I had a chance to play Secession Golf Club yesterday. I'm playing in the U.S. Open qualifier there May 9 and am unable to play the normal practice round day, so I got to play it this afternoon. There are plenty of pictures in Walter Morris' profile and I dared not whip out my phone to take pictures on the course, so here are my thoughts, for what they're worth, instead:
- Setting: My home course's best holes are the five that interact with the surrounding marshland. The rest of the course is like pretty much every other coastal South Carolina course. Secession starts by the marsh and pretty much stays there for 18 holes. Even the "inland" holes are in sight of the surrounding marsh. Those marsh areas are maintained in such a way that you can find and play a ball hit into them. The presence of wind is constant (and, I was told, there's no real prevailing wind, so the course is bound to play completely differently in all those different winds.
- Ambiance: The whole feel of the club is geared toward the all-encompassing enjoyment of golf. It starts with head pro Michael Harmon's hospitality - every single Secession member I chit-chatted with today said some variation of "Oh yeah, Mike's a great guy!" Greg the caddie master was very helpful and all the members seem to have the time of their lives when they're on-property.
- Par 5s: One of the best sets of par 5s I've played. It starts at the 512-yard fifth, which is reachable but requires an almost-all carry over marshland. The layup out to the right of the green requires much thought, with a couple bunkers complicating matters. Number 9, at 612 yards, played into the wind yesterday and has a bunch of clusters of bunkers that must be negotiated, including a neat pair of Spectacles about 200 yards out from the green. The 10th runs in the opposite direction and has this awesome little spine and slope arrangement short of the green that makes for great run-up possibilities. And then the sub-500 yard 16th is the best, with a 10 foot deep bunker guarding the green on the right side and marsh left and long. Centerline bunkers short of the green, once again, complicate one's layup prospects.
Secession is the second best course in the state of South Carolina that I've played, a tiny bit behind Palmetto GC and a tiny bit ahead of Bulls Bay. It's a place I would be thrilled to be able to play every day.
Your thoughts/questions?