How do you like your Myrtle Beach course rankings? Golf Digest panel, MB golfers rate favorites

Two recent Myrtle Beach golf course rankings have debuted this year, and present very different points of view on the best courses in the Grand Strand.

One comes from Golf Digest, serving up their “Super 60″ of Myrtle Beach. The other comes MBGolfInsider.com, which bases its rankings on input from players - not panelists.

They’re wildly different results. When magazine panelists rate courses, value doesn’t tend to play a big part in their minds - the courses are practically ranked by green fee. For regular golfers, value is usually #1. It’s also easier to condition private courses that receive fewer rounds (five privates are in GD’s Top 20) - which is another very important denominator for visiting players who usually book rounds with a hope that their course will be in as good of shape as expected.

Golf Digest rates Caledonia Golf & FIsh Club No. 1 and True Blue No. 3 - they clearly love the lowcountry and Mike Strantz. A few courses I felt were slighted by the panelists were King’s North (24th), the Witch (36th) and Willbrook Plantation (39th).

As for the MB Golf Insider, some stalwarts like Tidewater and Heritage Club are on the outside looking in. Both scored 8.1/10, missing the Top 25 by .1. River’s Edge, a Top 10 course by Golf Digest standards, is just a 7.8 at MBGolfInsider, but from what I’m hearing, the recently installed greens are much better than the old bent, and golfers are ranking it higher and higher.

So before you book your Myrtle Beach golf vacation, check them both out - or visit some of our most recent Myrtle Beach course reviews at WorldGolf.com.