Dunes Golf & Beach Club, The

Few courses along the Grand Strand carry the historical weight of The Dunes Golf & Beach Club. Opened in 1949 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., it stands as one of his earliest and most celebrated designs — a course that helped establish Myrtle Beach as a serious golf destination decades before the area became the resort corridor it is today. The club has hosted multiple Senior Tour events and remains a benchmark against which newer courses in the region are measured.

The layout is best known for its 13th hole, "Waterloo" — a par 5 that bends around Lake Singleton and has been tormenting and delighting players for 75 years. Jones used the natural coastal terrain with real intelligence here, weaving water, wind, and generous but demanding greens into a test that feels timeless rather than dated.

The Dunes sits at the upper tier of Myrtle Beach golf — a private club in a sea of public resort tracks, with the pedigree and conditioning to match. For anyone serious about the game, it remains the Grand Strand's most historically significant address.