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Despite its status as one of the world's largest and most popular golf destinations, Myrtle Beach has seen barely any brand-new golf courses built in the 21st century. Several of its best layouts have enjoyed solid renovation work, but the last from-scratch new-build was Leopard's Chase Golf Club at Ocean Ridge Plantation, which debuted in 2007. Since then, only The Aero Club, a short course built on the site of a defunct par-3 course, has been able to be considered a new Myrtle Beach-area golf course.
That changes in fall 2026 with the debut of The Piper at Legends Golf Resort, designed by architect Ken Baker. Like The Aero Club, The Piper is a par-3 routing that will be lighted for night play. But it will also break new ground as a much-needed short-course option at an existing multi-course facility. Legends Golf Resort is currently home to three 18-hole championship courses: Heathland (1991; Tom Doak), Moorland (1992; P.B. Dye) and Parkland (1993; Larry Young).
Laid out across 12 acres that will be repurposed from Legends existing 30-acre practice facility, The Piper's nine holes will range in length from 54 to 122 yards, placing it squarely in the realm of popular par-3 courses where golfers will only need a couple of clubs, plus a putter, to get around. "With The Piper, we set out to create holes that are visually engaging and memorable, but also fit with the landscape and atmosphere that we’re looking to highlight at the resort,” said Baker, who emphasized that The Piper will be inspired by Legends' existing courses, which tend to have a more open, linksy feel. "We want people to enjoy the shotmaking that is available to them out there and think about the short game of golf in a different way after they’ve played it, imagining some creative shots that they may have never tried before.”
Baker has been involved in golf course architecture for more than 30 years. Much of his professional life has brought him to Asia; he was an associate with Nicklaus Design on several of their projects there, before establishing his own practice. Stateside, Baker's most recent commission came from Disney Golf in Orlando, Florida, where he renovated and partially rerouted the Magnolia course to accommodate nearby construction. The Piper will be Baker's first new-build course in the United States. It is scheduled to open in the late fall of 2026.
More golf course news & notes
MARSH LOST IN BEARS MOVE? - With the NFL's Chicago Bears pressing forward to build a new stadium just over the Indiana border, Lost Marsh, a popular 22-year-old Indiana public golf course could be paved over to accommodate it. [LINK: Chicago Tribune]
APPLES (AND GOLF COURSE) FOR SALE - Orchard Creek, a fun public golf course outside of Albany, N.Y. that I played in junior tournaments growing up, is for sale by the Abbruzzese family, who developed it alongside their orchards. A cool feature of Orchard Creek: each hole is named after a different variety of apple tree grown alongside. You can pick as you play. [LINK: The Times Union]
LONGEST GOLF TRAIL EVER - "Golf trails" have been a destination marketing tactic for decades. The Buckeye State's tourism bureau has proclaimed the Ohio Golf Trail, 182 courses long. [LINK: WHIZ]
GOLF-ADJACENT - A golf course shaper has found a new calling: helping to rebuild and restore some of the 400,000 ponds England has lost in recent years. [LINK: The Guardian]
ALSO GOLF-ADJACENT - Ruger, a former prison K-9 rehomed to a Colorado family, vanished for a year before turning up living with a pack of coyotes at Colorado Springs' Patty Jewett Golf Course. [LINK: The Dodo]
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