The first thing you see on the first tee of The Piper is a red British telephone box with the course name painted across the top. Behind it are nine par 3 holes, 23 light poles and the back patio of the Legends Golf Resort clubhouse. The course opened to the public on Friday, October 2, 2026, and it is the first course in Myrtle Beach built around an evening rather than a morning. This is what it looks like, how it plays and how to fit it into a golf package.
What the first tee tells you
Legends has had three championship courses since the early 1990s: Heathland, Moorland and Parkland. All three take their cues from Scotland, and the Piper does too, but in a lighter way. The name comes from the wandering pipers of Scottish folklore, musicians whose tunes could guide a traveler home or lead them somewhere else entirely. The resort has leaned into that. A bagpipe logo is on the flags, the tee markers, the scorecard and the range balls, and the phone box on the first tee has been on the property since the 1990s, when it was a working phone. It was pulled out, repainted and given a new job as the starter's hut.
Nine holes, three loops, one hour
Nothing on The Piper plays longer than a short iron. The holes run from 54 to 120 yards, so the longest is a wedge for most players and the shortest is a long putt. You can walk it with two or three clubs, and the resort's own line is that you could play the whole thing with one club if you wanted to. The nine holes are laid out in three loops of three, each coming back near the clubhouse and the food and drink stops, which means a group can play three holes between dinner and a drink, six before the light goes, or all nine in about an hour.
Each hole is named for a line of a traditional Scottish song, and Legends calls the set "The Piper's Verse." Read in order from the first tee to the ninth green, they go like this.
- Holes 1 to 3. Step we gaily. On we go. Heel for heel.
- Holes 4 to 6. Toe for toe. Arm in arm. Row in row.
- Holes 7 to 9. Myrtle green. Bracken brown. All for Marie's wedding.
Built to be played along the ground
Ken Baker of Baker Golf Design spent six years on the idea before it was built, and the course is a short game course rather than a pitch and putt. Green entries are left open, the surrounds are shaped into mounds and mown tight, and bunkers are cut into the slopes rather than ringed around the greens. The point is that a running shot, a bump with a hybrid or a putt from twenty yards off the green is often the smart play, and a high wedge is not always the easy one. A few of the holes run through the mature pines on the edge of the old practice ground, which gives the back half of the course some shade and a different feel from the open first loop.
When the project was announced in June, Baker described holes that are "visually engaging and memorable" with "a links feel and drama happening on the ground rather than in the air," and said the open green entries were there "to encourage creativity and shotmaking." He also said he hoped every visit would be different: "We want people to enjoy the shotmaking that is available to them out there and think about the short game of golf in a different way after they've played it." At the preview in late September he put it more simply to the Myrtle Beach Sun News: "I think there's a way for us to allow people to experience the game, and it doesn't take four or five hours to do that."
Lights, speakers and a seat by the green
This is what separates The Piper from every other short course on the Grand Strand. There are 23 light poles across the course, so it stays open after sunset, and each pole is fitted with a speaker so music carries across the whole property. White Adirondack chairs sit beside the greens for the people who are not playing, and the clubhouse's elevated back patio looks straight out over the course, so a group of twelve can split into players and spectators and still be in the same place. The plan the resort has published includes a stage for live bands, a patio bar and grill, a cigar bar and several food and drink stops along the loops.
Two honest notes for anyone booking this fall. The lights were in and working for opening, but the resort told local press in early September that the speakers and the permanent food and drink outlets on the course were still being finished, with the outlets expected ahead of the 2027 season. In the meantime the clubhouse already has Highlander's Double Eagle Tavern and the Ailsa Pub, a Golf Digest Top 50 19th hole, so a drink after your nine is a short walk away.
Opening week and what comes next
On Tuesday, September 29, Legends invited the Myrtle Beach golf community to a morning preview. A bagpiper in traditional dress played at the unveiling, guests hit shots on the finished holes, and the Sun News, WPDE, WBTW and Play Golf Myrtle Beach all covered it. Public play began on Friday, October 2.
The resort has been clear that this is a soft opening. From October 2 through the end of 2026 it is hosting limited play for resort guests and the public, with booking details and evening programming to follow, and the full set of amenities being unveiled ahead of the 2027 season. Legends has also said The Piper is the first step in a multi phase plan to expand the golf and entertainment side of the resort, so expect more to be announced. Rates and hours had not been published when this post went up. Ask your Golf Master when you book and we will confirm what is available for your dates.
Who it is built for
Legends has been direct about the audience. Bradley Vaughan, the resort's sales and marketing manager, told WBTW: "It's becoming more of a social, fast, fun atmosphere. And we wanted to kind of adapt with the changing times." Larry Woodberry, the director of operations, called it "a social, playable golf experience where groups come together for friendly competition, music, food, drinks and a relaxed atmosphere," and said the resort sees it as "a gateway for new experiences with short, fun rounds and music-driven celebrations for new golfers and avid players alike."
For a group on a golf package that comes down to three things. The players who want more golf after 18 holes get it without a second tee time or a drive. The partners, kids or newer players who do not want a five hour round get a course that takes an hour and never asks for more than a short iron. And the whole group has a reason to stay on the property in the evening rather than going to find one.
Adding The Piper to your trip
The simplest way to play it is to stay at Legends. The Legends Golf Deal puts your group in the Legends Resort Villas with rounds on Heathland, Moorland and Parkland plus Oyster Bay and Heritage Club, and the villas sit across the course from the first tee of The Piper. Play your championship round in the morning, eat at the clubhouse, then walk nine under the lights.
If your group wants a Myrtle Beach golf package built around Legends, or you want to know what The Piper is charging and when it is open for your dates, tell us how many players you have and roughly when you want to come. Build your golf package, or call us on (800) 394-3764.
Course details, hole names and quotes in this article are as published by Legends Golf Resort and reported by the Myrtle Beach Sun News, WPDE, WBTW, Golfweek and Play Golf Myrtle Beach between June and October 2026. Photographs are by David Williams for Play Golf Myrtle Beach from the September 29 preview. Confirm hours and rates with the resort or your Golf Master before you travel.
