By Bill F. Hensley

Golfers in the Carolinas don’t have to look hard to find a top-rated golf course open for public play. Gone are the days when daily fee courses were tired, beat-up facilities that would serve better as a neighborhood cow pasture.

In North Carolina, players may  head for a long list of daily fee layouts that include the famed Pinehurst No. 2, the site of two US Open championships; and the historic Linville Golf Club in the mountains. All three were designed by the renowned  Donald Ross, whose reputation for creating great courses is legendary.

And in South Carolina, such well-known courses as the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island, and the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach welcome the public. All three have hosted professional golf tournaments, including a dramatic Ryder Cup on the Ocean Course.

“There is no shortage of fine courses for the public in either state,” offered Ben Vernon of Charlotte.  "We are very fortunate in that regard, and all the top architects— including Ross,  Fazio, Nicklaus, Dye,  Jones and others—are represented."

All total, the two states  have more than a thousand courses with a vast majority available to walk-in traffic. What’s more, golf is played year-round except for a few rare days of unseasonably cold weather, and the courses are easily accessible  in all corners of the Carolinas.

South Carolina’s Top 10
South Carolina’s raters pick courses by in-state regions and not in numerical order of popularity. However, "Golf Digest" magazine ratings for the current year had the courses in this order: Ocean Course at Kiawah Island; Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island; Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, Pawley’s Island; The Dunes Club, Myrtle Beach; May River at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton; Tidewater, Myrtle Beach; the TPC at Myrtle Beach; Wild Dunes, Isle of Palms; Grande Dunes, Myrtle Beach; and Barefoot Landing (Love course), Myrtle Beach.

"Our public courses are quite impressive," remarked Michael Whitaker, director of the South Carolina rating panel, "and offer great variety in challenges, scenery, design and locations. There is something for everyone here, including a warm welcome."

Green fees, in most cases, are seasonal and may be obtained by calling the courses. Many of the facilities offer special package rates.

SC's Top Courses by Region (excluding the top 10):
Midlands:  Mount Vintage Plantation, North Augusta Charleston:  Osprey, Kiawah; Turtle Point, Kiawah; River Towne, Mount Pleasant; Crooked Oaks, Seabrook Island;  Ocean Winds, Seabrook Island. Hilton Head: Melrose, Daufauskie Island; Arthur Hills, Palmetto Dunes. Myrtle Beach: Dye, Barefoot Landing;  Fazio, Barefoot Landing; Norman, Barefoot Landing; King’s North, Myrtle Beach National; Heathland at the Legends;  Pawley’s Plantation,  Pawley’s Island; Pine Lakes International; Prestwick; Heritage, Pawley’s Island;  True Blue Plantation, Pawley’s Island;  Wachesaw Plantation-East, Murrell’s Inlet; Avocet, Wild Wing Plantation; World Tour Links.

North Carolina’s Top 10
The North Carolina golf panel, a statewide group of more than a hundred course raters, recently announced its 2006 rankings.  The top 10 public-access courses represented a stellar list of championship designs,, that included Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Needles in Southern Pines, Linville Golf Club in Linville, Pinehurst No.4, Pinehurst No.8, River Landing in Wallace, Rock Barn Golf and Spa near Hickory, Mid South in Southern Pines, Duke University in Durham and Mid Pines in Southern Pines.

"Those are 10 great courses for players of all skill levels," commented the panel’s executive director., Kevin Brafford of Greensboro,  "It’s always a thrill for me—when I play the classic courses—to know that I’m playing where all the greats have played, such as Tiger Woods, Palmer, Nicklaus, Hogan and Snead.  And in most cases, the costs are reasonable."

Rounding Out the Top 25 in NC, as Selected by the Panel:
11—Finley, Chapel Hill
12—Tiger’s Eye, Sunset Beach
13—Tanglewood, Clemmons
14—Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst
15—Grove Park Inn, Asheville
16—Grandover-East, Greensboro
17—Anderson Creek, Spring Lake
18—Mt. Mitchell, Burnsville
19—Bald Head, Bald Head Island
20—Tobacco Road, Sanford
21—Bryan Park—Champions,
       Browns Summit
22—Sea Trail-Jones, Sunset Beach
23—Ballantyne Resort, Charlotte
24—Crow Creek, Calabash
25—Heritage, Wake Forest