South Carolina
Myrtle Beach Buddies Trip in 4 Days
Estimate: per golfer, 3–4 nights in a shared condo or villa, six rounds with carts booked as a package, excluding flights; summer runs below the low end, 2026 rates.
Myrtle Beach is the default buddies trip because it's easy to make cheap. There are dozens of courses, condo-style lodging everywhere, and package operators who handle tee times for groups of eight to forty. The risk is filling the trip with forgettable resort courses. This plan sticks to the handful that are worth the trip.
Spend the money on the two Mike Strantz courses, Caledonia and True Blue, which sit across the road from each other at Pawleys Island. Then base yourselves in North Myrtle for Tidewater and Barefoot, and get onto the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, the area's best old course, through a hotel package. Doubling up on 36-hole days is what keeps the cost per round low.
Day by day
- 1
Arrive and play Tidewater
Tidewater Golf ClubFly into MYR, pick up the condo keys, and take an early-afternoon tee time at Tidewater in North Myrtle. Grab dinner along Main Street in North Myrtle or at Barefoot Landing.
- 2
Strantz double
Caledonia Golf & Fish ClubTrue Blue Golf ClubDrive south to Pawleys Island early. Play Caledonia in the morning and True Blue after lunch on the two-course special. Have a drink on the Caledonia porch before the drive back.
- 3
36 at Barefoot
Barefoot Resort – Dye CourseBarefoot Resort – Love CoursePlay the Dye Course in the morning, then take Barefoot's same-day reduced replay on the Love Course. If the group is fried, swap the replay for TPC Myrtle Beach the next morning.
- 4
Dunes Club and home
The Dunes Golf and Beach ClubMorning round at the Dunes through your hotel package, then head to MYR, about 15 minutes away. Book an afternoon flight, because rounds here can run long.
The courses
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club
Mike Strantz · 1994 · public
Par 70 through live oaks and an old rice plantation, finishing in front of the clubhouse porch. Summer 2026 rates start at $129 in the morning; spring and fall cost more.
True Blue Golf Club
Mike Strantz · 1998 · public
Huge sandy waste areas, wide fairways and wild greens. The 'play both' special with Caledonia is the cheapest way to get both.
Tidewater Golf Club
Ken Tomlinson · 1990 · public, dynamic pricing
Nine holes play along the Cherry Grove inlet and the Intracoastal. The best value among the North Myrtle courses.
Barefoot Resort – Dye Course
Pete Dye · 2000 · public
The toughest of Barefoot's four courses, with typical Dye railroad ties and angles.
Barefoot Resort – Love Course
Davis Love III · 2000 · public
Built around faux plantation-house ruins. Easier than the Dye, which makes it a good replay round.
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club
Robert Trent Jones Sr. · 1948 · private; visitors via partner hotel golf packages
The Strand's oldest premier course and host of the PGA Tour's Myrtle Beach Classic. The par-5 13th, Waterloo, bends around Lake Singleton.
Booking it
For groups, a package operator (Caledonia Golf Vacations, a resort golf desk, or one of the big Myrtle Beach package sites) is cheaper and easier than booking each course yourself. Caledonia's packages require at least 3 nights and 3 rounds. The Dunes Golf and Beach Club is private and only takes outside play through partner-hotel packages, so lock that in first and build the rest of the trip around it.
Worth knowing
- Caledonia and True Blue share a driving range at True Blue, and range access comes with a Caledonia round. Warm up there before Caledonia.
- Ask about same-day replay rates everywhere. They often cost less than half the first round.
- Spring rounds can take five hours on resort courses packed with groups. Take the first tee times of the day wherever you can.
- Summer specials (late June through August) cut rates sharply, so start at dawn and take the discount.