Charleston has some truly incredible golf, with chart topping public and private courses, hidden gems, fantastic resort courses, and a renovated municipal course. Within a 90-minute drive of Charleston, multiple top-200 courses are within range. Charleston can be an amazing golf trip for buddies, for a family that enjoys the beach and outdoor activities, or for a couples trip (provided your companion plays golf or enjoys a solo spa day). Here are a few ideas for your trip to help you find the best golf courses in Charleston!

Accommodations

Accommodations in Charleston obviously depend on a few factors, most importantly, budget and location.

Of course, the crown jewel of the area is the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, which has multiple options for places to stay.

• For the highest budget (and least amount of children in your party, aka: zero), Kiawah Island Golf Resort‘s top option is the Sanctuary Hotel, a 5-star hotel with an amazing restaurant and spa in the building. Prepare to open thine wallet for such an experience.

• Kiawah Island Golf Resort also has more reasonable options, such as resort villas as well as vacation homes for rent through the resort. The villas work better for couples and single families, whereas the large amount of vacation homes on the island give larger, multi-family groups or golf buddies trips plenty of options to fit their various wants or needs. Those that stay in the resort villas or private homes typically have access to all of the resort amenities, except for a few perks such as more-advanced booking at the multiple resort restaurants and spa.¹

• Lastly, should your budget allow the ultimate buddies trip, Kiawah Island offers four-bedroom cottages directly on The Ocean Course. These are prohibitively expensive, but I’ve heard that they come with rounds on The Ocean Course included in the price.

Next up, if staying at a beach resort is the experience for which you are looking, consider Wild Dunes Resort. There are multiple options in Wild Dunes resort, including hotel rooms, villas, condos, and private houses, much the same as Kiawah Island.

If a beach resort is your style, picking between these two depends on the experience you want, largely because of geography, price, and golf quality. Reference the map below. WD= Wild Dunes and KIGR = Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

Wild Dunes is closer to the city of Charleston, and much closer to Mt. Pleasant, which is where the bulk of the city’s cheaper golf options are located. If your plan is to play as much golf as you can on as little budget as possible, Wild Dunes is a better option. However, Kiawah Island Golf Resort offers an experience that Wild Dunes cannot, if you are willing to pay for said experience: The Ocean Course. If your goal is to play the Ocean Course multiple times, or perhaps you have received an invite to play at Kiawah Island Club or one of the private clubs in the Beaufort/Okatie area, Kiawah Island Golf Resort might be the better place to stay.

Remember, neither The Ocean Course, nor Wild Dunes, require an individual to be a resort guest in order to play the course. Although it may be more expensive to play as a non-registered guest, it is certainly possible. Thus, you can stay at Wild Dunes and play the Ocean Course, or vice versa, after about a 50-minute drive.

Alternatively, if the beach is not an important part of your trip, you can stay in a Downtown Charleston hotel or rental house, which would be centrally located between Wild Dunes & Kiawah Island Golf Resort, and closer to the other golf courses in Charleston.

GOLF

Kiawah Island/South Charleston Area

Public Courses – Kiawah Island Public Golf Courses Ranked:

1. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island – The Ocean Course has major championship pedigree, as many ocean view holes as any course in the U.S, and is a bucket list golf course for many golfers. Check out my full review HERE. The Ocean Course is GolfDigest’s #24 in the U.S. and #3 U.S. Public, GOLF Magazine agrees, ranking The Ocean Course #32 in the U.S. and #6 Public course in the world. This is the main attraction to any Charleston golf trip, and taking a trip around The Ocean Course with a caddie is one of the true pleasures in golf that every serious golfer should experience as many times as life and budget allows. Don’t skip the Ocean Course because of the price; If I had to pick between one round at the Ocean Course or five rounds at the other local courses, I’d pick the one round at the Ocean Course without hesitation. Expect around $450-600/round and $120 for a caddie (The Ocean Course is walking only except for afternoons in the summer).
2. Osprey Point Golf Course – Tom Fazio course on Kiawah Island Resort that actually almost felt worth the price (to me), despite no ocean view holes. Conversely, Top100GolfCourses ranks it lower than Turtle Point at 70th in South Carolina. Again, expect between $225 – $300/round.



3. Turtle Point Golf Course – Arnold Palmer design with an oceanfront hole or two. Nice resort course, but a bit expensive for a course that Top100GolfCourses considers the 62nd best course in the state of South Carolina. Expect between $225 – $300/round.
4. Cougar Point Golf Course – a Gary Player design that was recently renovated in 2017. The 80th ranked course in SC according to Top100GolfCourses. Expect between $225-300/round.
5. Oak Point Golf Course – A Clyde Johnson design that technically sits outside of Kiawah Island and the resort on Johns Island. Despite playing along the Kiawah River, this is considered the least desirable course of the Kiawah Island five. Yet again, expect between $225 – $300/round.



