Golfweek Ranks Caledonia, Dunes Club Among America’s Top 100 Resort Courses

As 2011 nears its end, Golfweek magazine has provided a 2012 wish list – its ranking of America’s Top 100 Resort Courses – and a pair of Myrtle Beach golf courses rank near the top.

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club was ranked the 21st best resort course in the nation and the Dunes Club followed closely behind at No. 26. Golfweek published the annual rankings in the November 4 issue of the magazine.

A Mike Strantz design, Caledonia is equal parts art and architecture. The course was carved on property that centuries ago was home to a thriving rice plantation and it continues to ooze lowcountry beauty. The half-mile road into Caledonia is framed by soaring live oak trees and is arguably the most dramatic entrance in golf. The course itself is no less stunning, capped by the 18th hole, which plays over water into a green overlooked by an antebellum style clubhouse.

The Dunes Club has long been one of the most revered Myrtle Beach golf courses.  The course was the area’s first nationally renowned layout, hosting the US Women’s Open, the finals of the PGA Tour’s Q-School and six Senior Tour Championships. The Dunes Club plays in the shadow of the nearby Atlantic Ocean and it’s a superb, traditional design. The 13th hole, known as Waterloo, is one of the nation’s most prominent par 5s and caps off a three-hole stretch, including numbers 11 and 12, that is among the best in the region.

Caledonia and the Dunes Club have also been ranked among America’s Top 100 courses by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. While the highly regarded duo have long been Myrtle Beach golf trip favorites, they are hardly the only ones. Eleven Grand Strand layouts have been ranked among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest in recent years, and Golf Magazine ranks four Myrtle Beach golf courses among its Top 100 You Can Play.

The quality and diversity of the area's offerings have made the Grand Strand America's favorite golf vacation destination.