Charleston National Golf Club

It never ceases to amaze me when people will complain about winter golf destinations and the conditions when they are priviliged to be playing at all!
First of all... golf courses that choose to overseed will have people complaining about turf reacting differently (duh!) and when the greens are overseeded, it changes the conditions completely (from a Bermuda to a Bent, TOTALLY different speeds and no grain-related breaks!). For the courses that choose NOT to overseed, it only means the grass loses it's color and does not grow back (as in divots), it mostly doesn't affect anything other than the aesthetics... the grass is yellow (dormant). That's it. I'd rather play on dormant grass than have to change the way I read greens or change out my wedges (to low bounce wedges) to play on bent or Kentucky Blue overseed. But don't blame the golf course or staff for the conditions presented by Mother Nature every winter! Just shut up and enjoy yourself (if you can)...

Terrible experience. Multiple staff members were very unfriendly, greens were slow and in poor shape, and the pace of play was abysmal.
For the price it was very dissapointing.

It looks as though Charleston National has not been reviewed since I played there last year. Not alot has changed. I got the chance to play the course again this past weekend, and it is about what you would expect this time of year. The course layout is awesome. Its a pretty challenging course, and relatively long for me from the regular tees-almost 6500 yards. The marsh is constantly there, several holes with water in play and several forced carries-especially on the back, where a couple holes have two forced carries on the same hole. But the layout is very scenic. The course was in average winter condition. The fairways and rough were completely dormant. The greens were in great shape, nice and green. And were rolling faster than I have experienced at this course. I do think the price is slightly high for dormant grass, but it seemed to be about the going rate in the area. If you are in the vicinity and looking for a round, you wont be too disappointed at Charleston National. I will add, in the growing season when I have been there the entire course is in excellent shape.

Played Charleston National again this weekend when I was back in the area. It is an AWESOME layout. I really love the course and think the design is as good as it gets. Its basically built in the marsh, especially the last 5-6 holes. There are alot of forced carries, some of them of some pretty good length....The course is in typical winter conditions. The fairways and rough are dormant. The tees have been overseeded and are nice and bright green. Same thing for the greens, they have had some overseeding done, so they look really bright green. In my opinion though they rolled really really SLOOOOOWWWW. They were smooth, just couldnt get a putt to the hole.
#1 is a medium length dogleg left par 4, where the dogleg comes near the end of the fairway and takes the green back in to the marsh.
#2 is a par 3 with an all marsh carry to a not very deep green. Its wide, but not deep. Marsh in front and behind. Its about 125-135 yd shot.
#3 is a dogleg right par 4, shorter for this course, but unless you can get your drive up fast and high, its a three wood or less off the tee bc of the overhanging trees on the right.
#4 if a fun par 4. There are hills and a row of bunkers right, and a pond left. The pond sits right in front of and left of the green, with the only bail out to the right.
#5 is a straight away par 5, its pretty tight for a longer hole, and a big waster bunker on the left.
#6 is a shorter par 4.
#7 is a long par 3 with water in play on the right and front of the green. Really tough hole with the length
#8 is a long long long par 4, one of the longest I have played. Its 445 on the card. It moves left to right, and the green slopes severely back to front with a huge bowl in the front left.
#9 is a dogleg right par 5.
#10 is another long par 5
#11 another long straight away par 4, over 400 yds from the mens tee.
#12 a long par 5 with a sliver of marsh coming into play about 80 yds from the green.
#13 a long straight away par 4, again, over 400 yds.
Now you get to the fun holes, LOL
#14 is a par 3, all marsh carry, depending on tee and pin placement its between 125-150 yds.
#15 Is a quirky hole, with two marsh carries. Off the tee, you have to carry it around 180 yds to get to the fairway, about 90 yds our, you have another marsh and have another carry over the marsh to a narrow, really tight green.
#16 Over the marsh tight sharp log leg right, with more marsh around on the right of the hole.
#17 No marsh carry here unless you are playing from the back tees, just a long straight away par 4 of 400 yds.
#18 Par 3 over the marsh. It plays from around 135-150 depending on the tee and pin.

