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Promoting excellence in South Carolina golf course design and operations
through competitive rankings, education and public advocacy.

Top Golf Courses in South Carolina Announced for 2016


7th hole at Camden Country Club
Camden jumped from 41st to 24th in the new rankings!

For Release: Sunday, March 6, 2016

For Information: Contact Michael Whitaker, 864-907-1949 or mikew@scgolfpanel.org

The Ocean Course, which has played host to the 1991 Ryder Cup matches and the 2012 PGA Championship, again has been selected the best golf course in South Carolina in balloting by the South Carolina Golf Course Rating Panel.

The crown jewel of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, the Ocean Course earned the honor for the third straight time, edging Sea Pines Resort's Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the top spot.

"As always, there are so many outstanding golf courses in South Carolina that you're really splitting hairs," Michael Whitaker, the association's executive director, said in releasing the Top 50 rankings at the panel's annual spring meeting Saturday and Sunday at the Isle of Palms.

The panel is composed of 125 golf enthusiasts from throughout the state and represents a diverse range of occupations, handicaps and backgrounds. The organization's objective is to promote excellence in the state's golf course design and operations through the competitive rankings, education and public advocacy.

Judging criteria include routing, variety, strategy, equity, memorability, aesthetics and experience. The best courses, public or private, are selected in even-numbered years, and the best public courses are ranked in odd-numbered years.

Designed by Pete Dye and opened for the 1991 Ryder Cup matches, the Ocean Course always ranked among the nation's most challenging by national publications, and the layout adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean won rave reviews from the elite of professional golf during the 2012 PGA Championship won by Rory McIlroy. The PGA Championship will return to the Ocean Course in 2021.

Harbour Town, site of the PGA Tour's REC Heritage which reopened last fall after undergoing restoration that included new grasses throughout the course, climbed from fifth to second in the 2016 balloting. Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville remained third and May River Golf Club at Palmetto Bluff slipped two spots to fourth with Greenville Country Club's Chanticleer Course fifth.

Rounding out the Top 10 are Yeamans Hall Club in Hanahan (sixth), the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach (seventh), Secession Golf Club in Beaufort (eighth), Long Cove Club at Hilton Head Island (ninth), and Caledonia Golf and Fish Club at Pawleys Island (10th). Caledonia is the only newcomer to the top 10, replacing Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken.

"With new members joining the panel and a lot of courses recently completing renovations and upgrades you're going to have fluctuations on the list," Whitaker said. "There are so many good ones that a lot of quality golf courses don't make the Top 50."

The Top 10 represent both the old and new, and some of the game's greatest architects designed the courses. Dye fashioned the Ocean Course and Long Cove and, in association with Jack Nicklaus, Harbour Town. Nicklaus designed May River in addition to his Harbour Town credit, and Robert Trent Jones Sr. has Chanticleer and the Dunes Club on the list. Seth Raynor produced Yeaman Hall, Tom Fazio did Sage Valley and Bruce Devlin designed Secession. Caledonia is a Mike Strantz product.

"Over the years, Pete Dye has refined the Ocean Course," Roger Warren, president of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, said, "but the skeleton and heart are still there."

"The wind, the views and the design combine to make this a complete test of a player's mental and physical abilities," panel member Barry Reynolds said.

Camden Country Club, the only 18-hole course in the state designed by the legendary Donald Ross, made the biggest jump, from 41st in the 2014 survey to 24th this year.

Moving into the Top 50 in 2016 are Daniel Island Club's Beresford Creek Course (34), Berkeley Hall's South Course at Bluffton (36), Heritage Club at Pawleys Island (38), Florence Country Club (39), Wexford Plantation at Hilton Head Island (41), Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links at Little River (44), Heron Point by Pete Dye at Hilton Head Island (47), Pawleys Plantation at Pawleys Island (49) and Dataw Island Club's Cotton Dike Course (50).

Information on past rankings can be found online at www.scgolfpanel.org.

# # #

South Carolina's Top 50 Golf Courses for 2016
Selected by the South Carolina Golf Course Rating Panel

