[Tim Gavrich]

Wild Wing Plantation long touted itself as "America's Finest 72-hole Golf Reserve"...until it closed 45 of its holes.  The victims were the Falcon course, a Rees Jones layout, and 27 Willard Byrd holes--the entire Wood Stork course and half of the Hummingbird course.  What's left is the Avocet course--untouched, but surrounded the weeds of NLE golf holes.  At any rate, that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of playing Avocet.

Hardcore walkers may be peeved by the fact that the golf course is pretty spread-out.  it's walkable, I guess, but there are a few sizable green-to-tee journeys.  Also, hardcore minimalists may not want to look much further because frankly, I have not played too many courses where Man's hand is more evident than Avocet.  But I don't personally hold such sculpting against a golf course off-the-bat.  Avocet is a standard par 72--4 par 3s and 4 par 5s--but it features great variety in the way holes look and how they play without being incongruous.  Away we go!

Dark Teal tees: 7,127/74.5/132
Magenta: 6,614/72.2/125
White: 6,028/69.1/116
Teal (W): 5,298/70.4/118

#1, par 4, 402/380/348/321--"Moguls"
Solid opening hole, and true to its name.  It's possible to carry the bunker, but the percentage play is to the left of it or short of it, as there's plenty of fairway.  The greens (bentgrass and in very nice shape; pretty fast for summertime in SC) have a pretty good amount of movement and are protected by bunkers and mounds and chipping areas and all that good stuff.



#2, par 4, 422/370/327/277--"Shadows"
Pretty straightaway hole, but not bad at all.  Sorry I didn't get a picture from the fairway; I was getting used to the very brisk pace set by the gentleman--a retired NYC firefighter and US Army Lt. Colonel--with whom I ended up playing (you meet so many interesting people playing golf).  The lake isn't really a factor off the tee and there's more room than there appears to be.


#3, par 4, 424/424/399/373--"Narrows"
The scorecard and yardage book list the back tee at 477, but that tee box is located at the back of the 5th tee across a little wetland area, which goes in the opposite direction.  The vegetation in that area is too long, so that tee isn't in use.  Anyhoo, just a nice hole to a two-tiered green guarded closely by bunkers.  The approach needs to carry another wetland area, but there's room to miss a little short of the green.



#4, par 5, 551/526/501/466--"Double Cross"
The first par five plays alongside the 3rd in the opposite direction.  I wish they'd cut away some of the trees to the right to open up the view.  At any rate, if you can manage to fling your drive past the left-side fairway bunker, you might be able to go for the green in two.  You'll need to carry a little cross-wetlands area to get there, so it's pretty risky.  The green is a sideways two-tier affair.  With a middle-left pin, I thought I hit a pretty decent third shot just right of the pin, only to see it trundle down to the lower level.




#5, par 3, 183/157/119/100--"Bend of the Lake"
A solid, slightly downhill par 3.  I made a big-time anti-water swing and yanked my shot into the highest of the bunkers.  Had an extremely scary shot, made bogey.  I should've just hit to the fat part of the green, since the pin was in the narrow front area.


#6, par 4, 462/451/393/346--"Water's Edge"
Toughest par on the course.  I wish I had gotten more than just the tee shot picture, but I was hacking it around in the right trees and was preoccupied with making 6.  The green is part of a double-green with the 17th, and the part that belongs to the 6th has three or four distinct sections.  The pin was way the hell back there; I wish I had taken a few pictures of it. 


#7, par 5, 576/553/494/452--"Pork Chop"
Probably the only hole in the world with such a name.  It refers to the front-left greenside bunker, which apparently looks like a pork chop from the sky.  At any rate, there's very little trouble on the tee shot or layup unless you hit it way right (which, of course, I did).



#8, par 3, 176/164/145/96--"Ledge"
My second favorite par 3 at Avocet.  Three greens in one, with ample slopes to move the ball around if you can.  The three hollows between the water and the edge of the green are great grass bunkers.


#9, par 4, 362/323/299/218--"Valley of Sin"
A fantastic golf hole, I thought: the right way to do a split-fairway.  The left side is a little narrower but generally yields a more direct look.  But if you choose that route, you've got a bunch of short-grass chocolate drop mounds between you and the hole.  If you go right, it's a bit safer but it's also lower, so those three sideways fairway bunkers obscure the view a little bit.  I got a good amount of pictures of this one.  I could spend a few hours on this hole, playing it different ways and practicing different little shots around the green.







I'll post the back nine later.

Cheers.

[Jim Franklin]

Avocet was always my favorite of the bunch. I did not know Jeff had something to do with it.