I'm skipping the front nine because for the most part it was forgettable. The back nine holes (especially the last five) are among the best layouts I've ever played. Insanely quirky along the marsh, but still amazing with great views and challenging shots across and around marshes. I think it's definitely a playable course but best to play defensive and keep the ball in the fairway as much as possible - there's a lot of trouble out there with water and marsh.

At $71 on a Friday afternoon in fall golf season, I think Charleston National is a fair deal. The clubhouse and amenities are average at best, and the driving range is a good 5 minute cart ride from the clubhouse, but I'd come back on another trip to Charleston for sure.

OVERALL: 7.4/10

Played here back in February before Covid and left a little disappointed. I said in my review that I thought the layout was great but the conditions left some to be desired and I’d like to play it again when the grass was green. I did so today and it was a good round and a lot of fun. First at check in I was given the local rate. This saved about $30. Second the course was in decent shape. Everything pretty green. And in pretty good shape except the bunkers. They were not in good shape. And hadn’t been raked since it rained Friday night. I was surprised at how dry the rest of the course was after heavy rain Friday. Most of the tees were in good shape. Fairways were mostly green with only a few bad spots. Greens were smooth and fast and again only a few bad spots. I was partnered up with a local and we had a great time playing together. The course is pretty challenging. It’s basically built in the marsh. So it’s always there. The fairways are relatively wide. But if you miss them it’s gone in the marsh. In spots the marsh creeps in closer. And there are several forced carries. Every par 3 had a forced carry over a marsh except maybe one. And a couple other holes had forced carries. On the back a hole or two had multiple forced carries on the same hole. So it’s not easy. But the surroundings are beautiful and the layout is fun. All in all it’s worth a play especially at a reduced rate.

Lovely course, friendly staff, reasonably priced. What more could you ask for? I will be back!

Played Charleston National today. First, it’s a great layout. Very interesting. Several doglegs and pretty challenging, especially on the back. A lot of long par 4s and a lot of marsh in play. Short par 4s had a lot of target golf. A lot of the par 3s feature forced marsh carries. All of this makes for a fun and interesting round. However, I paid $60 and the fairways had not been over seeded. I feel like $60 is a lot to ask to play on dead fairways. In all fairness the tees and collars were nice and green and overseeded. However the fairways were not. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve played a lot of winter golf on the Atlantic Coast over the years and this is the first Course I’ve played without overseeded fairways. I’d play it again, but I’d wait until the Bermuda starts running Bc I don’t think $60 is a great deal for brown fairways. I would bet from April to November the course is beautiful and it is a very good challenge.

We found the course layout to be interesting and a little challenging (especially with my driving accuracy). At $48 per round, the value was great. Course conditions were very good - other than the greens being a couple of weeks post-aeration so they were a little sandy and rolled somewhat slow. I also note that the greens were generally not overly challenging.

If we had any complaints, it was the conditions of the bunkers, which looked and played like they had not been groomed in a number of days. Packed pretty hard on the surface.

All in all, a decent track that provided a challenging round.

This course was quite a pleasant surprise. The staff were friendly. The course layout was really nice...Rees Jones. I love the Carolina low country lay outs with marshland and old oak trees. Carolina low country can be relatively flat but Jones is a master and has created a fun and challenging course.

The course is in rough shape at the moment. Our cart was on it's death bed.

I want to like it here, but I cannot come back until the conditions improve. She could be a gem.

It's obvious that the staff is just trying to pump as many people through the first tee as possible. No walking policy is unbelievable. I even offered to pay their high cart fee. On top of it the staff was rude to our party for even asking the question. Will not come back ever. Do not recommend.

