled after a 244-year-old golf club, built on a protected wildlife preserve, nominated for best new course in the country, and the only dual Golf Digest medallion winner in the Carolinas — it’s a lot of story for a course that still flies well under the radar. That’s exactly what makes it worth playing.