[Eric Smith]

My lone Brauer course.  Of course, until golfclubatlas I thought it was my lone Larry Nelson.  Thanks for posting the pics Tim, the place looks to be in tip top condition.

A group of 16 of us rolled down to Myrtle Beach in a monster RV back in '99 for the first iteration of our annual 5th Major golf trip.  I selected the Avocet Course for our final round of the trip based solely on cool aerial shots found in what used to be considered 'The Bible' for golf planners, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.

My buddy and I made it to the final match at Avocet only to be crushed by our opponents, who basically managed to keep more tee shots out of the trees than we did. 

I think this was from an old Golfworld: 


The style of the golf course was a nice contrast to the courses we played at Legends. 

Wild Wing was a huge property. With all those NLE holes out there surrounding this course it would be neat to see a new aerial shot.

[Mike_Cirba]

Many moons ago here I wrote about Avocet, stating something to the effect that after playing it I was sure I wasn't dealing with your typical, garden-variety, modern architect, because while it had a modern look, so many of the features and strategies were based on classic design.

Who knew that Jeff would come on here sometime around then and join us group of crazies.

I hope to play more of his courses before too long.

[Kalen Braley]

Tim,

Thanks for posting that.

I'm curious as to all the mounding behind or to the side of every green complex.  Its pretty cool on a few of them, but the feature seems to be beyond redundant. Was this your impression too? Perhaps they could have put a few of those mounds in front of the green!!   

[Jim_Kennedy]

I'm curious as to all the mounding behind or to the side of every green complex. 

It is Myrtle Beach.

[Mike Hendren]

It is Myrtle Beach.

K-Mart-By-The-Sea

[Kalen Braley]

I'm curious as to all the mounding behind or to the side of every green complex. 

It is Myrtle Beach.

Is than an inside Joke?  Sorry don't get the reference.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Kalen,

See post #6

[Kenny Baer]

Funny I should see this today; I literally just got back from hitting balls right next to Larry Nelson.  It is amazing how well he still hits it; watching someone like that hit balls on the range makes you wonder why the pros don't shoot even lower scores than they do.  It is almost like it is a video game and he had it figured out.  Just shows you that putting is so important.

He was teaching his son Josh who is trying to make it as a pro, Larry is a very nice guy.

[CJ Carder]

Tim - thanks for posting these.  Avocet is up next on my list for Myrtle Beach the next time I'm there - which should be in about 3 weeks.  I'm looking forward to seeing it!

[Jeff_Brauer]

Tim,

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!  BTW, I did see an aerial on one of the aerial sites that showed the weedy holes from the other courses and some roads cut in.

The design brief was a classic. It was Japanese owners, and they had used Willard Byrd to do the first two courses, which were very traditional.  They wanted something different. I asked what and they said "Fru-Fru!"  Anything Else?" "More fru-fru!"  The mounds around the greens were fru-fru to me and them, but I was in the habit of providing artifical backdrops in those days.  But, it was one of those designs where some features were exagerated to make up for some of the plainness of their other courses.  As mentioned, the rationale was "that's what they like in Myrtle Beach."

That said, I still kind of like it and feel there was and is a place for that style of course, and perhaps no where else soes it fit than in MB.

The 3rd and 4th holes were key to the design in some ways.  Willard had done a land plan and left a 400 foot strip between the proposed third course (mine) and MB National. Later, the owners decided against housing and it was an odd leftover parcel.  I told him I could fit two holes in there. He made a special trip from Japan to see the clearing and rough shaping on those holes and was pleased.  Even with that, I somehow got blamed for using too much land and they called in Rees to do the fourth course, when Larry and I were to do two like Willard.

I was at the Open at Shinny and saw a guy with a Wild Wing hat. I asked him which course he played there and was dissapointed to hear he played all but the Avocet.  I felt better when he told me he could never get a tee time!  The pro told me that the Avocet was always the most popular course they had, which also made me feel good.  I do try to remind Rees of that and the fact that it is my course they kept when it was time to close them down!

My personal faves are the

5th (using the old English landscape architecture trick of having the lake dissapear around the corner to look bigger),

7th (the reference to Pork Chop came from me. While working in Chicago on a remodel, I argued with a super who kept reshaping my bunkers into near perfect circles, with a small exit ramp for the rake.  I hated them.  I yelled that the bunker looked like an effen pork chop and he said, yeah, its my signature, the pork chop bunker!  Since then, every few courses I put one in.  I like them on short approaches, believing the big simple top edge is more intimdating than a wavy cape and bay bunker.)

9th - a bottle hole copy with (originally) a valley of sin green.  Those chocolate drops were originally green surface.

