For more than a decade, the 120-plus membership of the South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel has voted each year on the best golf courses the state has to offer. In odd-numbered years, the panel selects the top 30 courses anyone can play - an invaluable guide for out-of-state visitors packing their golf bags and residents looking to enjoy courses other than their home turf.
In even-numbered years, the panel expands the list to the top 50 courses, both public and private. The Top 30 You Can Play may be more useful for newcomers and visitors to South Carolina, but the Top 50 is the creme de la creme, and players with ties to local residents may find ways to try out even the most exclusive layouts.
For 2022, the list offers two categories - one for Modern (1980 to present) and Classic (Pre-1980). The list includes both public and private courses, so look for the designation with each entry.
The Top 50 SC golf "Modern" courses:
1. Kiawah Island Resort - Ocean Course (public)
2. Secession Golf Club (Beaufort) (private)
3. Congaree Golf Club (private)
4. May River Golf Club (Palmetto Bluff) (public)
5. Sage Valley Golf Club (Graniteville) (private)
6. Cherokee Plantation (Yemasee) (private)
7. Kiawah Island Club - Cassique Course (private)
8. Long Cove Club (Hilton Head) (private)
9. Chechessee Creek Club (Okatie) (private)
10. Kiawah Island Club - River Course (private)
11. Bulls Bay Golf Club (Awendaw) (private)
12. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (Pawleys Island) (Public)
13. Colleton River Plantation - Dye Course (private)
14. Old Tabby Links (Spring Island) (private)
15. Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards (Sunset) (private)
16. Colleton River Plantation - Nicklaus Course (private)
17. Cliffs at Mountain Park (private)
18. Musgrove Mill Golf Club (Clinton) (private)
19. The Golf Club at Briar's Creek (Johns Island) (private)
20. Haig Point Club (Daufauskie Island) (private)
21. Barefoot Resort - Dye Course (public)
22. Wachesaw Plantation (Murrells Inlet) (private) Belfair Golf Club - East Course (Bluffton) (private)
23. Belfair Golf Club - West Course (Bluffton) (private)
24. The Reserve at Lake Keowee (Sunset) (private)
25. Cliffs at Glassy
26. Tidewater Golf Club & Plantation (Little River) (private)
27. Berkeley Hall - North Course (Bluffton) (private)
28. Kiawah Island Resort - Cougar Point Course (public)
29. True Blue Golf Club (Pawleys Island) (public)
30. Grande Dunes Resort Course (Myrtle Beach) (public)
31. Dataw Island Club - Cotton Dyke Course (private)
32. Wild Dunes Resort - Links Course (public)
33. Thornblade Club (Greer) (private)
34. Prestwick Country Club (Myrtle Beach) (public)
35. Kiawah Island Resort - Osprey Point Course (public)
36. Cliffs at Keowee Falls (private)
37. Debordieu Club (Georgetown) (private)
38. Callawassie Island Club (private)
T39. Oldfield
T39. Kiawah Island Golf Resort - Oak Cougar Point Course
41. Kiawah Island Resort - Turtle Point Course (public)
42. Sea Pines Resort - Atlantic Dunes (Hilton Head) (public)
43. Daniel Island Club - Beresford Creek Course (private)
44. Kiawah Island Golf Resort - Turtle Point Course
45. Grande Dunes Members Club (Myrtle Beach) (public)
46. Cliffs at Keowee Springs (private)
47. Seabrook Island Club - Ocean Winds Course Cliffs at Keowee Springs (private)
48. Berkeley Hall South Course (private)
49. Cliffs Valley (Travelers Rest) (private)
50. Daniel Island Club - Ralston Creek Course (private)
The Top 50 SC golf "Classic" courses (Pre-1980):
1. Sea Pines Resort - Harbour Town Golf Links (Hilton Head) (public)
2. Yeamans Hall Club (Hanahan) (private)
3. Palmetto Golf Club (Aiken) (private)
4. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (Myrtle Beach) (public)
5. Greenville Country Club - Chanticleer Course (private)
6. Country Club of Charleston (private)
7. Aiken Golf Club (public)
8. Camden Country Club (private)
9. Greenville Country Club - Riverside Course (private)
10. Surf Golf & Beach Club (N Myrtle Beach) (private)
11. Orangeburg Country Club (public)
12. Florence Country Club (private)
13. Country Club of Spartanburg (private)
14. King's North at Myrtle Beach National (public)
15. Columbia Country Club (private)
16. Palmetto Dunes Resort - RT Jones Course (public)
17. Palmetto Dunes Resort - George Fazio Course (public)
18. Charleston Municipal Golf Course (public)
19. Furman University Golf Course (Greenville) (public)
20. Pine Lakes Country Club (public)
