True to its name, Farmstead Golf Links gives players the feeling of playing golf “down on the farm,” as the course occupies property that used to be farmland for a prominent local family, the McLambs. In 2001, the golf course, designed by Willard Byrd and Dave Johnson, emerged from the landscape and has been a delight to its loyal local players and thousands of annual visitors ever since. With sprawling fairways, well-placed bunkers and undulating greens, the course has an open feel, with wind affecting play most every day.

Another fascinating feature of the course is that several holes straddle the border between South Carolina and North Carolina such that players will tee off in one state, only to find their ball in the other. Small signs along the cart paths on these holes signal the border lines.

One of the holes where this phenomenon takes place is the 18th, which would be the unquestioned “signature hole” at Farmstead even without this fact. It is a 767-yard par six that features a straightaway drive that must avoid bunkers on both sides of the fairway. Then, the second shot down the ribbon-like landing area must avoid a lake that guards the left and continues the remainder of the hole, wrapping around the green at the end of the dogleg-left. That putting surface, one of the smaller on the course, is protected by a bunker short. It takes three strong shots with fairway woods in order to reach the green and have a chance to make an eagle, but birdies can result from consistent shot execution.

The clubhouse at Farmstead boasts a full pro shop and the practice facility is one of the best in the area.

Nestled in the heart of Little River, South Carolina, Eagle Nest Golf Club is one of the most conveniently located courses along the northern end of the Grand Strand. Designed by Gene Hamm, the course opened in 1971, making it one of the longest-tenured courses in the area, having been enjoyed by countless thousands of locals and visiting golfers alike in parts of five decades.

Eagle Nest is a traditional, tree-lined courses with medium-sized greens well-defended by large, relatively shallow bunkers and tranquil ponds. It is a traditional par-72 layout with four par threes, ten par fours and four par fives. At just over 6,900 yards from the back Blue tees, its Rating of 72.2 and Slope of 126 are quite modest, meaning the course is very playable for all levels of player, seeing as its remaining three sets of tees bring the yardage all the way down to 5,105 from the Red set.

Much as Eagle Nest may seem like a lamb on paper, it goes out like a lion, styling its last three holes the toughest such stretch in Myrtle Beach. It begins with the stout, 449-yard par four 16th, which plays relatively straightaway to a green guarded by a pond in front and three bunkers that hem in the green. The 17th is an enormous par five that plays 616 yards and is one of the longest holes on the Grand Strand. It, too, requires an approach shot over water, to yet another green guarded by three bunkers. The final hole, a middle-length par three, confronts players with yet another pond and four greenside bunkers—one at each point on the compass. Players who navigate these holes in even par will likely gain multiple strokes on their opponents.

Ranked among the “Top 100 Courses in America”, the famed Dunes Golf & Beach Golf is a classic Robert Trent Jones seaside design built in the mid-1940s. Many of the holes on the front nine are bordered by mature oaks and pines. Much of the back nine plays along the tidal marshes and Singleton Lake. Gently rolling hills with Robert Trent Jones’ signature elevated greens complexes and deep bunkers make this a great test of golf, thus a popular venue for major golf events.

In addition to being ranked among “America’s Top 100” golf course in virtually every major golf publication, The Dunes Club has hosted numerous prestigious events, including the 1962 USGA Women’s US Open, 1973 PGA Tour Qualifying School, 1994-1999 Senior PGA Tour Championship, 2005 Southern Amateur, 2011 Carolinas Amateur, and the 2014 PGA Professional National Championship.

Sports Illustrated named the Dunes’ famed 13th hole to their list of “Top 100 Golf Holes in America.” Nicknamed “Waterloo,” the par 5, 13th plays 640 yards from the tips wraps clockwise around Singleton Lake. The drive needs to be strategically placed as close as possible to the edge of the lake to allow for a long second shot over the corner of the lake to leave a mid- to short- iron to the green. The greens complex is surrounded by three deep bunkers with a two-tiered green that is difficult to two-putt if one finds their ball on the wrong tier.

The Dunes Club underwent renovations during the summer of 2013 that included new Champion Ultra-Dwarf Bermuda grass greens, that other subtle improvements and modifications under the direction of RTJ’s son, Rees Jones.

The Dunes Club maintains a private membership, so guest tee times are highly coveted and available through select hotels and golf packagers. Amenities at the Dunes Club include a grill and dining room, practice facility, lockers, golf instruction and more.

Crown Park Golf Club is known for providing wonderful value and customer service to both locals and annual visitors alike. It features TifEagle greens and a serene natural environment thanks to the fact that the course is completely unencumbered and the views completely uninterrupted by housing.