6. Charleston Municipal Golf Course – Lastly, about 25 minutes from Kiawah Island Golf Resort is the newly renovated Charleston Municipal Golf Course. Now, temper expectations, but this municipal course just received a Seth Raynor style revival that has vastly improved the course and has created some buzz in the golf design community. Playing conditions may be spotty, but the concept of municipal course revivals is something all golfers should support, as there are so many poor-quality municipal courses in the U.S. that could be renovated and provide positive engagement for residents in their local communities. Expect $50 – $80/round.

Private Courses – These courses are presented in no particular order

• Kiawah Island Club – Cassique – A Tom Watson design that currently ranks #166 in GolfDigest’s latest rating of U.S. courses. Cassique sits just outside the gates of Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Should you secure an invite, you should happily accept. Expect a guest fee of around $300/round.

• Kiawah Island Club – River – Tom Fazio designed the original course at Kiawah Island Club, a course sandwiched between the Kiawah resort courses along the Kiawah River. Again, this is an invite worth accepting, as the River course comes in as the last ranked course in the U.S. at #200 in GolfDigest’s ranking, and has been host to recent USGA events. Expect a guest fee of around $300/round.

• Country Club of Charleston – Last but not least in the great trio of private clubs in this area, the Seth Raynor original is #15 in South Carolina per Top100 and #12 in South Carolina per GolfDigest. Accept this invite Expect a guest fee of around $150/round.

• The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek – Coming in at #25 on Top100’s best in state list and #26 on Golf Digest’s best in SC, this exclusive club is worth checking out should you get an invite.

• Seabrook Island Club – Seabrook, despite being close geographically to Kiawah, is a bit of a drive, and given the quality of golf in the area, I’d consider this a pass for a guest fee of $175/round, unless you are on a stay longer than two weeks in the area and receive an invite.

Charleston / Mount Pleasant Area

Public Courses – These courses are presented in no particular order.

• Wild Dunes – Links Course – The original Tom Fazio, as this was Fazio’s first solo-designed course, and I personally found it to be a bit of an aging, hidden gem (see my review here). The course has a strong final stretch with multiple beachfront finishing holes. I’d consider this a must play in the area for the price. Depending on demand and time of day, expect a green fee between $120 – $200/round. At the end of 2023, Wild Dunes announced an $8 million renovation to its courses, so verify availability before you go!

• Wild Dunes Resort – Harbor Course – The sister course to the Links course, often at a better value, with less beach & ocean views. The locals told me they actually preferred this course to the Links course; maybe they get tired of beachfront golf holes in Charleston. Expect a green fee between $79 – $129/round.

• Patriot Point Golf Links – Popular public course directly on the Charleston Harbor. Good views, varying course conditions, and steep price due to the course’s location; expect $100 – $150/round.

• The Links at Stono Ferry – This course is geographically out on its own about 30-minutes west of Charleston. This course gets positive reviews online and has a few scenic holes along the Stono River. Expect $100-120/round.

• RiverTowne Country Club – Starting off the Mt. Pleasant trio of courses, RiverTowne is an Arnold Palmer course that draws decent online reviews. Expect between $70 – $120/round.

• Dunes West Golf and River Club – Dunes West is an Arthur Hills course (very underrated designer, in my opinion) just north of RiverTowne which also elicits decent reviews online. Expect around $100 – $120/round.

• Charleston National Golf Club – Perhaps the most interesting of the Mt. Pleasant public courses, with rates around $90 – $110/round, this Rees Jones design is visually striking but reviews online are a hodgepodge of positive reviews and complaints about course conditions.

Private Courses – These courses are presented in no particular order

• Yeamans Hall Club – The best course in Charleston proper, Yeamans Hall ranks just outside the top-100 courses according to GolfDigest at #104 and is the second or third best course in the state, depending on the publication. If you get this invitation, accept enthusiastically. Expect a very reasonable guest fee of $150/round.

• Daniel Island Club – Daniel Island Club has 36-holes that rank #36 and #48 on Top100GolfCourses’s best in South Carolina rankings. However, for a guest fee likely less than $150/round, this could be an interesting option as it is superior to the public options in the Mt. Pleasant area, for a similar price.

• Snee Farm Country Club – Snee Farm appears to be the private equivalent to RiverTowne and Dunes West that it neighbors, but has a reasonable guest fee under $100/round, should you secure an invitation.

