P.B. Dye's Moorland course at Legends Resort in Myrtle Beach opened in 1991. I played it today and found it to be very funky and interesting. Doak's Heathland course and ___________'s Parkland course are nice and probably overshadow Moorland, but the Dye course holds its own.
There is a nice bit of fanciful-ness going on at Moorland--blind and semi-blind shots, lots of width, heaving greens, and--oh yes!--railroad ties. Now, some people prefer to confine golf course wood to the trees that border holes, but I have rarely met a rotting plank beside a bunker or pond that I didn't like.
#1, par 4, ~390--A pretty easy opening tee shot, followed by a semi-blind approach to a big green. The M.O. for P.B. Dye at Moorland seems to be to give players a safe area to miss and punishing them if they do not miss there. A blind bunker fronts the green.
#2, par 5, ~525--The Dye angles gene emerges and establishes a pleasing motif. Be as aggressive or conservative as you wish when hitting to a diagonally oriented landing area. Fascinating bit of local-knowledge: it looks like the layup landing area is obnoxiously narrow with those bushes/planks intruding from the left, but as you will see in the pictures, there is actually fairway up there.
#3, par 4, ~400--Another rather diagonal landing area, another green bulkheaded out into water, but another large target with bailout opportunity.
#4, par 4, ~465--The first of a set of stout par 4s (4, 9, 12, 18). The ominous thing left of the fairway is called "Big Bertha" and is not really in play off the tee. The approach is a bit of a Mae West-inspired thing.
#5, par 3, ~175--Pretty tame one-shotter. Steep slope left, waste area elsewhere. Green slopes left to right. A visual breather hole.
#6, par 5, ~505--Good, reachable (but not without peril) three shot hole. Fun stuff.
#7, par 3, 245--I hope you made birdie on 6...
#8, par 4, 370--Beguiling short two-shotter. The green is beyond the bushy hills but if you hit at them, the approach to a tabletop green will be blind. If you go right, you might get a look.
#9, par 4, ~465--Another brute in terms of length, but not extremely compelling. Another visual breather heading to the back nine. Continuing the angled landing area motif.
#10, par 4, ~400--Again, a relatively easy opening tee shot on the back nine. The approach is to a cool three-tier green.
#11, par 5, ~490--Good straightaway, reachable par 5 with a green that is properly devilish relative to the length of the hole.
#12, par 4, ~460--Another straightaway-ish hole where the length is the primary defense. Another huge, undulating green.
#13, par 3, ~155--Sort of a variation on the Short concept. The big mounds on the right are a little unnecessary, but what is left of them is nice enough--good movement in the green.
#14, par 4, ~365--Sort of like the 8th hole, where if you play out to the right you could get a better look at the green. Solid drive-and-wedge hole.
#15, par 5, ~595--Miles-long three shot hole with another nice angled landing area. If you hit a good drive, you will have the opportunity to carry the water and have a shortish third shot. If not...good luck making par. Good example of a par 5 that isn't necessarily a birdie hole.
#16, par 4, ~300--A drivable par 4 in the Myrtle beach area is a rarity and this one does not disappoint. The green complex is wild and is one at which I'd love to spend a couple hours hitting various pitches, blasts, flops and such.
#17, par 3, ~200--Requires a solid long iron to avoid the waste area. The tee boxes are neat, propped up by railroad ties stacked lincoln-log-style.
#18, par 4, ~440--P.B. saved the biggest (63 x 45) green for last. And we finish with another nice angled landing area.
Is the Moorland course the best at Legends? Probably not. It is not far behind, though, and is a nice compliment to the other offerings. If only they didn't overseed the fairways and greens, the course would have been made even more fun by firm and fast ground conditions. Pretty good for K-Mart-by-the-Sea...
Cheers.
--Tim