As part of GOLF's rigorous ratings process for our newly released Top 100 Courses in the U.S. and Top 100 Courses You Can Play rankings, our fleet of 100-plus expert panelists identified the best golf courses in every state.
You can check out the links below to browse all of our course rankings, or scroll down to see the best courses in South Carolina. And if you're looking to create your own trip in the future, you'd be wise to let GOLF's new Course Finder tool assist you. Here, you can toggle all of our lists -- Top 100 public, best munis, best short courses, best par-3s and more -- or filter by price to create the perfect itinerary for your next trip.
Ed. note: Some courses were omitted from our rankings because they did not receive enough votes.
1. Kiawah Island - Ocean (Kiawah Island) [#, Y, P]
The blend of tidal marshes, scrub-topped dunes, live oaks and the soothing sound of the Atlantic on every hole makes this one of the South's most memorable playing experiences. Though the course just turned 30 years old, it already has an illustrious history of hosting big-time events, none more memorable than the drama-filled 1991 "War by the Shore" Ryder Cup. Much more short grass has been added around the green complexes since then, and now the design is more thought-provoking rather than terror-inducing. Many of its greens are plateaued, with some of the more pronounced coming on the 3rd, 11th and 14th holes. Phil Mickelson more than handled the putting surfaces on his way to his historic win at the 2021 PGA Championship.
2. Yeamans Hall (Hanahan) [#]
Marrying classic Seth Raynor design with coastal South Carolina topography, Yeamans presents a charming tour of redan, biarritz and road holes woven through marshland and magnificent live oaks. A two-decade-long renovation based on Raynor's original property maps -- discovered in the clubhouse attic -- has returned this Golden Age masterpiece to its original brilliance. Jim Urbina oversaw much of the work that has seen the greens blown back out to their original size and every consequential bunker restored, even the most frustrating ones, like those found in the 4th fairway. The greenside bunkers aren't so much deep as the green pads are tall, and they create nervy moments such as at the Cape 10th hole, where missing the green left or right leaves a taxing recovery shot, even though the hole is played over flat land. Though the overall vibe at Yeamans is tranquil, a green pad like the one built up at the Knoll 14th is as pugnacious as it gets. Hard to fathom tackling the course with hickory clubs as they did back in the day!