Tidewater named top golf course along the Grand Strand

By Ruben Lowman

Tidewater Golf Club in Cherry Grove was named the Myrtle Beach Golf Course of the Year by an influential local organization. 

Tidewater, widely known as one of the most acclaimed golf course layouts on the entire Grand Strand, added to its impressive list of accolades when it was announced as the local course of the year by the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association (MBAGCOA). 

“We are thrilled to be named Golf Course of the Year by the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association,” said Chris Cooper, Tidewater’s general manager. “This honor is a credit to the support we receive from ownership, making the course conditions players rave about possible, and our entire staff, which is dedicated to ensuring golfers enjoy an unforgettable experience from the bag drop through the 19th hole.” 

Long renowned for the quality of its design and stunning natural beauty, the North Myrtle Beach course has been ranked among the nation’s top 100 public courses and is consistently lauded as one of the Palmetto State’s premier layouts by golf aficionados. 

Cooper said that the course’s scenery, combined with its commitment to customer service, course conditions and charity, all helped propel it to the award this year. 

With nine holes that play along the Intracoastal Waterway or Cherry Grove Inlet, the course’s beauty is enchanting. Most notably, the course has four holes that play along Cherry Grove (3, 4, 12, 13) that have been described as breathtaking, Cooper said. But he said the layout’s inland holes, an unforgettable collection of challenges that test every aspect of a player’s game, are essential to the experience as well. 

MBAGCOA evaluates the course of the year nominees using four criteria – exceptional quality of the golf course, exceptional quality of the ownership and management, outstanding contribution to the community and significant contribution to the game. By virtue of winning the award, Tidewater becomes a candidate for state and, potentially, national honors.

The National Golf Course Owners Association implemented the award in 1996 and the group has since nominated several courses from the local area. Tidewater succeeds Eagle Nest Golf Club in Little River as the MBAGCOA Course of the Year.