Crown Park features five sets of tees, with the back Blue set maxing out at a very modest 6,477 yards, par 72. The rest of the tee sets are relatively manageable as well, right down to the Green tees, which play 4,473 yards and are perfect for higher handicap female players and junior golfers just taking up the game.

In light of its relatively short yardage, Crown Park features some par fours and fives with narrower, doglegging fairways that bring out the best ball strikers. Sometimes, one is encouraged to boldly hit a driver off a tee in order to yield a shorter approach while others, it becomes apparent, a fairway wood or even long iron off the tee may be the more prudent play. This strategic aspect of the course makes it one that people enjoy playing year after year.

In addition to the course, Crown Park also features a grass driving range, practice putting green, as well as a practice chipping green and accompanying bunker.

Crow Creek Golf Club is located in Calabash, North Carolina, just a couple miles over the state border. One of the noted courses of the northern Grand Strand, it is convenient to central Myrtle Beach as well. Designed by Rick Robbins and opened in 2000, it is a modern course built with classical sensibilities.

Part of the Charm of Crow Creek is the way in which Robbins took what he learned from Jack Nicklaus, known as a designer of particularly challenging courses, and applied a modest touch that yielded a course that players of varying handicaps can enjoy. The 7,100-yard back Black tees yield relatively moderate Rating and Slope numbers of 74.5 and 132, respectively, with the more popular 6,099-yard White set sporting figures of 69.0 and 126. Both sets of numbers show Crow Creek’s inherent playability while maintaining a good sense of challenge. Some 90 bunkers and water hazards come into play on most holes, but these hazards tend to be more strategic than penal in nature.

Crow Creek features one of the areas best sets of par threes, which stress proper shot shaping. The long sixth and the short 13th holed suit left-to-right ball flights best, while the middle-length eighth and long 16th are generally best approached with shots shaped from right to left. Ball striking, therefore, is a significant virtue at Crow Creek.

In addition to a lovely golf course, Crow Creek features a grass driving range, putting green and separate chipping green, as well as a well-appointed clubhouse that contains a grille and comprehensive pro shop.

Opened in 1994, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club was Mike Strantz’s first solo course design. In nearly 20 years, it has been one of the absolute favorite golf courses on the Grand Strand and consistently ranks as one of the top public-accessible courses in the South by every major golf publication.

The incomparable journey of playing Caledonia begins as one drives down the course’s entrance road, lined with decades-old live oaks that resemble the approach to an old Southern plantation house. The course, laid out intimately across 110 acres, is a “core golf” experience, where players appreciate the absence of houses or condos that can clutter up the view down the fairway.

Instead, Caledonia sets up like an arboretum that happens to house a golf course as well. In springtime, Caledonia is particularly spectacular, with thousands of annual flowers blooming and colorful shrubs adorning the grounds while also remaining largely out-of play.

Its Champion Bermuda greens are always in terrific shape and with the longest tees playing to around 6,500 yards, the course is challenging without being overly punishing. It is a joy to play. And after one’s round, it is typical to linger, drink in hand, on the clubhouse’s wraparound porch, overlooking the attractive par four 18th hole, which requires the approach shot carry the corner of a lake. Do not be surprised to see folks sitting in the rocking chairs just above the putting surface, perhaps placing bets on how the hole will turn out for you and your group. It’s all part of Caledonia’s charm.

Burning Ridge Golf Club is located in the center of the Grand Strand, just off highway 501 between Myrtle Beach and the town of Conway, convenient to most oceanfront resorts. Designed by Gene Hamm, the golf course opened in 1980 and has been a favorite of residents and visitors alike ever since. It boasts rolling terrain and well-maintained TifEagle Bermuda putting surfaces. It was named 2006’s Myrtle Beach Golf Course of the Year and won the South Carolina Golf Course of the Year award soon after. The course hosts rounds for the World Amateur Handicap Championship and the Father-Son Championship every year.

Burning Ridge is a pleasant, traditional Southern parkland golf course. It is of intermediate difficulty, playing to 6,780 yards, with a Rating of 73.6 and a Slope of 133 from the back Black tees. The most popular set, the Whites, measures 6,216 yards, with a moderate Rating and Slope of 70.5 and 129. The course is also popular among women players due to relatively few forced water carries and many greens where one can run the ball up, rather than carry it all the way on.

That does not leave Burning Ridge without its stout challenges, however. The 12th hole is a stout par three that can play longer than 250 yards to a green guarded by a bunker front-right and water right and long. One-shot holes that require a full wood shot are an unfortunate rarity and Burning Ridge’s version is an excellent one.

