The Surf Golf & Beach Club

1701 Springland Ln, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582

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The Surf Club is the Grand Strand’s third-oldest course and yet it remains a mystery to many players. The North Myrtle Beach facility has vacillated between being exclusively private and allowing limited outside play, so a tee time at the George Cobb design is among the area’s most difficult to secure.

The Surf Club opened in 1960 and is a shotmaker’s course, challenging golfers to play to the proper spot as opposed to rewarding raw power. Precision is particularly important when approaching the course’s multi-tiered greens complexes, which underwent a 2016 renovation project that included the installation of Champion Bermudagrass.

Golfers at The Surf Club are treated to the full "member for a day” experience, and one welcome side effect of the course’s private club ethos is its commitment to pace of play. If playing in four hours or less is important to your group, bump The Surf Club even further up your list.

The course’s most demanding stretch comes at the start as holes 2-5 require players to be at their best, but the back nine is even more memorable.

The home nine begins with the mammoth par-5 10th hole, which plays 554 yards from the white tees. Water looms on the dogleg left, requiring players to decide how much risk they are willing to assume off the tee in an attempt to shorten the hole.

Finishing with a par 3 isn’t common, particularly for a course with The Surf Club's pedigree, but it absolutely works here. The 18th hole, which requires a carry over water, stretches to 217 yards from the blue tees, bringing a memorable round to a dramatic conclusion.

From the "Did You Know” files, The Surf Club was developed by Charles Tilghman, the grandfather of golf media star Kelly Tilghman.

If your group wants to add a new course to the rotation that provides a country club experience, you will want to take a long look at The Surf Club.