RED = New to Top 50    P = Available for Public Play    PR = Private Club

2016 RANKING
COURSE
2014 RANKING
1

Kiawah Island Resort - Ocean Course P
1
2

Sea Pines - Harbour Town Golf Links P
5
3

Sage Valley Golf Club (Graniteville) PR
3
4

May River Golf Club (Palmetto Bluff) P
2
5

Greenville Country Club – Chanticleer Course PR
4
6

Yeamans Hall Club (Hanahan) PR
6
7

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (Myrtle Beach) P
8
8

Secession Golf Club (Beaufort) PR
9
9

Long Cove Club (Hilton Head) PR
7
10

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (Pawleys Island) P
13
11

Kiawah Island Club – Cassique Course PR
11
12

Palmetto Golf Club (Aiken) PR
10
13

Colleton River Plantation - Nicklaus Course PR
12
14

Chechessee Creek Club (Okatie) PR
16
15

Cherokee Plantation Golf Club (Yemasee) PR
17
16

Old Tabby Links (Spring Island) PR
15
17

Country Club of Charleston PR
14
18

Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards (Sunset) PR
18
19

Haig Point Club (Daufauskie Island) PR
24
20

Colleton River Plantation – Dye Course PR
20
21

Kiawah Island Club – River Course PR
21
22

Bulls Bay Golf Club (Awendaw) PR
19
23

Musgrove Mill Golf Club PR
22
24

Camden Country Club PR
41
25

The Golf Club at Briar's Creek (Johns Island) PR
23
26

Tidewater Golf Club & Plantation (Little River) P
25
27

The Reserve at Lake Keowee (Sunset) PR
30
28

Cliffs Mountain Park PR
26
29

Wachesaw Plantation (Murrells Inlet) PR
28
30

Country Club of Spartanburg PR
43
31

Berkeley Hall – North Course (Bluffton) PR
38
32

Belfair Golf Club - East Course (Bluffton) PR
27
33

Belfair Golf Club - West Course (Bluffton) PR
31
34

Daniel Island Club – Beresford Creek Course PR
NR
35

The Reserve Club of Pawley's Island PR
40
36

Berkeley Hall – South Course (Bluffton) PR
NR
37

Thornblade Club (Greer) PR
36
38

Heritage Club (Pawleys Island) P
NR
39

Florence Country Club PR
NR
40

Cliffs at Glassy (Landrum) PR
35
41

Wexford Plantation (Hilton Head) PR
NR
42

True Blue Plantation (Pawleys Island) P
33
43

Debordieu Club (Georgetown) PR
38
44

Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links (Little River) P
NR
45

Cliffs at Keowee Falls PR
29
46

Greenville Country Club – Riverside Course PR
44
47

The Sea Pines Resort – Heron Point by Pete Dye P
NR
48

Wild Dunes Resort - Links Course P
34
49

Pawleys Plantation (Pawleys Island) P
NR
50

Dataw Island – Cotton Dike Course PR
NR

Top Golf Courses By Region

GRAND STRAND
  1 The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (Myrtle Beach)  P
  2 Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (Pawleys Island)  P
  3 Tidewater Golf Club & Plantation (Little River)  P
  4 Wachesaw Plantation (Murrells Inlet)  PR
  5 The Reserve Club of Pawleys Island  PR
  6 Heritage Club (Pawleys Island) P
  7 True Blue Plantation (Pawleys Island)  P
  8 Debordieu Club (Georgetown)  PR
  9 Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links (Little River) P
10 Pawleys Plantation Country Club P

LOW COUNTRY
  1 The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort  P
  2 Harbour Town Golf Links at The Sea Pines Resort (Hilton Head Island)  P
  3 May River Golf Club (Palmetto Bluff)  P
  4 Yeamans Hall Club (Hanahan)  PR
  5 Secession Golf Club (Beaufort)  PR
  6 Long Cove Club (Hilton Head)  PR
  7 Kiawah Island Club – Cassique Course  PR
  8 Colleton River Plantation - Nicklaus Course (Bluffton)  PR
  9 Chechessee Creek Club PR
10 Cherokee Plantation (Yemasee)  PR

MIDLANDS
  1 Sage Valley Golf Club (Graniteville)  PR
  2 Palmetto Golf Club (Aiken)  PR
  3 Camden Country Club  PR
  4 Florence Country Club  PR
  5 Mount Vintage Plantation & Golf Club  P 
  6 Orangeburg Country Club  PR
  7 The Member's Club at Woodcreek Farms (Blythewood) PR
  8 The Patriot at Grand Harbor (Ninety Six) PR
  9 The Reserve at Woodside Plantation (Aiken) PR
10 Columbia Country Club PR

UPSTATE
  1 Greenville Country Club – Chanticleer Course  PR
  2 Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards (Sunset)  PR
  3 Musgrove Mill Golf Club (Clinton)  PR
  4 The Reserve at Lake Keowee (Sunset)  PR
  5 Cliffs at Mountain Park (Travelers Rest)  PR
  6 Country Club of Spartanburg  PR
  7 Thornblade Club (Greer)  PR
  8 Cliffs at Glassy PR
  9 Cliffs at Keowee Falls (Salem)  PR
10 Greenville Country Club - Riverside Course PR

Background On SC Golf Course Ratings Panel

Overview

The South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel is composed of golf enthusiasts representing a diverse range of occupations, handicaps and backgrounds. These individuals have been charged with the task of identifying the best that South Carolina golf has to offer.

Objective and Purpose

The objective of the South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel is to promote excellence in SC golf course design and operations through competitive rankings, education and public advocacy. The Panel serves as an ambassador for golf in South Carolina by striving to stimulate and facilitate the promotion and marketing of outstanding golf courses, resorts, and real estate developments.

1) South Carolina’s 50 Best Courses – Bi-annually (in even-numbered years) members of the Panel identify their choices for the “50 Best Courses” in the state, public or private.

2) The Best Courses You Can Play – Bi-annually (in odd-numbered years) the Panel releases a listing of the best non-private courses in the state. Every resort, public access, and daily-fee course is eligible for this elite listing.

How We Rate Them

In determining their ratings panelists consider the following criteria:
  • Routing – How the course flows from hole to hole in harmony with existing topography.
  • Variety – Degree to which the course demands a full range of shot requirements.
  • Strategy – How design features test course management.
  • Equity – The course’s capacity to reward good shots and penalize poor ones.
  • Memorability – The distinctiveness of the golf course and its individual holes.
  • Aesthetics – The degree to which scenery and surrounds lend to the enjoyment.
  • Experience – Incorporates all elements of the course: practice areas, clubhouse and more.

Structure

The Panel consists of 125 members, twenty-five percent of which represent each of the following geographical regions: The Upstate, The Midlands, The Lowcountry, and The Grand Strand.

Categories of Membership
  • Golf Industry – individuals who have a direct connection to the golf industry
  • Players & Coaches – individuals who excel at playing or coaching the game
  • Media – individuals who report on golf for one or more media outlets
  • Business & Industry – individuals who utilize golf within the business community

For more information on the South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel contact its Executive Director, Michael Whitaker, via email at mikew@scgolfpanel.org.

# # #
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