A list of the “50 Best Golf Courses in South Carolina” was released late last month, and it confirmed what those of us in the Lowcountry have known all along. The best courses in the golf-rich Palmetto State, public and private, are located right here in Beaufort County. 

The list was compiled by the South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel, consisting of 125 industry leaders, top amateur players and coaches and media representatives from the state’s four regions – the Upstate, Midlands, Grand Strand and Lowcountry. Equally diverse in terms of playing level and backgrounds, each member is charged with personally visiting the courses and ranking them according to routing, variety, strategy, equity (shot values), memorability, aesthetics and overall experience (including practice areas, clubhouse, etc.).

On the 2008 list, 16 of the 50 courses are located in Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Beaufort, Okatie or Daufuskie Island. We had four courses in the Top 10, led by Harbour Town Golf Links at No. 1, Bluffton’s May River Golf Club at Palmetto Bluff (4), Hilton Head’s Long Cove Club (5) and Beaufort’s Secession Golf Club (9).

Not surprising, the “new” Heron Point course in Sea Pines – the old Sea Marsh layout radically improved by Pete Dye – made its debut at No. 25 on the list. But I was pleasantly surprised to see both of Fripp Island’s courses make the top 50, the Davis Love III-designed Ocean Creek at No. 43 and Ocean Point, the resort’s classic George Cobb design, ranked No. 28 after being left off the list two years ago. This Beaufort-area beauty is in its best condition in years and offers a half-dozen holes that view the Atlantic.

The SC Ratings Panel will release its list of “Best Courses You Can Play” in 2009, and while Myrtle Beach will dominate by sheer volume, you can bet that our highly rated public-access courses will justifiably represent.

For a complete list of the 2008 “50 Best Courses in South Carolina,” go to www.scgolfpanel.org.