The 18th hole at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course.

As part of GOLF’s course rating process for 2022-23, our fleet of 100-plus expert panelists identified the best golf courses in South Carolina. Browse the links below to check out all of our course rankings, or scroll down to see the best courses in South Carolina.

GOLF’s other course rankings: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the U.S. | Top 100 Courses You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | The 100 Best Short Courses in the World

SYMBOL GUIDE1 = Top 100 Course in the U.S.P = Public/Resort CourseV = Top 100 Value Course in the U.S.M = Top 30 Municipal Course in the U.S.

Ed. note: Some courses were omitted from our rankings because they did not receive enough votes.

1. Kiawah Island – Ocean Course (Kiawah Island) [1, P]

The blend of tidal marshes, scrub-topped dunes, live oaks and the soothing sound of the Atlantic on every hole make this one of the South’s most memorable playing experiences. Though the course just turned 30 years old, it already has an illustrious history of hosting big-time events, none more memorable than the drama-filled 1991 “War by the Shore” Ryder Cup. Much more short grass has been added around the green complexes since then and now the design is more thought-provoking rather than terror-inducing. Many of its greens are plateaued, with some of the more pronounced coming on the 3rd, 11th and 14th holes. Phil Mickelson more than handled the putting surfaces on his way to his historic win at the 2021 PGA Championship.

2. Yeamans Hall (Hanahan) [1]

Marrying classic Seth Raynor design with coastal South Carolina topography, Yeamans presents a charming tour of Redan, Biarritz and Road holes woven through marshland and magnificent live oaks. Over the years, the course’s original wonder faded as bunkers grew in and green complexes shrank. But a two decade-long renovation based on Raynor’s original property maps — discovered in the clubhouse attic — has returned this Golden Age masterpiece to its original brilliance.

3. Harbour Town (Hilton Head Island) [1, P]

The professionals weren’t sure what to make of Harbour Town when they first tangled with it in 1969. Unlike other courses built in that timeframe, this design by Nicklaus and Dye didn’t rely on length as much as it did in demanding accuracy off the tee as the golfer shaped shots around live oaks and stately pines. Precise iron play on the uniquely configured greens was also a must. But soon pros found standout holes abound, including the V-shaped green at the short 9th and the finishing stretch from 13 in. Pete and Alice Dye’s trip to Scotland in the mid-1960s proved the genesis for bulwarking the 13th green with railroad ties. Even 50+ years after the course opened, Harbour Town’s exemplar holes remain as compelling and interesting as anything modern architecture has to offer.

4. Congaree (Ridgeland) [1]

The number of par-4s on a course generally outnumber its par-5s and par-3s, and as such, go a long way in defining a course’s quality. The better the range of such holes, the better the course. From two of Fazio’s all-time finest short two-shotters (the 3rd and 15th) to some of his best long ones (the 6th, 11th and 17th) this design excels. Layer on the club’s desire for the fastest, firmest playing surfaces possible and the course flourishes.

5. Palmetto GC (Aiken) [1]

One of the great starts to the game with a series of diverse two-shotters leading the golfer well away from the Stanford White clubhouse. Each green is so good, and no surprise why: Alister MacKenzie lent a hand to them when he was working in neighboring Augusta. Picking favorite holes is difficult in the wake of Gil Hanse’s excellent restoration. Two of the best, though, are the one-shot 7th, with its shelf green reminding many of the 6th at Royal Dornoch, and the par-5 14th, which falls downhill in the most appealing manner imaginable. The finish is fascinating, too, with a couple of short par-4s in the final four. That works at Prestwick in Scotland, and it works here too.

6. Long Cove (Hilton Head Island)

7. Chechessee Creek (Okatie)

8. Secession (Beaufort)

9. CC of Charleston (Charleston)

10. Sage Valley (Graniteville)

11. May River – Palmetto Bluff (Bluffton) [P]

12. The Dunes (Myrtle Beach) [P]

13. Kiawah Island – River (Kiawah Island) [P]

14. Bulls Bay (Awendaw)

15. Caledonia (Pawleys Island) [P]

16. Kiawah Island – Cassique (Kiawah Island) [P]

17. Greenville – Chanticleer (Greenville)

18. Camden (Camden)

19. Old Tabby Links (Okatie)

20. Musgrove Mill (Clinton)

For GOLF’s course rankings lists, each panelist is provided a list of hundreds of courses and “buckets,” or groupings. If they believe the course to be among the best in its category (World, U.S. Value, etc.), they check the corresponding box to place it in a specific bucket. Panelists are also free to write in courses they felt should have been included on the ballot. Points were assigned to each bucket; to arrive at an average score for each course, we divide its aggregate score by the number of votes. From those point tallies, the courses are then ranked accordingly.

The key to the process is the experience and expertise of our panel. Hailing from 15 nations and all the worldwide golf meccas, each of our 115 handpicked panelists has a keen eye for architecture, both regionally and globally. Many of our panelists have played more than 1,000 courses in 20-plus countries.

