Myrtle Beach

Mike Strantz's masterpiece, routed through a former rice plantation with live oaks dripping Spanish moss the whole way around. The closing stretch along the marsh is one of the best finishes in the Southeast, and the clubhouse pours free bushwacker drinks while you wait. Book it first or you won't get on.

The sister course to Caledonia, also Strantz, but bigger, wider, and more dramatic — sandy waste areas, massive greens, and risk/reward angles on basically every hole. Play it the same trip as Caledonia; they're a few minutes apart and pair up as a 36-hole day if your legs will allow it. Some find it gimmicky in spots, but the good holes are great.

Nicklaus design with the back nine working in and out of the salt marsh — 13 and 17 are the postcard holes. It's tighter than the Strantz courses and the greens have some teeth, so leave the driver in the bag on a few of them. A good third leg to round out a Pawleys Island day.

Tom Fazio routing that hosted the Senior Tour Championship — the closest thing to tournament conditions you'll find on a public tee sheet down here. Conditioning is consistently the best in the area, and the par 3s are excellent. Worth the premium over the $80 tracks.

The best of the three Big Cats up at Ocean Ridge — Tim Cate design with a waterfall on 18 that sounds tacky and somehow isn't. Generous off the tee, fair into the greens, and conditioned well year-round. It's a 45-minute drive north into Brunswick County (NC), but it's worth it.

Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s 1949 routing — old-school Myrtle, with the famous Waterloo 13th bending around Lake Singleton. It's the most historically significant course in town and still a legitimate test. Semi-private and you'll need to book through a resort package or get a guest invite, but it's the one course in the city limits worth the hassle.

Davis Love design with faux plantation ruins guarding a few of the green complexes — gimmicky theme, legitimately good golf course. Wide fairways, big greens, the kind of layout where your group can score and still feel challenged. The pick of the four Barefoot courses if you're only playing one.

Another of the Big Cats and a half-step behind Leopard's Chase, but a great value play if you're already up in Ocean Ridge. Big elevation changes for the Carolinas, with a back nine that gets dramatic late. Pair it with Leopard's Chase as a 36-hole day.

The full-service resort option in the Grande Dunes corridor — oceanfront, proper pools, a spa, and a location that gives you easy access to the best courses on the northern strand. The brand does its job: rooms are consistent, breakfast is handled, and you're not making any logistical decisions at 6am before a tee time.

The smart splurge in Myrtle proper — full kitchens in most suites, balconies over the Intracoastal, and an easy base if your group wants room to spread out. It's quieter than the oceanfront high-rises and a better launch point for the southern courses.

Vacation rentals down in Pawleys Island, which is exactly where you want to be if Caledonia and True Blue are on the schedule. Big condos and houses that sleep 6-10, full kitchens, and you're 10 minutes from the best golf in town. The right call for any group of six or more.

The packaged golf experience — stay on property, four Barefoot courses on site, and the booking desk handles your tee times across the rest of the Grand Strand. It's not stylish, but it's efficient, and the math works if you're playing seven rounds in four days.

The unsexy honest answer for a four-guy trip on a tight budget. Clean rooms, free breakfast, walkable to Broadway at the Beach restaurants and bars, and you're not really spending time in the hotel anyway. Save the money for tee times.

Oceanfront, family-owned, and the rare Myrtle high-rise that doesn't feel like a 1980s timeshare. Big balconies, decent in-house restaurant, and far enough from the Pavilion noise that you can actually sleep. A solid mid-tier pick if the group wants to be on the beach.

For groups of 8-12, a beach house in Pawleys or Litchfield is the move — cheaper per head than hotels, kitchens for the morning coffee and burger nights, and you're already in the right zip code for the Strantz courses. Book early; the good ones go six months out for spring weekends.

The best dinner on the Grand Strand, full stop. Frank's is the white-tablecloth side; the Outback is the open-air, fire-pit, more casual version out back — same kitchen, both excellent. Get the wood-grilled fish and one of the steaks for the table. Down in Pawleys, worth the drive.

If Frank's is booked, this is your move. Modern coastal menu that actually delivers, a serious wine list, and the kind of room that handles a group of eight without falling apart. Up on the north end near Barefoot.

Sustainable seafood concept that's quietly become one of the best tables in Myrtle. Get the she-crab soup, the blackened triggerfish if it's on, and ask about the daily local catch. Reservations recommended on weekends.

The steakhouse if the group wants a steakhouse night. Loud, dark, big pours, and a proper bone-in ribeye. It's not reinventing anything, but it does the job better than any of the chain spots in town.

Down on the Sampit River in old Georgetown, 30 minutes south of the courses but worth the detour for a lunch break between rounds. Fried green tomato BLT, shrimp and grits, and a riverfront porch. The kind of place that's been doing the same thing right for 25 years.

Oceanfront, family-owned since 1962, and the right call for a breakfast or an early dinner with a view. The she-crab soup is the move, and the breakfast is a better deal than the hotel buffet. Tourist crowd, locals still eat here anyway.

The Calabash-style buffet experience — fried everything, all you can eat, and a line out the door on weekends. It's not refined and isn't trying to be. Do it once, get it out of your system, then go back to Frank's.

South Carolina mustard-based BBQ at its most honest — buffet line, paper plates, sweet tea. The hash and rice is the local move you've never had anywhere else. Cash, get there early, closed Sunday-Wednesday at most locations.

Post-round oysters and cold beer, no pretense. Raw bar is fresh, the steamed buckets are cheap, and you can show up in golf clothes without anyone caring. Two locations, both fine.

The breakfast spot before a morning tee time. Real biscuits, proper eggs benedict, and pastries baked on site. Faster than hotel breakfast and twice as good. Get there by 8 if you have a 10 a.m. tee.