In addition to an engaging golf course, Burning Ridge boasts a grass-tee driving range, and putting green for pre-round warmups or post-round bet-settling. Players repose in the grille, which serves breakfast and lunch and can clean up in the men’s or women’s locker rooms, which are equipped with showers.

Open since 1990, Blackmoor Golf Club is one of the Grand Strand’s most beloved modern layouts. It is the work of legendary golfer and golf course architect Gary Player—his only design effort in the Myrtle Beach area. Blackmoor’s location in scenic Murrells Inlet places it among the prestigious courses of the area’s Waccamaw Golf Trail.

Blackmoor features excellent TifEagle Bermuda greens, which are the toast of both loyal locals and visitors who return year after year to include Blackmoor on their golf vacation itineraries. The course, a par-72 layout, measures a modest 6,614 yards from the back Black tee set, with a Rating of 72.0 and a Slope of 129. The most popular set of tees is the middle Whites, which measure at 6,217 yards, 70.1 and 126, respectively. Shot placement is key at Blackmoor, as many holes dogleg right and left around stands of trees, impressive mounding and water hazards. Forced carries are relatively few, making the course enjoyable for women players and juniors. It has been named by the magazine Golf for Women as one of the “Top 100 Women-Friendly Courses.”

The star of Blackmoor’s 18 holes is the unique par four eighth, which measures 371 yards from the Black tees. In spite of this yardage, the green is actually reachable in one, because an alley cut through the forest provides a direct path to the green of some 275 yards. A bold drive on that line may result in an eagle putt, while an errant shot may find a nasty lie amongst the trees.

In addition to its impressive golf course, Blackmoor boasts a terrific practice facility, with a grass-tee driving range and short-game practice area, as well as a quaint clubhouse containing a full-service pro shop and grille.

Greg Norman is one of golf’s greatest players, collecting two British Opens among his 71 wins on the game’s major tours, and he has been just as successful in his business ventures. There is little the Shark does that that flies under the radar, but his namesake design at Barefoot Resort is deserving of the acclaim its sister courses receive.

Situated alongside the Fazio, Love and Dye courses at Barefoot, the Norman Course offers the award-winning resort’s most stunning visuals and, arguably, its most player-friendly course. With five sets of tees that range from 4,953 to 7,035 yards, Norman crafted a layout for any level of golfer.

The fairways, which are framed by waste areas and natural vegetation, are generous, and the greens are open, allowing players the option of running the ball onto the new Champion Bermuda putting surfaces.

Golfers can arrive at the Norman Course (or any Barefoot property for that matter) confident of receiving superior conditions, but what makes the layout special is the back nine.

After the memorable par 5 ninth hole, which includes a carry over a natural waste area to an undulating green, the Intracoastal Waterway makes a dramatic entrance. The 10th hole on the Norman Course, a downhill par 3, is one of the area’s most memorable one-shotters.

Six holes play along the Intracoastal on the home nine, making it one of Myrtle Beach’s most memorable stretches of golf.

The Norman Course is an impeccably maintained layout that provides players a chance to score and more than a few holes they will remember long after they’ve left Myrtle Beach.

Davis Love III began work on his namesake course at Barefoot Resort as the least heralded of a quartet of architects, overshadowed by Pete Dye, Tom Fazio and Greg Norman.

More than a decade after Barefoot became the first, and still only, American facility to open four courses simultaneously, the Love Course is the property’s most popular layout. It has been a fixture on Golf Magazine’s list of “The Top 100 You Can Play,” a ranking of public courses and was the host site of Golf Channel’s hit reality TV show; ‘BIG BREAK’ Myrtle Beach. Even more importantly, is the place the Love Course holds in the hearts of golfers.

With wide fairways, crowned greens and the faux ruins of an old plantation home, playability and variety are the course’s calling cards. It features longs par 3s and the shortest par 4 on the Myrtle Beach golf scene, the 294-yard (from the tips) fourth hole.

It’s almost impossible not to take a crack at the fourth green, which rests in the shadows of the faux plantation, creating one of the many memorable visuals on the course.

The par 5 13th hole, with its dual fairway split by a creek, is a beautiful hole, setting the stage for a great finish.

“It’s a great mixture of fun and challenging,” head pro Mike Ross said. “It’s fair and presents shots you might not see on a regular course. The design is very well thought out, and it’s ways in great condition. If you have your game together and come out and play well, it will reward you with a good score.”

Even if your game isn’t together, a tee time at the Love Course guarantees a great round.