Honestly this course was pretty brutal. Lost balls just off the fairway (why are the roughs cut sooo long?). We started 15 minutes behind our scheduled Tee time. Nothing special about the clubhouse. Sorry but I don't know that I'd recommend this course amongst all of the beautiful golf in South Carolina!

I made a three-day golf trip to the Charleston area recently and I have to say Charleston National stole my heart. Every now and then you find a course that captures your imagination and makes you want to go back. This one fits the bill.
The way the layout stretches through the marshes, the forced carries over creeks, the setup of the greens, and the spectacular views made for an enjoyable round.
The day started and ended however, with some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced at a golf course. I'm not sure how you book someone for a 6:40 a.m. tee time and not show up to open the pro shop until 6:45. I ended up pairing up with another guy who had a tee time at 6:48, and we made it to the first tee just before 7:00. We waited for the greens to be mowed on the first three holes, and sprinted ahead on #4 to leave the mower behind us. Despite playing at breakneck speed we enjoyed those next few holes. I'd rather play fast than slow.
While many of the holes skirted residential areas, I never felt the homes were encroaching on the course. I counted just a couple of vanilla holes, but those were compensated for by awesome views on the holes that meander through the marshes on Copahee Sound. My only real complaint about the layout is having to end on a par 3, hundreds of yards from the clubhouse. It just seems a bit anti-climactic. Maybe that's nit-picking. After all, they didn't have much dry land to work with in the marsh, so kudos to the designer.
The poor customer service to start the day was becoming a distant memory until the 17th hole, when a ranger approached us on the tee box and told us they had a standing members tournament every Sunday morning at 10:00 and we had 8 minutes to finish our round. Not the way I wanted to end things.
I'm going to give the staff the benefit of the doubt and just assume they were having a bad day. It happens to all of us. We did air our grievance to the pro shop and were given discount vouchers for a future round (which expire July 31 so basically useless for a tourist like me ).
Regardless, I will be back. It's a good course. Not a swanky club or resort, but a solid track that keeps you engaged and on your toes. I would recommend it for anyone visiting Charleston. Just don't play before 10:00 on a Sunday morning.

Been in CHS now 2 years, coming from San Diego and NYC. Over the years, have played MANY hundreds of courses in and out of states. Charleston National is a fun course, moderately challenging (which adds to the fun factor) with relatively easily gettable Par 5s and fun Par 4s. Par 3s are good too.
One of my favorite golf courses for the fun factor and course design.
Some may call this course gimmicky and I thought so too the first time I played it, but over time, I've 'explored' different ways to play the same hole, hence not gimmicky.
Today was no different than previous times - fun and bit of wind added to the challenge. I won't dwell much on the condition of the course as it's that time of the year and all courses are suffering from the rain/drainage/colder temps - some more than others but Charleston National fairs better than others.

Excellent course with all the amenities that you would expect of a championship course. Large practice facility and decent pro shop. Staff was very friendly from the moment I parked my car. I was barely out of the vehicle and there was a cart by my trunk with an attendant waiting to load my bag.

Course has a challenging layout with many forced carries over marshes. Much like other Rees Jones courses, his use of the natural layout of the land really shines. The greens and fairways were in great condition. I would call this a must play course in the Charleston area.

First time player here. Layout was very enjoyable with 1 hole a little tricky due to layup off of tee on par 4. Greens were all bermuda and were extremely difficult to putt if you did not read grain. A couple of local golfers did not know how to read grain, so their round was a little more challanging. Fairways were in good shape. Bunkers were properly raked. I believe it was a little overpriced. Probably would go back if price were reduced a little more.

We had a family outing and everyone had fun. There were a few not so nice members who thought they should be allowed to play ahead of us. Staff did not allow this. The pro shop staff was very inflexible with some changes requested.

Played from the senior tees. Several forced carries, lots of mounding. The course was in great shape.

The down side was the $20+ fees and taxes needed to book the Hot Deal. The $38 special rate when you add in the taxes and fees made the hot deal not so hot.