Myrtle Beach

[Dan_Callahan]

I just got back from a trip to Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Thought I'd post this while the courses are still fresh in my head in case anyone else is planning a trip down there.

We played five courses, with replays (so 36 a day), over 7 days. I haven't played a ton of golf in that area, but have been a few times and would say that none of the courses we played was better than True Blue, Caledonia, or Heathland (those are my favorites, to put this in perspective). On this trip, we played Pawleys, Tidewater, Prestwick, River's Edge and Glen Dornoch.

Tidewater: This was an enjoyable course with no OB that I could find, which was a welcome break. I would give it a 6. I get that it was built for cart golf, but some of the drives from green to tee were outrageous. Even so, conditions were good, greens were in great shape, and there were a few really fun holes. I would definitely go there again.

River's Edge: Some very good holes, lots of risk reward, and an awful 18th hole which was wedged in clearly because of the incredible setting, but it's kind of a stupid hole. A par 5 that has about as narrow a layup spot as I've ever seen, and is followed by a very skinny peninsula green that is completely exposed to the wind. A slight miss left, right or long is a lost ball. This was a 5 for me. The greens were very, very slow.

Prestwick: The best greens on our trip. Very fast and challenging. Some good risk reward holes. Pretty tight off the tee. This was also a 5 (or a 4.5 in relation to River's Edge).

Glen Dornoch: Very penal golf course. Very tight off the tee. But some fun holes. Not a lot of OB in play. No houses on the course. Greens were slow in the morning, but after the moisture burned off they were much better in the afternoon. Another stupid 18th hole where honestly on first play you have no idea what's going on. Group behind us that had played it before came up to give us advice. Still, I would play there again if I was in the area. On a windy day, this course might be unplayable. Probably a high 4 or low 5.

Pawleys: Hated it. Seemed like OB on left and right on pretty much every hole. Houses lining everything. Greens were slow. I have a hard time remember any holes of note other than ones were grass tees were built into a bridge that crosses a marsh. Played behind a fivesome for the entire round. Went in to talk to the pro at the turn and he said he'd send the ranger over, but never did. The round took close to 5.5 hours. Just brutal. This one is a 2 for me, and I would not go back.

By the end of the trip, I was reminded why I like Tobacco Road so much, with interesting terrain, width, variety, and fun. It's tough to beat the weather we had in South Carolina ... 75 and sunny almost every day ... but the flatness of the courses, the constant presence of houses and OB on some of them ... just isn't my jam.

[Edward Glidewell]

That hole at Rivers Edge is actually 9, not 18 -- they probably sent you off the 10th tee -- but I agree it's a terrible hole. I actually really like the rest of the course, but that one hole is awful.

[A.G._Crockett]

Tidewater was at one time one of the most highly rated courses in the entire Myrtle Beach area; it has sort of fallen off the radar in recent years, but it's still a very good golf course.  Before all the housing was added, and there's a lot of it, it was truly a beautiful course.  Less so now, of course, but that's ok.  But I consider Tidewater to always be worth playing.

I think perhaps if you played Glen Dornoch another time or two, you might revise your opinion of it just slightly.  Until #16, it is a pretty good golf course, and very straightforward, IMO.  But the last three holes are so completely unlike the rest of the course, and VERY difficult, that it sort of colors your view of the entire place, I think.  #16, IMO, has completely the wrong green for the length and layout of the hole; it is much too small for the club that you are hitting into the green, and the fall offs around the green, especially on the right side, are very penal even if you can find your ball.  #17 is a long, blind par 3 on which you not only don't really know where to hit the ball (except that you CANNOT miss left!), but you can't see how your shot turned out until you get up to the green; the hole is also exposed to the wind, with hazard down the left, so it's just very, very difficult and not much fun.  #18 is sort of a mess; it is the ultimate in target golf, but the first time you play it, you don't know what the targets are.  It gets marginally easier with more plays, but again, it's exposed to the winds off the marsh and not really a lot of fun to play.
I love Rivers Edge, and have since it opened.  The 9th is perplexing because of that green; it is just SO small.  I may be misremembering this because it's been so long now, but I think there were fines assessed by the EPA for that green even being built, which may explain why it isn't bigger.  But in any case, it sort of ruins the hole; there simply isn't anywhere to miss without losing your golf ball; the hundreds of balls that are visible down in the marsh are evidence of that.  (And they've ALWAYS had trouble with their greens, fwiw.)
I haven't played Prestwick or Pawleys, if only because if I'm going to be anywhere near that part of the Strand, I'm going to Caledonia and True Blue, regardless of the cost.

