But through you can play The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, ranked #179 in the country and #52 among all American public-accessible courses by Golf Digest. That’s because effective January 1, 2013, the only website where you can book vacation golf at this gem is MyrtleBeachGolf.com, by way of an exclusive agreement between the two parties.
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club opened in 1948, the second golf course built in Myrtle Beach. And to this day it endures as one of the best courses in the area, the state and the region. Thank the architect, the late Robert Trent Jones, Sr. for this—he also designed such famous tracks as Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta and Tanglewood Park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and helped refine Augusta National Golf Club, site of The Masters, as well.
Trent Jones’ courses ushered in an era of massive growth of golf course construction in the U.S. and many courses he didn’t design nonetheless took many cues from his designs. The notion of “hard par, easy bogey” took strong root on many courses and it is evident at The Dunes in the form of smallish greens, slim fairways and bunkers aplenty.
Don’t let this turn you off to The Dunes, though. For as stern a test as it is, it is a thoroughly fun golf course. Three of the par fives are reachable in two and the other, the famous “Waterloo” 13th, is purely iconic. You simply cannot say you’ve truly played golf in Myrtle Beach until you’ve played that hole.
The scenery at The Dunes is top-notch as well. Unlike many courses in the area, there are no holes that march single-file between rows of houses or condominiums. Trees, maybe, but you can play from under them should you spray a tee shot. And when the round comes to a close, you can wash up in the locker room and have a drink overlooking the Atlantic Ocean or, as Dunes Club members and guests might say, “the backyard.”
Not only do members and guests who book through MyrtleBeachGolf.com have the opportunity to stroll The Dunes’ emerald fairways, the course has played host to a number of high-level amateur and professional golf tournaments, most notably the U.S. Women’s Open, the final stage of PGA Tour Qualifying and the Southern Amateur.
If any of these accolades seem appealing, there’s one and only one place to go to experience The Dunes Golf & Beach Club for yourself: MyrtleBeachGolf.com.
Posted 2/12/13