South Carolina Golf Courses & Tee Times

Who runs public golf in South Carolina

Most public golf in the state is daily-fee and resort golf, and the Grand Strand alone has more than 90 courses, per Visit Myrtle Beach. The state parks run two: Cheraw State Park, where Lake Juniper frames several holes, and Hickory Knob, where Lake Thurmond is in view or in play on every hole. Both are Tom Jackson designs and take tee times online or by phone. The South Carolina Golf Association, founded in 1929, runs the state amateur events, more than 40 one-day contests and USGA qualifying, handles GHIN handicaps and course rating, and houses the SC Junior Golf Foundation and SC Junior Golf Association. The Carolinas Golf Association has served amateur golf in both Carolinas since 1909.

Public courses worth knowing in South Carolina

• The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island: Pete and Alice Dye course with ten oceanfront holes. Host of the 1991 Ryder Cup, the 2007 Senior PGA and the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships.
• Harbour Town Golf Links: Public Pete Dye course at Sea Pines on Hilton Head, built in 1967 with Jack Nicklaus. PGA Tour stop for the RBC Heritage since 1969, the week after the Masters.
• Pine Lakes Country Club: Myrtle Beach's first course, opened in 1927 and designed by Robert White, the first PGA of America president. Sports Illustrated was planned here in 1954.
• Caledonia Golf & Fish Club: Mike Strantz's first solo design, opened in 1994 on a Pawleys Island rice plantation.
• Hickory Knob State Resort Park Golf Course: State park course near McCormick designed by Tom Jackson, with Lake Thurmond in view or in play on every hole.
• Cheraw State Park Golf Course: Tom Jackson state park course along Lake Juniper, certified as an Audubon International Wildlife Sanctuary.

Getting a tee time in South Carolina

Spring and fall are peak season in South Carolina. In summer the heat pushes everyone toward early morning, so the first few hours of the day fill before anything else.

Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.

Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.

How to get a tee time when everything's booked