Brays Island Golf Club--Brays Island, SC

[Tim Gavrich]

I was driving home to Pawleys Island from well south of Charleston when I passed a sign pointing toward Brays Island. I recall having heard there was a golf course there, but that's about it. Has anyone played it? I didn't find anything on here in the past about it and about all I gather from an online search is that Ron Garl designed it and it has an island green par 3.

That whole stretch of Rt. 17 south of Charleston down toward Hilton Head has an air of mystery to me. A bunch of old plantation entrances and roads going off seemingly into nowhere. And a couple sort-of-hidden golf courses, it seems.

[Joel Zuckerman]

I have played that golf course three or four times, I featured it in my 2005 book, Golf Charms of Charleston.
Nothing in my mind stands out about the golf course itself, not even the island green to which you refer.  However I can tell you a couple of cool things about the entire property. First of all, hunting, shooting, fishing, etc. and other pursuits of that nature are just as, if not more important than golf. Golf is just one of the amenities on the property, and something that is a bit of an afterthought, at least in regards to what I have been told by members of the professional staff there.

The other notable aspect is that there are some seriously powerful people who reside there, at least part time, and I have been told by reliable sources that the security detail at the guard gate carry deadly weaponry.

[Sam Morrow]

I have played that golf course three or four times, I featured it in my 2005 book, Golf Charms of Charleston.
Nothing in my mind stands out about the golf course itself, not even the island green to which you refer.  However I can tell you a couple of cool things about the entire property. First of all, hunting, shooting, fishing, etc. and other pursuits of that nature are just as, if not more important than golf. Golf is just one of the amenities on the property, and something that is a bit of an afterthought, at least in regards to what I have been told by members of the professional staff there.

The other notable aspect is that there are some seriously powerful people who reside there, at least part time, and I have been told by reliable sources that the security detail at the guard gate carry deadly weaponry.

If you don't name names nobody is impressed.

[Ronald Montesano]

I reside there, as does Melvyn.

[Chris Buie]

Here's how Edgar Allan Poe described one of the islands around Charleston:

This island is a very singular one. It consists of little else than the sea sand, and is about three miles long. Its breadth at no point exceeds a quarter of a mile. It is separated from the mainland by a scarcely perceptible creek, oozing its way through a wilderness of reeds and slime, a favorite resort of the marsh-hen. The vegetation, as might be supposed, is scant, or at least dwarfish. No trees of any magnitude are to be seen. Near the western extremity, where Fort Moultrie stands, and where are some miserable frame buildings, tenanted, during summer, by the fugitives from Charleston dust and fever, may be found, indeed, the bristly palmetto; but the whole island, with the exception of this western point, and a line of hard, white beach on the sea-coast, is covered with a dense undergrowth of the sweet myrtle so much prized by the horticulturists of England. The shrub here often attains the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and forms an almost impenetrable coppice, burthening the air with its fragrance.

[Mark Pritchett]

That would be Sullivan's Island. 

[Brian Ross]

That would be Sullivan's Island. 

Yup, he has a street and a Tavern named after him on the island!  Pretty darn good burgers at the tavern if you ever get the chance to stop in there!

[John Shimp]

Burgers are good.  So are the fries and mahi fish tacos.  Place is packed every day.

[Mark Pritchett]

Next time you are there consider going across the street to Home Team BBQ and trying the Death Relish Nachos, good stuff! 

[Mark Steffey]

i was afforded the opportunity to play here last week.  

very interesting.

not many flat lies in the fairways.  the land rises and falls in a manner that suggests very little blade work when laying out the holes (being built in the early 90s i was expecting flat landing and hitting areas).

the greens were quite exciting.  nary a straight putt to be found.  lots of slope.  surrounded by a mix of bunkers (sand and grass).

loved how the fairway bunkers were not set up on the edge, but pinched in to the fairway proper.  really make you think if you wanted to stay to the side since you had a good chance of being pinched on your approach from the trees on the opposite side angle.  #2 even had two fairway bunkers in the middle of the fairway pushing the tee ball to the left and away from the line of play.

nobody there playing.  i think we were #s 1&2 of the 3 that teed it up that day.

not a long course (6887 from the tips), but a worthy challenge if one grows tired of chechessee & secession.  

[Tim Gavrich]

I had the opportunity to play Brays yesterday and really quite enjoyed the course. A few assorted thoughts:

- Never have I played a golf course where there were so many holes with tons and tons of open space around them as Brays Island. The entire property is 7,500 acres (3,500 of them set aside specifically for hunting), with only 205 total homesites. I'd describe it as "organized wilderness." Very interesting environment - one where golf is BY FAR not the foremost recreational pursuit (shootin' stuff, obviously, is).

- I was told that a total of only six (!) trees had to be removed for the construction of the course. Ron Garl left a bunch of very old live oaks up and, like the bunkers Mark mentioned in his comment, they pinch into some fairways, making one side of the fairway decidedly better than the other.

- The greens have very interesting internal movement and, being overseeded with rye (very competently, I will say), are sometimes confounding to putt. My two playing partners and I cackled a few times at how badly we misread some putts.

- The front nine has a little more movement and winds in and out of the trees a bit more, while the back is a bit more open. To combat the openness, Garl seemed to throw up a good bit more mounding around the greens and between fairways than on the outward side. Also, the island green 13th somewhat abruptly throws off the more minimalistic feel of the first dozen holes. That said, it and other aesthetic features remind the player of the vintage of the course (1990). There's something to be said for that.

- The clubhouse bar and locker room are among the finest I've seen: not ostentatious or showy; just terrifically comfortable and effective. A great place to hang out.

Very neat place, Brays. Worth visiting if you're nearby.

[Carson Pilcher]

I reside there, as does Melvyn.

While I am a golf nut...during the months of October-February, I am consumed with quail hunting.  I shoot year-round as well.  I have seen many advertisements in periodicals regarding Bray's.  I have always wondered how good is the hunting.

[Tim Gavrich]

I reside there, as does Melvyn.

While I am a golf nut...during the months of October-February, I am consumed with quail hunting.  I shoot year-round as well.  I have seen many advertisements in periodicals regarding Bray's.  I have always wondered how good is the hunting.

Carson--

If it's any indication, their logo is a quail. I don't mean to sound like a shill, but given that they devote 3,500 of their 7,500 acres to hunting, I've got to believe the quail hunting there is pretty prime.

--Tim

[Brad Tufts]

I hunt quail, Jeremy. They're overpopulated in this region and they're decimating the grub worm population. You got a f***ing problem with that?

Not nearly as much as I do with the attire you have on or just your general point of view toward everybody, but let's go kill some birds. I'm psyched.

[Michael Whitaker]

I reside there, as does Melvyn.

Kavanaugh, too?