10th - Classic Cape Hole with sand bunkers right in the fw and left at the green

12th - Reverse Redan

I probably want to see the photos of the back nine more than anyone, since its been years since I have been there.  Thanks again.

[Tim Gavrich]

[EDIT: Mr Brauer, ask and ye shall receive!]

And now the inward nine!

#10, par 4, 433/398/375/335--"Jigsaw"
The back nine begins with a lengthy, straightaway par 4.  It's a slight switchback hole, potentially, with fairway bunkers down the right and a greenside bunker left.  Nothing flashy, but a solid test anyhow.



#11, par 5, 510/485/454/414--"Woodland"
The first of two reachable par 5s on the back, with a bit of a breather (maybe a little bland) of a tee shot.  But if you manage to hit the fairway, you will be tempted to try for the green in two.  Water lurks left and bunkers right.  The green is just begging, BEGGING to be attacked.




#12, par 3, 227/207/166/130--"Redan"
An near-reverse-Redan, actually, as the green is angled front-left to back-right.  The kickslope is there, as is the front bunker, but there's no rear bunker and the green, as least currently, doesn't really slope forward from the front-left.  And in this part of the state, the ground can only get so firm.  Nevertheless, is it a lesser hole because it doesn't adhere chapter-and-verse to the template?  Certainly not.  I like it best of the four par threes.


#13, par 4, 400/364/344/287--"Tides"
I don't quite see where the name comes from...maybe the swaying bunkers?  At any rate, it's another solid hole and a slightly different look off the tee.  Nothing ground-breaking or jaw-dropping, just a fairway bunker to the right and greenside bunkers to the left.



#14, par 4, 308/283/265/221--"Double Dare"
This one edges out #9 as my favorite hole on the course.  It is a true reachable par 4--an EXTREME rarity in the Myrtle Beach area--with a couple mounds short of the green that might help a slightly anemic tee shot.  But if you're not going for it, there are five or six other ways to play the hole.  The rectangular green has a series of three mounds running front-to-back through the middle.  When the pin is on the right, it's probably worth the gamble of hitting to a little fairway short and right of the green; it's about a 210 yard carry from the Magenta tee over a sideways string of bunkers to that fairway, and affords a direct angle without having to come over the mounds.  Otherwise, pin-left-play-left.  I love this hole; one of my favorite short par fours anywhere.  I should have taken 20 more pictures of it.



#15, par 5, 519/476/449/429--"Cusp"
Another reachable par 5 with water lurking on the second and third shots.  Finding one of three fairway bunkers means a tough layup and makes par uncertain.  But if you blast one between the firs two, you can take advantage of a little turbo boost and get within comfortable range in two.  The green has one of the most abrupt swales I've ever seen middle-right; it's as if someone pressed a teacup into the dirt before final shaping.  I like the feature a lot, even though I was a little peeved when it gobbled up my third shot yesterday.




#16, par 4, 470/446/418/347--"Mesa"
Since the 477 tee on the 3rd is NLE, this is the longest par 4 on the course.  Knowing that, it is also one of the most open holes on the course.  Both the fairway and green complex are quite tame, allowing the length to be the hole's primary challenging and not overwhelming players with lots of bells and whistles.  A good, no-nonsense long par 4.  A man's man's hole.




#17, par 3, 196/181/151/143--"Avocet"
The hole named for the course is a good one.  A downhill long-iron shot over wetlands to one of the shallowest greens on the course is a great shot to have players hit at this time in the match.  The green is the other half of the double green first encountered at the 6th.  Number 17 plays perpendicular to number 6, making the region that the 17th occupies a sideways two-tiered affair.


#18, par 4, 453/426/381/343--"Cape"
Even though "Cape" is supposed to refer to the shot into the green, the finisher at Avocet is the type of Cape hole where the player needs to decide how aggressive to be of the tee, with water left of the fairway.  The fairway bunkers are only in play for really big hitters, so they can serve as targets.  The green complex is yet another good one--open in front, which is appropriate for a long par 4.  Players have a kick slope on the right side of the green to try to access pins further back in the green.  But don't miss the green too far right or you'll have a near-impossible up-and-down.





As you can probably tell, I really like Avocet.  It's neither too tough nor too easy, doesn't have any pushover/blah holes and doesn't have any houses on it, which cannot be said of many Grand Strand courses.  I'd give it a Doak 6.5.  I'd drive an hour to play it; heck, that's what I did yesterday.  I'd probably go 90 minutes to play there.

Cheers.

--Tim

[Jason McNamara]

Tim, you hinted at this, but it looks really difficult to play onto the Redan by landing it short.  Does the green accept a long iron on the fly?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Jason,

It is more of a kick in bank on the left to avoid the bunker rather than a true Redan.

