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<p><em>Story by Chris King</em></p>
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<p>Ask someone to list the Myrtle Beach area’s most influential courses and a few layouts immediately come up.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/pine-lakes-country-club">Pine Lakes</a>, “The Granddaddy,” <a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/the-dunes-golf-and-beach-club">The Dunes Club</a>, the host of a PGA Tour event, and <a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/caledonia-golf-and-fish-club">Caledonia</a>, Mike Strantz’s first solo design, all come quickly to mind. Here is another one that deserves to be mentioned early in that discussion: <a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/tidewater-golf-club-plantation">Tidewater Golf Club</a>.</p>
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<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="500" src="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TW18.png" alt="" class="wp-image-15034" style="width:300px" srcset="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TW18.png 600w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TW18-300x250.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure></div>

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<p>Located in Cherry Grove, Tidewater opened in 1990 (it was delayed due to the havoc Hurricane Hugo wreaked along the South Carolina coast in September of 1989) at a time when Myrtle Beach was known for having a lot of good layouts. Tidewater is a great course and its emergence on the golf travel scene helped elevate the destination.</p>
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<p>The first course ever named best new public course by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, Tidewater is renowned for its beauty, with eight holes that play along either Cherry Grove Inlet or the Intracoastal Waterway. It was once famously called “The Pebble Beach of the East,” and while that, in hindsight, is a little aggressive, it highlights just how scenic the layout is.</p>
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<p>Holes 3, 4, 12 and 13 play along Cherry Grove Inlet, and there is a strong argument to be made that all four are among the Myrtle Beach area’s 10 most scenic holes. Taken as a group, there are few courses along the entire East Coast that can match the views the quartet offers.</p>
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<p>Why is <a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/tidewater-golf-club-plantation">Tidewater</a> regarded as an outstanding course, but not necessarily an influential one? There are two reasons, neither of which should carry much weight.</p>
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<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="500" src="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TWT.png" alt="" class="wp-image-15035" style="width:300px" srcset="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TWT.png 600w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TWT-300x250.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure></div>

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<p>For starters, much of a course’s cache is often tied to its architect, and Ken Tomlinson, a tax attorney by trade, is listed as Tidewater’s designer. Nobody is rushing to talk about Tomlinson’s architectural genius.</p>
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<p>Of course, Tomlinson wasn’t Tidewater’s primary architect. Rees Jones handled most of the design work but reportedly had a falling out with Tomlinson over design meddling. The result is Tidewater being something of an architectural orphan, which is unfortunate, because it unfairly hurts the course’s standing in the various ratings list.</p>
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<p>Secondly, there is considerable distance between many of the holes. The best land on the property was used for golf, hence those beautiful waterfront views, but the distance is a turn-off for golf’s cognoscenti.</p>
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<p>Neither of those things will impact your experience.</p>
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<p>Tidewater is on the short list of Myrtle Beach’s best &#8211; area <a href="https://www.mbn.com/news/the-best-of-myrtle-beach-golf-pga-professionals-rank-areas-top-25-courses">PGA professionals ranked it No. 4</a> &#8211; and the combination of shot-making and beauty the layout demands are a winner.</p>
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<p><strong>Best Hole &#8211; No. 4, Par-4, 430 yards (tips)</strong><br>Cherry Grove Inlet runs along the port side of this dogleg left, the area’s prettiest par 4. Don’t be fooled by the scenery as this is the course’s stiffest challenge. A gentle draw off the tee is rewarded, but a long approach, often from a downhill lie, awaits. The green runs from front to back and a two-putt is no guarantee.</p>
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<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="500" src="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TW13.png" alt="" class="wp-image-15032" style="width:300px" srcset="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TW13.png 600w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TW13-300x250.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure></div>

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<p><strong>Prettiest Hole Is &#8211; No. 13, Par-5, 543 yards</strong><br>Singling out a hole for its beauty at Tidewater requires some serious hair-splitting, but I’ll take the 13th over the par-3 third hole by the narrowest of margins. Why? The view from the 13th green offers a distant view of the inlet and the Atlantic Ocean.<em> (13th pictured right)</em></p>
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<p><strong>Most Important Club in Your Bag is …</strong><br>The easy answer, on any course, is the putter, but <a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/tidewater-golf-club-plantation">Tidewater</a> plays 6,771 yards from the blue tees and a meaty 6,323 yards from the white tees. Throw in a few forced carries on the approach, and hitting the driver well is vital at Tidewater. The fairways offer plenty of room, but you better hit them.</p>
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<p><strong>Should You Play Tidewater?</strong><br>Yes. This is a bucket list Myrtle Beach golf course.</p>
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<p><em>Photos for this feature from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/myrtlebeachgolftrips/">MyrtleBeachGolfTrips</a> Instagram Account</em></p>
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