Because we don’t prescribe a set method to assess courses as other ranks do, no one opinion carries the day — our rank is a democracy. Some panelists believe that enjoyment is the ultimate goal, and thus prioritize design attributes such as width and playing angles, while frowning on upon having to constantly hunt for balls in thick rough. Other panelists value challenge and the demands of hitting every club in the bag. Still others consider a course’s surroundings and overall environment of paramount importance, thereby emphasizing the setting and naturalness of the course. In the end, allowing raters to freely express their tastes is what produces the desired eclecticism in our Top 100 lists.

A longtime supermarket that serves shoppers of Kiawah, Seabrook and Johns islands could be relocated and enlarged under proposed plans.

The existing 38,000-square-foot Harris Teeter Village Market grocery store could expand to nearly 54,000 square feet in a newly built store as part of a proposed retail development on a nearly 22-acre parcel behind the existing Freshfields Village Shopping Center.

Property owner Riverstone Properties LLC of Richmond, Va., wants to rezone the undeveloped site on Kiawah Island Parkway from low-density residential use to a commercial planned development. The Charleston County Planning Commission recently deadlocked 4-4 on changing the land use and the effort failed.

County spokeswoman Kelsey Barlow said the commission only makes recommendations. The proposed change will now be considered by County Council’s Planning and Public Works Committee on March 16.

Representatives of Riverstone Properties, which is affiliated with the owner of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, and Harris Teeter did not respond to requests for comment on the plans.

Planning commission member Logan Davis said developers indicated at an earlier meeting one reason the supermarket chain wants to relocate to a larger store is so the grocer will have better entry and exit space for deliveries.

Some planning board members wanted a new traffic study while others were concerned about a lack of clarity for the proposed connection to Freshfields Village. The shopping center is owned by Columbia-based Edens, which paid nearly $125 million for the property in June.

One board member expressed concerns that the connection to Freshfields appeared to be near the entrance to a convenience store off Hedgerow Lane and he was worried about the connection across a planted median on Freshfields Drive. He preferred a different connection point.

The development would allow drive-thrus for a pharmacy but not fast food under the current proposal.

The property proposed to be developed most recently was used as a parking area for people attending the PGA Championship Tournament at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island in 2021.

Site plans also show 10,000 square feet of retail space set aside for future expansion of Harris Teeter and 10,000 additional square feet of other retail space on the opposite side of the planned grocery store.

Another 46,400 square feet of retail space would be clustered in seven smaller buildings while a gas station also is part of the site plan.

Chris Corrada of Riverstone Properties told commission members the fuel site would be set 100 feet off of Kiawah Island Parkway and would be buffered by trees and other foliage.

An additional entryway into the site is planned off the parkway. No homes are being proposed for the property.

Note: This story has been updated with a new date for the proposal to be considered by County Council’s Planning and Public Works Committee.

This past weekend, I spent time at the beautiful Kiawah Island in South Carolina, where a friend of mine was having his wedding.

The island is beyond quiet. It is actually eerie how quiet it is out there, with their beautiful homes and golf courses.

Furthermore, the wildlife there is astounding, as the deer – aplenty on Kiawah – have become so people-friendly that they get right up next to you. And the flounder are as beautiful as they are elusive.

The AirBnB my friends and I stayed in was right on the golf course and within view of plenty of water. So, I turned it into a chess opportunity for the next battle of wits against a brand new opponent.

My worthy adversary this go-round was my longtime friend, Ben, now living in San Francisco but back on the east coast for the wedding.

Ben and I, along with three of our friends, made our way to the golf course near where the sun was setting; all the golfers were already in front of us on their round. We set up shop for an afternoon of fishing and chess.

What happened next was a series of fortunate events, as strokes of good luck continued to fall on us.

It began with the battle of wits, with Ben and I setting up next to the bridge separating golf holes and bodies of water.

Thanks to a series of solid moves on my end, I had Ben pinned back early. Due to this advantage, I was able to press my position and push Ben’s King to his bottom left corner of the board. I completed my well-played game with a checkmate, thanks to covering my queen on its king attack with a rook on the same rank.

Next, one of the aforementioned deer unafraid of humans made its approach to us, getting incredibly close. While we captured the moment, the young, adolescent deer never ran away.

While the deer, whom I have hereby named Henry, chilled with us as we played chess and fished – one friend reeled in a beautiful flounder. This was the first of two flounder over our two days of fishing, and this one was not as evasive as his buddy was the following day, who escaped after being reeled halfway out the water and almost onto the dock.

Next, one of the locals approached with friendly intentions and brought her two trusty companions alongside her – two beautiful retrievers named Cooper and Riley. They were the goodest of dogs, and completed a truly epic 25 minutes of fortunate events.

While it may be some time before King’s Corner gets a setting like the one seen on the beautiful coast of South Carolina again, the column will continue to provide interesting locations to play the great game of chess.

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Adam Dodson is the head of sports for The News Courier and the writer of King's Column, a piece dedicated each week towards competing with local players, highlighting news in the Chess world and showcasing beautiful chess sets.

Bottlenose dolphins may be Myrtle Beach’s most popular residents.

