Golf in South Carolina
Overview
What golf looks like for retirement in South Carolina: where to do it, what the state costs, and the towns that fit.
Course sample
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island
Golf ranking
#9
South Carolina scores 82/100 for retirement golf fit.
Current weather
Checking current weather
Find places
This page explains golf in South Carolina. The sorter handles the local question by city or ZIP.
Golf in South Carolina
South Carolina hosts more than 450 golf courses, with the Myrtle Beach area, Hilton Head Island, and Bluffton serving as the state's top golf destinations. Many communities have public or semi-private courses that welcome daily-fee play, and retirement communities across the Lowcountry and Upstate often include on-site golf access.
Published local price
City of Dillon Municipal Golf Course (Dillon, SC); non-member 18-hole rate Monday-Thursday with cart. Friday-Sunday rate is $25. No walk-only rate posted.
Published range: $20 to $25.
City of Dillon Municipal Golf Course · as of 2023Where to go
Golf score
7th of 51 states for retirement golf
Golf score blends year-round playability (34%), playable access (16%), affordability (16%), course pedigree (12%), and statewide course density (22%).
Courses
A sample of marquee courses across South Carolina, with where to play and how to book.
Windswept seaside holes that hosted the War by the Shore · Pete Dye and Alice Dye
This is bucket-list golf along the Atlantic, and it stays a walking course with caddies for most of the year. Bring your camera and plan for the wind off the ocean.
Opened 1991 · $$$$ · Slope 153
Photo: Pammymags, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tight oak-lined fairways to the famous red-and-white lighthouse · Pete Dye with Jack Nicklaus
You finish under the candy-striped lighthouse on Hilton Head, the same closing hole the pros play each spring. It is cart-path-only most of the year, so a caddie is a fine way to enjoy the walk.
Opened 1969 · $$$$ · Slope 147
Photo: danperry.com, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An old rice-plantation drive under century-old live oaks · Mike Strantz
You arrive down an avenue of moss-draped oaks at this Pawleys Island favorite, with a clubhouse porch made for a cold drink after. The course feels private even though anyone can book a tee time.
Opened 1994 · $$$ · Slope 132
Course profile
Waterloo, the long par 5 that bends around a lake · Robert Trent Jones Sr.
This is the grande dame of Myrtle Beach golf, a member-owned classic by Robert Trent Jones along the shore. It is a private club, so you will need a member or a resort package to get on.
Opened 1948 · $$$$ · Slope 141
A campus course with generous fairways and big greens · Gene Hamm
This is the Grand Strand's university course in Conway, and it plays fair without giving the day away. A relaxed, well-kept option when you want good golf at a friendlier rate.
$$ · Slope 135
Course profile
Rolling Upstate terrain on a tree-lined college campus · John LaFoy
Set on Furman University's campus near Greenville, this is widely rated the best public golf in the Upstate. The rolling ground and mature trees give it a calm, parkland feel.
$$ · Slope 134
Short and quirky with blind doglegs and fast greens · John Inglis
This century-old course in horse-country Aiken rewards a sharp short game more than raw distance. At just over 6,000 yards it is an easy, charming walk with a lot of character.
Opened 1912 · $$ · Slope 115
Pines and lakeside holes inside a quiet state park · Tom Jackson
Tucked inside a state park in the Pee Dee, this is value golf among the pines with the cart included in the rate. A peaceful, uncrowded round when you want to keep the budget friendly.
$ · Slope 130
We've mapped 19 courses across South Carolina so far.
What South Carolina costs
Cost of living
94
BEA index, U.S. = 100
State income tax
~4.0% state income-tax planning rate
Social Security
Not taxed
How people start
Most metros list city-run courses with published fee schedules. Those set the affordable floor before any private club enters the picture.
Many courses post a reduced weekday senior rate and a season pass. The difference between pay-per-round and a pass is the number that usually drives the yearly cost.
In warm states the season runs most of the year; in cold ones it is a few months. The yearly cost is rounds-per-year times rate, plus cart and equipment.
Towns in South Carolina
Charleston Municipal Golf Course (2110 Maybank Hwy., James Island) is the city's public 18-hole facility, known locally as The Muni, situated between the Stono River and Riverland Terrace roughly 10 minutes from downtown. Charleston National Golf Club (1360 National Dr., Mt. Pleasant) is a Rees Jones-designed public championship course, and Rivertowne Country Club features an 18-hole Arnold Palmer Signature layout with year-round daily fee play.
City of Charleston / Charleston National Golf ClubCommon questions
South Carolina hosts more than 450 golf courses, with the Myrtle Beach area, Hilton Head Island, and Bluffton serving as the state's top golf destinations. Many communities have public or semi-private courses that welcome daily-fee play, and retirement communities across the Lowcountry and Upstate often include on-site golf access. Towns like Charleston have their own local options.
South Carolina has a cost-of-living index near 94 (U.S. = 100), about a 4.0% state income-tax planning rate, and does not tax Social Security. The full state guide breaks down property tax, sales tax, and long-term-care costs, each sourced.
Sources
The life your money is for