[Mike Sweeney]

if I'm going to be anywhere near that part of the Strand, I'm going to Caledonia and True Blue, regardless of the cost.

With two family trips to Pawley's Island area, these two courses are very fun. Sure there are a couple of longer green to tee walks but they are better than anything in the Orlando area - a competing family vacation area. "Myrtle Beach" has always gotten dumped on here at GCA, but I really have never played up there and Pawley's Island is very intimate as a place.

[Ronald Montesano]

Only two golf course designers (I won't call them architects would ever build a hole like #9 (found here:  https://playriversedgegolf.com/hole-by-hole/) and they both played the tours in the 1960s and 1970s: Palmer and Player

[Stewart Abramson]

I love Rivers Edge, and have since it opened.  The 9th is perplexing because of that green; it is just SO small.  I may be misremembering this because it's been so long now, but I think there were fines assessed by the EPA for that green even being built, which may explain why it isn't bigger.  But in any case, it sort of ruins the hole; there simply isn't anywhere to miss without losing your golf ball; the hundreds of balls that are visible down in the marsh are evidence of that.

Here  are some photos of #9 at River's Edge. The second shot is across the marsh and is very difficult as the landing area for that shot is a fairly narrow peninsula that is almost 90 degrees to the direction of the tee shot. I think hundreds of balls in the marsh is an under-estimate. If you click to enlarge the last photo below, it looks more like thousands failed to carry to the second fairway.


Rivers Edge #9 Par 5 - 2nd shot across marsh


Rivers Edge #9 view from bridge crossing marsh zoomed 


Rivers Edge #9 


Rivers Edge #9 


Rivers Edge #9 golf ball grave yard 

Link to photos of all 18 at Rivers Edge https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/albums/72157632025253596/with/8190916586/

[Kalen Braley]

Looks like Arnie built that one, but my first guess would have been Pete Dye...

[Tim Gavrich]

I haven't played River's Edge, but I always wonder if the folks who hate holes like the 9th there or the 13th at Pawleys Plantation also hate the 17th at upscale, private Secession GC equally.


The hole at River's Edge looks like it could be made significantly more playable if the two bunkers were grassed over and made into short grass.

[Dan_Callahan]

I haven't played River's Edge, but I always wonder if the folks who hate holes like the 9th there or the 13th at Pawleys Plantation also hate the 17th at upscale, private Secession GC equally.

I haven't played Secession, but if the 17th is anything like the 9th at River's Edge, I would hate it. There was a lot about River's Edge I liked. I wouldn't choose it over Caledonia or True Blue, but I also would be happy to play it again.


The 13th at Pawleys wasn't awful. I thought the tee boxes built into the bridge was kind of a silly, contrived idea, and they were beat to hell. But as a short par 3, I was ok with it leaving very little margin for error. Very different from the 9th at River's Edge, where all three shots on the par 5 are the absolute worst of target golf.

[Tim Gavrich]

I haven't played River's Edge, but I always wonder if the folks who hate holes like the 9th there or the 13th at Pawleys Plantation also hate the 17th at upscale, private Secession GC equally.

I haven't played Secession, but if the 17th is anything like the 9th at River's Edge, I would hate it. There was a lot about River's Edge I liked. I wouldn't choose it over Caledonia or True Blue, but I also would be happy to play it again.


The 13th at Pawleys wasn't awful. I thought the tee boxes built into the bridge was kind of a silly, contrived idea, and they were beat to hell. But as a short par 3, I was ok with it leaving very little margin for error. Very different from the 9th at River's Edge, where all three shots on the par 5 are the absolute worst of target golf.

For the record, the "bridge" is adapted from a feature that was part of the property on which the golf course sits from roughly 200 years before it was a golf course. It was a dike built to regulate the flow of water in the fields back when the land was a working plantation. It may be contrived in the sense that all manmade objects are contrived, but it wasn't Jack Nicklaus who contrived it.

[Edward Glidewell]

I haven't played River's Edge, but I always wonder if the folks who hate holes like the 9th there or the 13th at Pawleys Plantation also hate the 17th at upscale, private Secession GC equally.

