Wachesaw Plantation


In an area that boasts over 100 championship golf courses, Wachesaw Golf Club is regarded as one of the best, and is presently one of only two private, member-owned golf clubs on the Grand Strand. When it first opened in 1986, Golf Digest dubbed it the No. 1 course in Myrtle Beach. Many would argue that still holds true today.

The 18-hole, par-72 layout is a Tom Fazio course with rolling fairways and bentgrass greens. At Wachesaw, Fazio created a course that is both graceful and dramatic in its contrasts. Love grass sprouts like unruly hair from atop smooth mounds, and buff-colored bunkers cut large swaths through the green expanse. Greens framed by azaleas add to the beauty. It's truly a members course, one that every member enjoys playing again and again.

One-shot holes are the great humblers of the game of golf, which prompted the editors of Southern Links Magazine to publish their choice of the truly extraordinary Southern par-threes. Among them was Wachesaw's 177-yard seventh hole. From the tee, the golfer is faced with a series of hulking mounds covered in love grass to the right and a snaking pond to the left. The water turns ever so seductively in toward the green framed by towering Carolina pines. The prevailing wind often makes club selection difficult.

The 18th epitomizes the sheer beauty and challenge of the course. It's a 537-yard par-five where the drive must carry a lake and a waste bunker to a fairway cut tight between the forest of towering pines. The approach is no less exacting with mounds and grass bunkers to the right and water to the left. The Waccamaw River winds behind the green, creating a stunning backdrop and a picture perfect finish.

Location: Murrells Inlet, SC
Phone: 843-357-1500
Holes: 18
Public/Private: Private
Green Fee Range: $$$
Website: www.wachesaw.com

$ = under $50; $$ = $50 to $100; $$$ = $100 to $250; $$$$ = over $250