Grande Dunes Golf Course Review

Grande Dunes Golf Course Review

Grande Dunes Golf Course
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Grade: A
Teachers’ Comments: A good variety of holes. Fun. Well-kept.

Routed along bluffs along the inland shore of the intercoastal waterway, Grande Dunes is a fun, interesting and well-kept course.

Whenever I talked to people about my Myrtle Beach golf itinerary, two courses were consistently mentioned as being the best: Grand Dunes and Pine Lakes. My experience with Myrtle Beach golf is limited, but after playing both, I can find no cause for doubt.

There actually are two courses at Grande dunes: The Resort Course, and the Members Course. I played the Resort Course. Grande Dunes is part of the Founders Group, a collection of twenty-two Myrtle Beach Courses.

Grande Dunes has accumulated its share of honors over the years. Built in 2002, it was named a “Top 100” by Golf Digest in 2003. Grande Dunes was the 2009 National Golf Course of the Year and hosted the 2014 PGA National Championship. The Members Course also has accumulated accolades.

Grand Dunes has six sets of tees, so players of every skill level should be able to find appropriate distances. From the tips, Grande Dunes stretches to 7, 578 yards and plays to a 77.1/142. That’s a very difficult course when you consider what sea level atmosphere and humidity will do to ball distances. Leave that to the pros and low single digit handicappers. The middle tees are in at 6, 737 and a 72.7/134. A “Silver” set of tees are at 5, 900 yards and play to a 68.7/124. I played the whites at 6, 272 and 70.2/128. It was still a lot of course at that point. I would have had a lot more fun at 5, 900.

The layout at Grand Dunes offers a great deal of variety. Seven of the holes are within sight of the intercoastal. Ten of the holes have doglegs. Water appears on fourteen of the holes. A few holes have significant elevation changes. Some holes feel isolated; others play past development homes. None, however, are within sight of each other.

I feel as though a great deal of care was taken by the architects at  Roger Rulewich Group to avoid creating a flat and utilitarian development course. From the tee and fairway, every hole had some visual interest.

My favorite hole was the par four twelfth. Measuring 449 from the back tees, it has dogleg right, and is bounded on either side by mounding.  From the tee, players need to decide whether to challenge the bunker left for a shorter second, or play it safe right, and a longer approach.

Another memorable hole was the par three fourteenth, which plays over an inlet of the intercoastal. Long is your best choice here, as the hill likely will kick the ball back to the green.

I also liked the par five fourth. Wrapped around a large marsh/pond, the design offers a neat risk reward. The more of the water you bite off, the shorter your path to the green. It is possible to play the first shot entirely safe, or on the other hand turn it into a two shotter. In any case, slicers beware.

Conditions on the day I played were very good. Fairways were completely grown in, with no issues. Greens were smooth and true. Tee boxes were in good shape.

If you’re planning a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, Grande Dunes should be on your play list.

The Grande Dunes Golf Course Review was first published August 9, 2017, from a July 2017 round.

More photos from Grande Dunes follow: