Prestwick CC: A Pete Dye Public Gem Near Myrtle Beach

Drive a few minutes inland from Surfside Beach and the strip-mall noise drops away. Then you turn onto Links Road and the two-story clubhouse at Prestwick Country Club shows up at the end of the drive like the entrance to a private club. It is not. Prestwick has been open to public play for decades, and the price stays well under what the headline courses in Myrtle Beach charge.

The course opened in 1989 under the eyes of Pete Dye and his son P.B., and it carries every Dye signature you would expect. Pot bunkers. Railroad ties. Green complexes that punish a careless approach. The front nine threads through pine forest, the back opens up, and water finds its way into roughly half the holes. The South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association named Prestwick its 2025 Golf Course of the Year, and Golfweek has put it on the "Best Courses You Can Play in the Carolinas" list two years running.

The numbers behind the scorecard

Prestwick is a par 72 with six sets of tees, which makes it a fair test whether you carry a single-digit handicap or a 20. From the back, the Championship tees stretch to 7,086 yards with a 74.9 course rating and a 140 slope. That is genuine resistance to scoring. The Blue tees at 6,744 yards (73.5 / 135) are the better fit for most low-handicap visitors. The Whites play 6,347 yards (71.6 / 132), the Greens 5,863, and the forward Red and Tan options come in at 5,210 and 4,624.

Walking is allowed, the pro shop is full-service, and there is a clubhouse restaurant if you want a beer and a sandwich before driving back to the beach.

The par 3s do the heavy lifting

Most Myrtle Beach courses are remembered for one signature look. At Prestwick, it is the collection of par 3s, and the fifth is the one everyone talks about. The hole plays around 164 yards from the White tees and stretches close to 195 from the back. A canal runs from the tee box down the entire left side of the green. When the pin is tucked left, the only honest play is the center of the green and a two-putt. Local reviewers list it among the best one-shotters on the Grand Strand, and after you stand on the tee box once, you understand why.

The ninth is the photograph

The par-5 ninth is the hole that ends up on the website. It runs 486 yards from the White tees and sits parallel to the 18th, separated by a wide lake that menaces the entire left side. The fairway is generous at about 40 yards wide, but the right side is framed by mounding you do not want to find. Long hitters look at it and think eagle. The smarter players around here will tell you that three controlled shots into a back-to-front green is how you walk off the front nine with a par instead of a snowman. The clubhouse sits in the background of the approach, and on a clear day the view alone is worth the green fee.

Closing on 18

The 18th is a 396-yard par 4 that asks one more honest tee shot. Water runs the entire right side, and bunkers crowd the left side of the landing area. There is no bailout. Find the fairway and you get a flat short-iron approach with the clubhouse framing the green, which is the kind of closer that makes you want to head straight to the bar and rebook.

Who this course suits

Prestwick is not the longest course on the Grand Strand and it does not pretend to be a resort headliner. What it does is deliver a real Pete Dye round at a fair price, on a layout that PGA professionals in the area ranked the No. 5 course you can play in Myrtle Beach. If you have only one round in your trip and you want something that will test every club and reward thoughtful golf, this is a strong pick.

The course sits at 1001 Links Road in what is technically Surfside Beach but plays as core Myrtle Beach. Tee times go through the pro shop at 843-293-4100. View the full Prestwick Country Club scorecard on Stymie to see every yardage and handicap before your round.