Some more memories - If you look at the pix of the 13th from the tee, you will see an inlet.  The water table was just below the surface and Willard (and later Rees) invested about 200,000 CY of fill raising the fw's about 2 feet. I had the same earthmoving budget as Willard (about 400K total) and wanted more effect, so I didn't raise all the fw, I used a series of CB's to keep them closer to grade so that all 400,000 CY of fill could be used for, well, fru fru.  That area was too low for the 3" deep catch basin, so I used that flared section you see, and it runs the length of the fw to a small pond.

Long buildup to a funny story - a playing partner managed to top his tee shot right into the inlet.  We played the hole and while down by the green waited at the outlet and sure enough, it rolled down the pipe all the way to the end and I was able to retrieve his ball for him!

Re: the short 14th, at the press conference, some reporter asked me about the bumps and ridges in the middle of the green.  I stumbled through an explanation about the route options, the green within the green, etc. and the reporter said is still struck him as "goofy."  Larry Nelson jumped in and said, "When I won the Open at Oakmont, there was a green like that, and we modelled it after that because I thought it was a great green."  The same guy and most of the rest of the room then started nodding in agreement that it was a great green!  All in all, that may have been Larry's greatest contribution to the course - he saved my ass in a press conference......

Ah, the memories!

[Tim Gavrich]

Tim, you hinted at this, but it looks really difficult to play onto the Redan by landing it short.  Does the green accept a long iron on the fly?

Jason--

As Jeff indicated, holding the green with a long iron or a fairway wood is not too difficult.  Bentgrass greens down here need a good bit of water, so if they get really firm it usually spells big trouble for the greens.  They hold well.

Jeff--

Great anecdotes about the course; thanks very much for your input.  Funny stuff about the original owners and the desire for lots of "Fru-fru."  I see that "CY" means cubic yards, but what does "CB" stand for?

[Mike_Cirba]

Macdonald.

[Anthony Gray]

  I love those land forms/mounding. They add character to a flat site and aesthetically enhance the course.
 
   Anthony

[Jeff_Brauer]

catch basin

[David Stamm]

  I love those land forms/mounding. They add character to a flat site and aesthetically enhance the course.
 
   Anthony

Disagree. I don't care for them.

[Anthony Gray]

  I love those land forms/mounding. They add character to a flat site and aesthetically enhance the course.
 
   Anthony

  David,

  Respectfully why not? How do you make bland land look inviting to the golfer without the use of land forms? They are all over Rustic Canyon.

   Anthony




Disagree. I don't care for them.

[David Stamm]

  I love those land forms/mounding. They add character to a flat site and aesthetically enhance the course.
 
   Anthony

  David,

  Respectfully why not? How do you make bland land look inviting to the golfer without the use of land forms? They are all over Rustic Canyon.

   Anthony




Disagree. I don't care for them.

I'm not saying that man made landforms are not a good thing, I'm saying I don't care for these and disagreed with your statement that they enhance the course. They look jarring to my eye. Rustic's is much more subtle and fit the land.

[Richard Hetzel]

Even with some of the mounding, I thought Avocet was a pretty straightforward and almost more of a traditional golf course. Worth playing at least once. I wish I had been able to play the others there when they were still in play.

[Anthony Gray]

  I love those land forms/mounding. They add character to a flat site and aesthetically enhance the course.
 
   Anthony

  David,

  Respectfully why not? How do you make bland land look inviting to the golfer without the use of land forms? They are all over Rustic Canyon.

   Anthony




Disagree. I don't care for them.

I'm not saying that man made landforms are not a good thing, I'm saying I don't care for these and disagreed with your statement that they enhance the course. They look jarring to my eye. Rustic's is much more subtle and fit the land.

  Thanks David. And understood.

  Anthony

[Tim Gavrich]

Even with some of the mounding, I thought Avocet was a pretty straightforward and almost more of a traditional golf course. Worth playing at least once. I wish I had been able to play the others there when they were still in play.

I had played the Falcon and Wood Stork a few years ago and barely remember two holes from each.  By all accounts, Avocet was the clear #1 course when there were four there.

As for the mounding, I like it.  There is no question that there is a highly manufactured look to many holes, but I don't mind that every so often.  I think there is value in golf course architecture both as imitation of nature and as modern sculpture.  I feel as though hardcore minimalists prefer only the former.  A course like Avocet, IMO, should be appreciated for the fact that it was molded in an original way.  I can certainly understand the belief that some of the mounding is "jarring."  However, perhaps it is intended sometimes.

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