Golf in Aiken

Aiken, the county seat of Aiken County, sits in the western South Carolina Midlands near the Savannah River and the Georgia border. The city earned a national reputation in the late 19th century as a winter colony for wealthy Northerners seeking mild climate and equestrian pursuits, and remains known for its polo, thoroughbred training, and steeplechase culture. The surrounding sandhills and clay soils of the Aiken Plateau give the area a distinctive character in the SC Midlands. Aiken is also home to the Savannah River Site, a major federal nuclear facility that has shaped the regional economy since the 1950s. The city's golf courses serve both the local residential community and visitors drawn to the Aiken equestrian corridor.