Bald Head Island Club

Bald Head Island Golf Club is a 30-minute ferry ride from the mainland, and the ferry itself is an hour from the Myrtle Beach International Airport. You have to pay for both the ferry ride and parking. In other words, you have to really want to play there.

The payoff is almost always a leisurely round on a good, island course that harbors a variety of wildlife. It's not that well-known in the Myrtle Beach market, and the owners are making an extra effort to lure a few more rounds - but not too many more.

Bald head island is a "rustic, primarily house-free track that should leave fans of 'core' golf sporting a blissful afterglow," according to a TravelGolf.com course review.

It's a George Cobb design, with no cart paths, no earth moved, no parallel holes and no fairway bunkers. It moves through the island's thick stands of live oaks and dense patches of coastal vegetation.

One of the hazards is a near-constant wind, so bring your knock-down shot. The course has some notable holes, notably the par-3 16th, the par-4 18th and the 505-yard par-5 fourth.