Source: The Greenville (S.C.) News
Golfers know there aren't many places better than South Carolina for the quality and quantity of courses -- public or private.
"South Carolina is blessed with an enormous number of good courses," said golfer Heyward Sullivan of Greenville. "It's hard to know where to stop in naming the ones you like the best."
And while the coastal courses frequently dominate discussions of the state's best, it's become increasingly clear that the Upstate's reputation for superb courses is growing.
In a ranking of the top 50 courses in the state by South Carolina Magazine and South Carolina Golf Today, eight of the courses are located in the Upstate including three in Greenville County.
"I've traveled around the country playing golf courses -- all the way to California -- and everywhere I've been every time I come back I appreciate our courses that much more," said Steve Thompson of Greenville.
The Chanticleer Course at Greenville Country Club, long recognized as one of the top private layouts in the United States, is ranked No. 6 in a poll of nearly 100 people affiliated with the golf industry. Courses at The Thornblade Club (32) and Cliffs Valley (38) were the others from Greenville County.
"Chanticleer is one of my favorites," said Greenville police officer Jimmy Wilson, who grew up playing on the old Pebble Creek Country Club layout. Musgrove Mill (10) in Clinton is another. "Musgrove Mill's another real good one."
Clyde Carr likes the Valley course, particularly for its ethereal beauty.
"I really like that course, the beauty of the layout," he said.
Topping the list were Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, Sage Valley Country Club in Graniteville and the Long Cove Club of Hilton Head.
Sullivan, runner-up at the U.S. Senior Open (1996) and fourth at the British Senior Open (1998), knows most of the top courses well.
He was intimately involved in the design and construction of Chanticleer in 1970 and won the club championship six times. Twice he won the Azalea Senior Championship at the Country Club of Charleston (18).
"Harbour Town is one of my favorites, but I'm kind of partial to some of the old classic courses like Yeaman's Hall (5) and the Country Club of Charleston," Sullivan said. "The Ocean Course (4) is spectacular, very difficult but certainly ranks high nationally."
And Sullivan can't deny his love of Chanticleer, which he calls "one of the finest anywhere."
"I certainly have a great affinity for that one," he said.
"There's so many down at the coast, you could go on and on. The Dunes Club at Myrtle Beach (No. 8) is one of the classics."
As a golfer, "we're lucky to live in South Carolina," Thompson said.
He said that not only are the quality of courses superior to most other states, there are more affordable opportunities to play top courses.
Last year, Golf Magazine selected five South Carolina courses among the top 100 in the nation -- only California (12 courses) and Arizona (6) had more -- and three among the 100 best in the world. Five of the state's public courses are ranked among the top 35 nationally.
Michael Whitaker, executive director of the South Carolina Golf Course Rating Panel, credited the surge in construction of quality courses to developers of high-end residential communities. For instance, Jim Anthony's Cliffs Valley and Cliffs at Glassy Courses are the jewels of their little conclaves.
"We're just reaping the benefits of that, really," Whitaker said.
Even still, Whitaker believes the state isn't fully appreciated for the overall quality of courses. That's not the case for Thompson and the others.
"Some times in other places like California and Arizona you have spectacular views and all that, but the shape of the course in our area is sometimes better," Thompson said, adding that the aesthetics here aren't too shabby either.
"At the Cliffs on the mountain, I don't think it gets any better than that."
Chanticleer is also a Thompson favorite.
"It's just tough and always in great shape. I just love playing there," he said.
Among Wilson's favorites are the Tidewater Golf Club & Plantation (28) at Little River, where he and seven buddies annually rendezvous for several days, and Caledonia (24) and True Blue (34) at Pawleys Island, which team to offer an affordable package.
Wilson's idea of a golf shrine would be Cassique (7) at Kiawah Island.
"Absolutely wonderful," he said. "If you ever get an opportunity to play it, you will love it."
TOP COURSES
The Top 50 courses in South Carolina, according to South Carolina Magazine and South Carolina Golf Today:
1. Sea Pines Resort - Harbour Town Golf Links
2. Sage Valley Golf Club (Graniteville)
3. Long Cove Club (Hilton Head)
4. Kiawah Island Resort Ocean Course
5. Yeaman's Hall Club (Hanahan)
6. Greenville Country Club Chanticleer Course
7. Kiawah Island Club Cassique Course
8. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (Myrtle Beach)
9. Secession Golf Club (Beaufort)
10. Musgrove Mill Golf Club (Clinton)
11. The Golf Club at Briar's Creek (John's Island); 12. Bulls Bay Golf Club (Awendaw); 13. Old Tabby Links (Spring Island); 14. Kiawah Island Club River Course; 15. The Reserve at Litchfield (Litchfield Beach); 16. Palmetto Golf Club (Aiken); 17. Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards (Sunset); 18. Country Club of Charleston; 19. Colleton River Plantation Dye Course (Hilton Head); 20. The Reserve at Lake Keowee (Sunset); 21. Wild Dunes Resort Links Course (Isle of Palms); 22. Colleton River Plantation Nicklaus Course (Hilton Head); 23. Camden Country Club; 24. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (Pawleys Island); 25. Chechessee Creek Club (Okatie); 26. Mount Vintage Plantation & Golf Club (North Augusta); 27. Belfair Golf Club East Club (Hilton Head); 28. Tidewater Golf Club & Plantation (Little River); T29. Belfair Golf Club West Course (Hilton Head); T29. Haig Point Club (Daufauski Island); 31. Wachesaw Plantation (Murrells Inlet); 32. Thornblade Club (Greer); 33. Grande Dunes (Myrtle Beach); 34. True Blue Plantation (Pawleys Island); 35. Berkeley Hall North Course (Bluffton); 36. Daniel Island Club Beresford Creek Course; 37. Kiawah Island Resort Turtle Point Course; 38. Cliffs Valley Golf Course (Travelers Rest); 39. The Patriot at Grand Harbor (Greenwood); 40. Palmetto Dunes Resort Arthur Hills Course (Hilton Head); 41. TPC of Myrtle Beach (Murrells Inlet); T42. King's North at Myrtle Beach National; T42. Berkeley Hall South Course (Bluffton); 44. Columbia Country Club; 45. Barefoot Resort Love Course (North Myrtle Beach); 46. Oldfield Golf Club (Okatie); 47. Greenwood Country Club; 48. Dataw Island Cotton Dike Course; 49. Country Club at Woodcreek Farms (Columbia); T50. The Cliffs at Glassy (Landrum); T50. Debordieu Club (Georgetown).
