David’s Dream 18: His Perfect Composite Myrtle Beach Golf Course
What’s the best opening hole in Myrtle Beach golf? The top 6th hole? How about the 18th? We asked Play Golf Myrtle Beach’s David Williams to build his ideal composite course, based on the Grand Strand courses he’s played over the years. Here’s what he came up with!
By David Williams
There are plenty of great golf courses and golf holes in the Myrtle Beach area. So many that sometimes you might forget about a hole. Today, I’m going to build a golf course using my favorite 18 holes in the area.
A few things to note before I lay this out for you:
My inspiration on this comes from the composite course that Royal Melbourne has used for all its tournaments, combining the best of its ‘West’ and ‘East’ courses with 12 holes from West and six from East.
This will be a par 72 layout with 10 par 4s, four par 3s, and four par 5s. All yardage will be from where I would play it from.
I will also be choosing golf holes from courses I have played, not just visited. So you won’t find any holes from great tracks like Thistle, Glen Dornoch and Wild Wing in this compilation (sorry to disappoint).
Let’s do this.
1st Hole | WIllbrook Plantation Golf Club | Par 4 | 400 Yards: Talk about a tough opener. The tee shot is easily the toughest at the Beach. Wetlands down the left. Miss it right. Guess I want to deliver a gut punch to everyone right off the jump.
2nd Hole | Arcadian Shores Golf Club | Par 3 | 174 Yards: Forced carry over water to a relatively small green. I promise it will get easier from here.
3rd Hole | King’s North at Myrtle Beach National Golf Club | Par 4 | 342 Yards: Still trying to recover from our tough start here. This hole isn’t long and will leave a you a short iron or wedge in.
4th Hole | True Blue Golf Club | Par 5 | 523 Yards: Do I need to say anything else? It’s Strantz, baby. This hole rules.
5th Hole | Love Course at Barefoot Resort | Par 4 | 443 Yards: The handshakes are over. Time to lock in. The green complex and surrounds make it for me.
6th Hole | Caledonia Golf & Fish Club | Par 3 | 157 Yards: This is my favorite hole on the golf course, but might not be the only time you see Caledonia mentioned in this article. If you’ve played here, you know how tough that back left hole location can be.
7th Hole | Tradition Golf Club | Par 4 | 377 Yards: An island green on a par 4? Sure, why not? It’s a simple driver-wedge hole and allows a good chance for a birdie.
8th Hole | The Dunes Golf & Beach Club | Par 5 | 515 Yards: This is one of my favorites at The Dunes Club. The bunkering and runoffs around the green give it such a cool look.
9th Hole | Grande Dunes Resort Course | Par 4 | 420 Yards: The view obviously adds a lot to this hole, but the speed slot combined with the uphill approach make it a great test of your game.
Click an icon below to browse photos of David’s choices for inclusion in his Myrtle Beach “Dream 18”
10th Hole | The Dye Course at Barefoot Resort | Par 4 | 315 Yards: I had to put a drivable par 4 in here somewhere.
11th | The Dunes Golf & Beach Club | Par 4 | 385 Yards: The Dunes Club is the first hole that gets two holes on the list. No. 11 is such a fun golf hole. What really does it for me is the approach shot. I know most of you are going to be mad that I didn’t pick No. 13 here. I don’t care. Sue me.
12th Hole | Tidewater Golf Club | Par 3 | 174 Yards: The “Wishing Well” is arguably the most iconic hole on the golf course. Obviously, No. 4 is great, but I just love No. 12.
13th Hole | Caledonia Golf & Fish Club | Par 4 | 398 Yards: The look of this hole is like nothing else you can find in the Myrtle Beach area. I love taking 3-wood out over the corner.
14th Hole | Prestwick Country Club | Par 4 | 431 Yards: This is the hardest hole on the golf course. Well-guarded with an elevated green and a few bunkers. It requires everything you’ve got.
15th Hole | The Moorland Course at Legends Resort | Par 5 | 550 Yards: I’m a sucker for Dye courses and centerline bunkers. Both of those things are elements on this hole on the Moorland Course at Legends.
16th Hole | Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club | Par 4 | 417 Yards: Everyone talks about 13 and 17, but 16 deserves some shine, too. The approach shot on 16 is just as good as any course you find.
17th Hole | TPC Myrtle Beach | Par 3 | 182 Yards: There were so many choices to go with here, but I “settled” on 17 at TPC. A great golf hole coming down the stretch at my composite course.
18th Hole | Heritage Club | Par 5 | 479 Yards: Because having one island green on this course isn’t enough. This is the perfect risk-reward hole to cap of your round.
That does it for my perfect Myrtle Beach composite course. The course is a par 72 and tips out at 6,682 yards.
Would you play this course?
