Avoid the charleston national 5-hour $100 round at all costs
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CC of Spartanburg is my choice for best in the area (spartanburg area). Carolina is a fine alternate and i think a bit cheaper. But both are very reasonable for private courses, especially for those sub-40. Both good courses
Spartanburg is “Ross inspired” (he designed one of the nines but they lost the papers in a fire at some point), kinda landlocked but they have some long term plans for that from what i hear. Greens are great. They host the Bobby Chapman Invitational in the fall so its got a little street cred as well.
Carolina redid their greens several years back and i havent played in anything but scrambles since, but they came in nicely. Its a longer course but i find the greens to be less challenging.
Im not sure about the long term outlook of Carolina but they have had some financial issues within the last 10 years however i havent heard much since they changed ownership last so i assume everything worked out. Spartanburg is on the cusp of a wait list for comparison.
Public is meh. The creek and palmetto hills in town arent great and are hit or miss with conditions. Village greens is usually in decent shape and does feature a Ray Charles designed 18th as mentioned. River Falls is the other option ( think Gary Players group was involved with that one), also in decent shape most days and affordable. Also has some questionable designs. Woodfin Ridge used to be great, then went downhill, and from what ive heard is making a resurgence. I havent been out there in quite some time.
30 minutes away you have Three Pines, Links O Tryon, and a couple others i forget. They are all in the good category the last times ive played.
Greenville is much of the same with a great private option, a few decent public ones, and several goat tracks.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
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Cory - do you do graphic design? Your logo avatar indicates you might.
Sorta kinda. I’m a UI/UX engineer. I dabble a little just for fun with graphic design. I would say I’m good at riffing on things I see but not necessarily coming up with something off the top of my head. But isn’t everything derivative these days anyway? 
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SC folks, any course recommendations in the Florence area? Trying to find a meeting spot between Raleigh and Charleston and seems like Florence may make the most sense.
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Never played it but I have heard others speak highly of Country Club of SC (https://www.countryclubsc.com/) just north of Florence
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Florence CC if you can get on is fun. Golden age type design, hosts a lot of SCGA and junior events. It’s private but they tend to be accommodating.
Camden CC is also unbelievable. It would take you off I95, but you could hop off 95, take 20-W toe Columbia and down 77 to Charleston. Camden would be worth the diversion.
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Looks like a pretty fun course - will definitely consider this one.
For Florence CC, Is the best way to try and get on to just give them a call? What about Camden - any hope there?
Id guess zero chance of cold calling Florence.
decent shot at Camden if you tell them you’re out of town one time thing.
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Agree. If you’re a member somewhere in NC, their pro could likely work it out at either.
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If you are a member somewhere then have your pro call Florence CC. Better chance that way.
Some budget public options are The Traces which is 27 holes right off I-20/I-95 and Olde English which just reopened and rebranded last year. It’s on the other side of Florence county but could be an affordable option. I’m looking to go play there some time on my way to the beach.
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I cannot personally vouch, but Sugarloaf Social’s Hidden Gem Map has the City of Dillon’s municipal course as one of their hidden gems. They also had aiken golf club and the charleston muni as their other SC courses, so it’s in good company.
I suppose you could go to Caledonia or True Blue and just hug the coast from Pawleys to Charleston. I’d guess about +45min travel time compared to a Raleigh—>Charleston straight shot.
I think he’s trying to meet someone in the middle between Raleigh and Charleston.
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Caledonia greens are a mess
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This is correct. Need something somewhat in between and Florence seems like the best bet. Unfortunately, not a member anywhere so will more than likely try to play at CC of SC.
Ahh. I can’t vouch for it, but Cheraw State park has a good reputation.
Recent reviews suggest that it is not in great condition.
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Really bad? I’m heading to Pawleys in 3 weeks and usually play at the Reserve, the course has been really beaten up in the last 9 months; I was thinking about playing Caledonia but sounds like they also have some conditioning issues.
SAD!