Barefoot Resort & Golf Club, Love Course, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - Ranked #1 Among the Top 50 Courses in Myrtle Beach by Golf Digest

The Barefoot Resort & Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach is a golf paradise, with four courses designed by some of the most recognized names in golf: Greg Norman, Tom Fazio, Pete Dye, and Davis Love III. Of the four, it's the Love Course that has received some of the best reviews, with Golf Digest rating it the #1 course among the Top 50 Courses in golf-rich Myrtle Beach and its Grand Strand.

Davis Love III is a native of Carolina and his course design reflects the tradition of Lowcountry character, incorporating the recreated ruins of an old plantation along several holes. The course is considered traditional in design, and features wide-open fairways and generous landing areas, which makes driver the club of choice and "bombing it'' the way to go. There are, however, some trees located in the middle of fairways to give golfers pause and make for some decisions.

There are a number of often-dramatic forced carries on the layout, and the doglegs keep coming at you on this course, making for a lot of risk/reward holes where players can take different paths to the green. It's there, around the green complexes - which are said to be similar to those found at Pinehurst #2 in terms of shape and contours - where things tend to get more difficult.

The 18-hole, par-72 course, which opened in 2000, plays to more than 7,047 yards from the longest (Platinum) tees, with a USGA rating of 73.9 and a slope rating of 138 on GN-1 tees and fairways, Tif-sport Bermuda grass approach areas, and A-1 Bentgrass greens. The rough areas are 419 Bermuda grass and feature some very tall, club-snaring grasses that golfers will want to avoid at all costs.

The signature hole at the Barefoot Love Course is No. 4. In keeping with the "bomb it'' mentality of the layout, this is a reachable par-4 that plays to only 294 yards from the longest tees, and 265 yards from the Whites. The green is elevated and well-guarded by bunkers on the front, left and right, however, and wayward shots tend to be punished on this hole. Just beyond the green lie the replicated plantation ruins, which are a signature element of the course.

Practice facilities at the Barefoot Resort include a short-game area, as well as a newly completed driving range that stays open as late as 11 p.m. The resort also features two clubhouses, including the 35,000-square-foot Resort Clubhouse, which is said to give guests a sense of "presence'' and "greatness.'' The clubhouse features a pro shop, dining and other amenities.