Visitors to Grand Strand beaches can often see these marine mammals cruising through the waves, performing acrobatics and surfing boat wakes. They even move well up our tidal creeks and waterways. Here’s what you should know about these playful animals.

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Dolphins were spotted off the Grand Strand coast at Huntingdon State Park. By Deb Milie Hunger

Dolphins can be seen consistently throughout the year in along the South Carolina coast, according to Lauren Rust, executive director of the Low Country Mammal Marine Network. This group studies the animals in hopes of protecting resident populations.

Rust says that they observe three different populations of common bottlenose dolphins, Scientific name: Tursiops truncates, along the South Carolina coast: resident, coastal, and migratory dolphins. Because South Carolina water remain relatively warm, and there is an abundance of prey near our coasts, all three populations may be seen much of the year.

But, in the colder months, the coastal and migratory dolphins tend to chase their migrating prey down the Atlantic coast leaving only the resident dolphins behind.

During the winter months, Myrtle Beach area social media sites are abuzz with reports of dolphins in the inland waterways of Little River, Hog Inlet, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island and sometimes even well up the Waccamaw River.

Erin Weeks of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources explains that one of the mammal’s favorite foods is red drum, locally known as “Spottail Bass”, and that the fish tend to school in the shallower, and thus, warmer waters of our tidal marshes.

Resident dolphins come up our waterways seeking those tasty treats. When local fishermen hear the tell-tale PUFFGH! sound of the mammals coming up for air, and see their v-shaped wake coming up shallow creeks, most know just to put down their fishing rods and watch. There is just no competition with these voracious predators.

Rust explained that while dolphins are less plentiful during the winter months, sightings are still frequent because the animals are on the move seeking meals that are harder to come by during the colder season.

The Low Country Marine Mammal Network has studied a behavior among resident dolphins known as “strand feeding” that seems to be unique to the Carolina and Georgia coasts. The animals work together to corral schools of fish and push them, and much of their bodies, up onto the beaches and mud flats of local marshes to gather the fish in their mouths before sliding back down into deeper water.

It’s a spectacular display that is rarely witnessed but leaves a lasting impression.

Rust says that the behavior is so rare that they’ve only found about ten locations where “strand feeding” occurs and that this hunting method seems to be passed down from mother to calf only within specific family units.

As our waters tend to be clearer in Winter, and the dolphins come in close, it is an ideal time to get a good look at these fascinating creatures.

Rust says that the same resident dolphins, often with distinguishing marks, can be seen repeatedly in the same areas. In the Charleston areas, many of the local creatures have been named, photographed and tracked by experts and admirers.

But Rust warns that watchers should keep their distance.

The federal Marine Mammals Protection Act prohibits feeding and harassing marine mammals and requires boaters to stay at least 50 yards away.

When dolphins get too accustomed to human activity, boat strikes are more likely and feeding the animals may change their prey habits and keep them from being able to feed themselves. The South Carolina Department of natural resources provides these tips to be ‘dolphin friendly’ in South Carolina.

The weather might not be the best for golf in South Carolina right now, but it doesn’t hurt to plan ahead.

Warmer days will be here before you know it, providing ample opportunities to step out onto the green, maybe try out those new clubs you got for Christmas and, hopefully, avoid sand traps.

But if you want to enjoy several rounds of golf in South Carolina this year, why not play on the best courses the state has to offer?

Golf Magazine ranks golf courses across the U.S. every year using a large team of expert panelists. The magazine recently unveiled its 20 best South Carolina golf courses for 2023.

According to Golf Magazine, to determine the ranking, each panelist is given a list of hundreds of courses and groupings and check off which ones they believe to be the best. They are also free to write in courses.

The panelists themselves are all handpicked and hail from 15 nations and all the golf meccas around the world. Many of the panelists have played more than 1,000 courses in 20-plus countries, the magazine’s website states.

Here are descriptions of the top five South Carolina golf courses for 2023.

Located on the eastern-most end the Kiawah Island, the Ocean Course has the most seaside hills in the Northern Hemisphere. The course was designed to give players an unobstructed view of the coastline from every hole. The course can also be particularly challenging, due to strong winds from the Atlantic.

The Yeamans Hall Club golf course was designed in 1925 in Charleston. The course offers a “charming tour of Redan, Biarritz and Road holes woven through marshland and magnificent live oaks,” Golf Magazine states. A two decade-long renovation has restored the course to its original glory.

This perennial favorite among PGA Tour players is located on Hilton Head Island. The course has undergone recent enhancements, such as new Celebration Bermuda grass for the fairways and a new irrigation system. Since 1969, it has been home to the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

Found in Ridgeland, the 18-hole Congaree golf course opened in 2018. The course was built on a historic, 18th-century estate and is surrounded by more than 2,000 acres of forest and lakes.

Founded in 1892, the Palmetto Golf Club is the oldest, continually operated 18-hole golf course in its original location in the Southeast, the golf club’s website states. The course has seen its fair share prominent players and famously people over the years, from Masters Champions Byron Nelson and Ben Crenshaw, to Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and William Taft.

Here is a list of the rest of the 20 best South Carolina golf courses for 2023.

This story was originally published January 5, 2023 8:00 AM.