Building Blocks: 4 Myrtle Beach Golf Courses that Helped Start it All

January 15, 2016

Arcadian Shores was once ranked among america's top 100 public coursesBut behind everything people find so attractive when they golf Myrtle Beach is a group of courses that laid the foundation for the area’s emergence, including several that remain as good today as they have ever been.

Here are four Myrtle Beach golf courses that were building blocks as the area grew into the Golf Capital of the World.

  • Arcadian Shores, having opened in 1976, is the youngest course on our list by nearly a decade, but it was the “Open Doctor” Rees Jones’ first solo design and it helped bring wide spread attention to the area. With so many high profile courses, people tend to forget how good a layout Arcadian Shores is and how highly it was regarded. The course was ranked among “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” by Golf Digest in the 1970s. Over the last five years Arcadian has enjoyed a resurgence, making it one of the Myrtle Beach golf courses you still want to play.
  • Formerly known as Quail Creek, the Hackler Course opened the 501 corridor when the first tee shot was struck in 1968. The Hack, as it’s affectionately called, remains very much open for public play as it’s owned and operated by Coastal Carolina University. When Coastal took over the course, new life was breathed into a layout that offers great value and conditions. The Hack is the course that paved the way for Myrtle Beach’s westward expansion, as Myrtle Beach National, Legends and Wild Wing Plantation, among other Myrtle Beach golf courses, followed.
  • In 1966, Myrtlewood’s PineHills Course (then known as the Pines) opened on what became prime Myrtle Beach real estate. The Palmetto Course opened in 1973 but it was PineHills that blazed the trail on what remains, arguably, the most conveniently located facility on the Myrtle Beach golf scene. A 1993 renovation by Arthur Hills has helped ensure the course remains as popular today as it was upon its opening.
  • Pine Lakes is the course that started it all, opening in 1927 as Ocean Forest Country Club, as the layout was then known. Pine Lakes has stood the test of time and after a 2009 renovation, it remains one of the area’s most popular courses. In addition to being the birthplace of Myrtle Beach golf, Pine Lakes is also where Sports Illustrated was founded. The course oozes history – it’s also the home of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame – and is one everyone that loves the area needs to play.

 

When planning your Myrtle Beach golf vacation, be sure to add these four historically rich Myrtle Beach golf courses to your list.