• Bulls Bay Golf Club – Mike Strantz is a legend in the golf course design community, and Bulls Bay was Strantz’ first private course design. It required a large amount of earth moving to create a visually striking course in an otherwise flat, coastal plain. If you get the opportunity to play one of Strantz’ few courses, you should jump at the opportunity. Bulls Bay ranks #14 in SC according to Top100 and #25 according to Golf Digest. The guest fee should be a relatively reasonable $140/round or less.

Beaufort Area Private Courses

This area of South Carolina is about a 90-minute drive from the Charleston or Kiawah, but the area has a few private courses well worth the drive if you can secure an invitation to play!

• Congaree Golf Club – Ultra private, but if you got this invitation, you already knew this and hopefully you’ve already said yes. Congaree is #39 in the U.S. and #2 in South Carolina according to GolfDigest. It is so private that I don’t know the guest fee, but if you are a guest, money likely isn’t an object for you.

• Secession Golf Club – Secession has a largely national membership, so securing an invite may be easier for those visiting Charleston or Savannah, as you may have a member of Secession in your hometown! The #5 course in South Carolina and #159 in the US, this is a bucket list low-country course. Expect a guest fee of $150, which is extremely reasonable for a top-200 course. The website is members only, so no link above.

• Chechessee Creek Club – Chechessee Creek Club, or C3 as the members call it, is a great Coore & Crenshaw design on an otherwise uninspiring piece of property. See my complete review of C3 HERE. The low country vibes at this club are the lowest of low country, and C3 has equal parts national and local membership, meaning an invite might be easier to find than you’d think. Coore & Crenshaw always do great work, and this one is a must play should you get an invite, with the major publications putting this between #10 – #15 best course in SC. The guest fee will run around $150/round.

• Old Tabby Golf Links – C3’s neighbor and an Arnold Palmer design, Top100 ranks this course #16 in state and GolfDigest ranks it as #14 in SC. Unfortunately, I don’t know the guest fee for this one. Sorry!

Transportation

Unfortunately, due to the golf scene in Charleston, you are going to need a car to get around. Charleston International Airport (CHS) is around an hour from Kiawah Island Golf Resort or Wild Dunes Resort, and around 30-minutes from any of the Downtown hotels or rental houses. There are no golf courses on this list within a reasonable rideshare or taxi distance from the airport. This trip is not centered around the airport, so prepare to rent a car.

You can check rental car prices for CHS by clicking this link.

I have a bit of a life hack though. There are local branches of the national car rental agencies within a short (less than 10 minute uber) from the airport, and due to airport fees at CHS, the same car can rent for $300-$400 more dollars per week from the airport rental locations than the local, off-airport locations. If you are looking to save a few dollars, at the expense of convenience upon arrival, check out these off-airport, neighborhood locations for better prices.

The Ideal Golf Trip

If I could go to Charleston for the first time for a buddies golf trip, and play four days, this would be my schedule if I had a reasonable budget and I wasn’t being invited to any of the private courses in the area:

Accommodations: Rental House in Downtown Charleston

Golf Rounds:

• Day 1: 36 holes at Kiawah Island Golf Resort: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island (AM), Osprey Point Golf Course (PM)²
• Day 2: 18 holes/36 holes at one/two of the Mt. Pleasant golf courses that best fit your eye (Dunes West, RiverTowne, Charleston National)
• Day 3: 36 holes at Wild Dunes Resort: Links Course (AM), Harbor Course (PM)
• Day 4: 18 holes at Charleston Municipal Golf Course

For non-resort guests, the Kiawah day should run about $750, the Wild Dunes day around $225, the Mt. Pleasant day around $120, and Charleston Muni around $80, meaning an all in golf price of around $1200 for six rounds, which includes a top-25 U.S. course. Not bad! However, if you wanted to reduce that price, just play the Links course at Wild Dunes, and perhaps nix Osprey Point’s replay to save more money; you might be tired anyways after 18-holes at the Ocean Course, which can be brutally tough in the wind.

Did I miss anything? Leave a comment and tell me your hidden gems or life hacks in the Charleston Area!

1. Pro tip: decide if you want to eat at the resort restaurants before the trip, and if so, book reservations for The Ocean Room and The Atlantic Room as soon as your reservation window opens. ↩︎
2. Often with Kiawah Island Golf Resort courses, a replay rate will be at a discounted rate and can be played at a different resort course, but the Ocean cannot be played as a replay from any other resort course. This means that Osprey here could likely be played as a replay for $125 or so. Check with the resort upon booking for the discounted replay rate. ↩︎