Tidewater Golf Club: rates, access and what the course is like

Tidewater Golf Club is a public, daily-fee course on the bluffs above the Cherry Grove marsh in North Myrtle Beach. Anyone can book it online, by phone, on GolfNow or in a package. Public rates are dynamic and not published; Chronogolf showed undated averages of $118 weekday and $133 weekend. It is about 38 minutes from the SkyWheel.

Ken Tomlinson built it in 1990, and it is still one of the courses people mean when they say the North Strand has golf worth driving for. This guide covers who can play Tidewater Golf Club, what the rates look like, the tees, the maintenance calendar and where to sleep nearby. Prices change by date and hour, so read every figure as a guide.

Quick facts

• Access: public daily fee, managed by KemperSports.
• Location: 1400 Tidewater Dr, North Myrtle Beach (Cherry Grove). Phone 843-913-2424.
• Layout: 18 holes, par 72, Ken Tomlinson, 1990.
• Back tees: 7,044 yards, 74.3 rating, 144 slope.
• Greens: MiniVerde ultradwarf bermuda since a rebuild around 2014.
• Overseed: rye around Thanksgiving, course stays open.
• Aerification: August 2-9, 2026 (done); August 1-8, 2027.
• Drive: about 38 minutes and 23.3 miles from the SkyWheel.

Is Tidewater Golf Club open to the public?

Yes. Tidewater sits inside a residential community, which confuses some first-timers, but it is a daily-fee course and nobody needs to be a member or a resident to play. KemperSports manages it, and the club site links to a KemperClub membership for locals.

There are four ways to get a time: the club's own online booking, the golf shop by phone, GolfNow, and golf packages that include it. The course conditions page dated October 26, 2026 had it open with no restrictions and the range on grass.

Tidewater Golf Club rates

Tidewater does not post a public rate card. Its internet rates move with demand, so the price you see depends on the date, the time and how full the sheet is. The only public averages in our files are Chronogolf's undated figures: about $118 on weekdays and $133 on weekends, seen in November 2026. Treat those as a rough level, not a quote.

Locals get a fixed price through the Players Card, open to residents and property owners in Horry, Georgetown and Brunswick counties. The card costs a $299 initial fee, with 2027 renewals listed at $79 to $179. These are the card rates, including tax, from the club's membership page read in November 2026:

Card holders can bring up to three guests at the card rate plus $5 each, and card holders who book more than 48 hours out through the golf shop get 20% off the internet rate. If you are a snowbird renting for a whole winter, ask the club whether a Grand Strand rental counts toward the residency rule; the files do not say.

For visitors, the pattern from the rest of the Strand holds: spring and fall are the expensive seasons and December to February the cheap one. Our Myrtle Beach golf rates guide shows how fees move by month.

Tee times and booking window

The public booking window is not published. The club's membership page says annual members book 72 hours ahead and Players Card holders 48 hours ahead. Visitors booking online or through a package seller can usually see further out than that, but how far was not stated.

For a buddies trip in March, April or October, lock Tidewater in early through whatever channel you use. Reviewers in 2026 flagged slow rounds on tournament days, so ask the shop whether an event is on before you commit to a morning time. Our Myrtle Beach tee times guide covers the booking systems across the Strand.

The tees

Tidewater gives you a long ladder of tees, and the slope drops quickly as you move up. Most mid-handicap groups will be happiest on the White or Blue.

Women's slopes were not clear in the sources, so they are left out. Some other sites show 73.9/148 for the Black tees, possibly an older or newer rating; check the card at the course.

What the course is like

The course runs along the bluffs above the Cherry Grove marsh and the Intracoastal Waterway. Several holes play along the tidal inlet, and the 13th green has a view of the Atlantic. That marsh-and-water setting is the reason to come, and it is also where the trouble is: forced carries over marsh and wind off the inlet make the back tees a real test.

Around 2014, Kris Spence Golf Design rebuilt the greens with MiniVerde ultradwarf bermuda, restored them to their original size (adding about 10,000 square feet), improved drainage and widened the fairways. Some older listings still say the greens are bent; they are not.

Tidewater was listed in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Public Courses for 2011-12. On myrtlebeachgolf.com it scored 4.43 out of 5 from 966 golfer reviews, with reviews running through October 2026.

Off the course there is a grass driving range, a golf school and lessons, a pro shop, Joey's Clubhouse Grille and Bogey's Grab N' Go.

Overseed and aerification

Tidewater overseeds with rye around Thanksgiving and stays open through it; the 2026 dates were still to be set on October 26. Expect a couple of weeks of temporary conditions in late November and early December. A March 2026 review mentioned painted greens, so the winter look may be part rye, part paint.

Greens aerification ran August 2-9 in 2026 and is scheduled for August 1-8 in 2027. The fall peak here runs into mid-November, before the overseed. If you want the course at its best, October and the first half of November are the window. Our guide to Myrtle Beach golf winter conditions explains overseed versus dormant bermuda.

Tidewater against other North Strand courses

If you are building a North Strand trip, these are the courses you will weigh Tidewater against. Rates are the most recent dated figures in our files and are not like for like: say which kind before you compare.

All the drive times are routed estimates without traffic. Glen Dornoch is the closest match in feel, also playing along the Intracoastal; see the Glen Dornoch course guide and our Glen Dornoch golf post. Barefoot's four courses are compared in our Barefoot Resort golf guide, and the Barefoot Dye course guide has its tees and rates. For the area as a whole, read North Myrtle Beach golf.

Where to stay for Tidewater

From the SkyWheel, Tidewater is a 38-minute drive, which is fine once but adds up over a trip. A North Strand base cuts that down:

• Hampton Inn North Myrtle Beach-Harbourgate is about 8 minutes and 2.6 miles away, on the waterway, with free breakfast and an indoor pool. No live rate was captured in November 2026: check rates.
• Avista Resort is an oceanfront condo hotel on Ocean Drive in North Myrtle Beach, about 14 minutes away. Check rates.
• Barefoot RV Resort is about 18 minutes away for golfers travelling with an RV.

The same base works for Little River and Longs; see Little River golf courses.

Is Tidewater worth it?

For a group based on the North Strand, yes: it is the area's strongest course outside Barefoot for scenery, and the marsh and inlet holes are different from the pine-lined inland courses. The case against is price uncertainty, since there is no public rate card, and the 38-minute drive if you are staying in central Myrtle Beach. Put it on a day when you are already heading north, and play it in October or early November before the overseed. For a ranked view across the whole Strand, see the best golf courses in Myrtle Beach.

Plan it on the map

Open the Myrtle Beach golf map to see Tidewater Golf Club next to the other North Strand courses, the hotels around Cherry Grove and Harbourgate, and the drive times between them. The $30 plan puts Tidewater on the right day of your trip, alongside the courses that sit closest to it.