Upstate Golf Courses Rated Among The Best in The State

Forty years after Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus traded ideas that became the blueprint for Harbour Town it still remains their highest rated course in the Palmetto state… but, it’s great for golf and the state that they keep trying to top themselves with each new design. As a result, Dye and Nicklaus each landed new courses in the panel’s list of South Carolina’s 50 Best courses.

The Nicklaus-designed Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Salem, SC recorded a soaring debut at No. 13. Heron Point by Pete Dye, located alongside Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island, was also a highly impressive newcomer breaking in at No. 25.

Dye and Nicklaus now join Tom Fazio as the most prolific architects of the “very best of the best” in South Carolina, each with four courses in the top half of the 50 Best list.

The South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel consists of up to 125 members representing all facets of the game and all levels of playing abilities. Ratings are conducted by a closed vote with results tabulated once voting has closed.

Panel executive director, Michael Whitaker, praised the emphasis on tradition that came with the highest ranked new courses on the list. “It’s exciting to see new course construction and major remodels in South Carolina emphasizing the original design concepts of the old masters,” he says. “Ground game features are being reintroduced to our game and our panelists obviously welcome the variety of options presented when they step over the ball. This is a great trend.”