Tidewater

The course

Set on a seaside peninsula with views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, Tidewater was named America's best new public course when it opened and still ranks among the country's premier layouts.

Tidewater opened in 1990, designed by Ken Tomlinson on a peninsula of bluffs where the course winds back and forth beside the Intracoastal Waterway with saltwater marshes and Atlantic Ocean views throughout. Golf Digest named it the Best New Public Golf Course in America that year, and Golf Magazine has ranked it among the premier courses in the country every year since, most recently at number 39 on its Top 100 You Can Play list. The par 72 plays 7,044 yards from the championship tees with a stout 73.9 rating and 148 slope, 6,771 from the men's tees, and 4,648 for ladies.

A renovation brought new traps, TifEagle greens, and additional landscaping, keeping conditions at the level the rankings demand. The undulating putting surfaces are as pure as the ocean breezes that blow across them. Rated 4.5 stars and a perennial Top 10 course in Myrtle Beach, Tidewater delivers a total golf experience found only at the highest echelon of courses. If your group plays one scenic round on the north end, make it this one.