I haven't played Secession, but if the 17th is anything like the 9th at River's Edge, I would hate it. There was a lot about River's Edge I liked. I wouldn't choose it over Caledonia or True Blue, but I also would be happy to play it again.

Agreed. There's just not enough landing area on the 9th at Rivers Edge. If you go for it in 2, you can land a ball on the very front of the green and still end up in the marsh over the back. Even the layup shot has to be incredibly precise or you'll end up in the marsh short or long, unless you hit a short club to the wider spot out to the right. However, if you do that, then you have a very difficult third shot to a narrow target that you can't miss left, right, or long.


Also, I'm not sure changing the bunkers into grass would make the hole more playable. I think it would result in more balls bouncing through into the marsh on the other side. Those bunkers actually keep balls in play.

[Dan_Callahan]

For the record, the "bridge" is adapted from a feature that was part of the property on which the golf course sits from roughly 200 years before it was a golf course. It was a dike built to regulate the flow of water in the fields back when the land was a working plantation. It may be contrived in the sense that all manmade objects are contrived, but it wasn't Jack Nicklaus who contrived it.

Like I said, I didn't hate the hole. But I don't love Jack's decision to use that bridge or dike or whatever it is for tee boxes. It points you 45-90 degrees in the wrong direction, which I hate, the bridge is only wide enough for one-way traffic, so we had a jam of carts going in both directions, and because the strip of grass is so narrow, the tee boxes were in terrible shape. (I'm no agronomist, but I assume the site and construction had something to do with that.)

[Jeff Schley]

9 at River's Edge looks like it would be a human rain delay with groups wanting to wait until the green cleared for that 1 in 100 shot at hitting the green. But what a thrill it is happens. By the looks of all the contributions in the photo, not many heros.

[Stewart Abramson]

Re: River's Edge #9...For 99% of golfers, it doesn't make sense to go for the green in two, from a risk- reward perspective notwithstanding the potential thrill that causes so many to go for it. I The best opportunity of making par and avoiding a big number, while still leaving a chance for a one putt birdie is to take an iron second shot and hit the safest shot you can to the center of the peninsula landing area . I'm also of the view that the course is pretty good whatever one thinks of the ninth hole. It's also less expensive than many of the popular courses in the MB area .


Re: Pawleys #13, whether or not one likes it probably depends on how one feels about island green par threes generally. I don't recall having trouble with cart traffic on the dike or being unable to find a spot to tee a ball up. I have had difficulty choosing a line depending on wind. The angle to the green from the dike can play tricks on me.
 

Pawleys Plantation #13 par 3 front tee



Pawleys Plantation #13 par 3



Pawleys Plantation #13 par 3



Pawleys Plantation #13 par 3 from back tee




edited to add photos of Pawleys #13

[Tim Gavrich]

For the record, the "bridge" is adapted from a feature that was part of the property on which the golf course sits from roughly 200 years before it was a golf course. It was a dike built to regulate the flow of water in the fields back when the land was a working plantation. It may be contrived in the sense that all manmade objects are contrived, but it wasn't Jack Nicklaus who contrived it.

Like I said, I didn't hate the hole. But I don't love Jack's decision to use that bridge or dike or whatever it is for tee boxes. It points you 45-90 degrees in the wrong direction, which I hate, the bridge is only wide enough for one-way traffic, so we had a jam of carts going in both directions, and because the strip of grass is so narrow, the tee boxes were in terrible shape. (I'm no agronomist, but I assume the site and construction had something to do with that.)

Nicklaus originally intended for the green complex to be about 3x the size that it ultimately ended up being allowed to be by the Army Corps of Engineers. It's not an easy hole from any tee box, but like most of the course it's a solid test of a golfer's ability to select the correct set of tees relative to his or her ability. Lots of people play from at least one set too far back at Pawleys Plantation.

[Dave Maberry]

I haven't played River's Edge, but I always wonder if the folks who hate holes like the 9th there or the 13th at Pawleys Plantation also hate the 17th at upscale, private Secession GC equally.

I haven't played Secession, but if the 17th is anything like the 9th at River's Edge, I would hate it. There was a lot about River's Edge I liked. I wouldn't choose it over Caledonia or True Blue, but I also would be happy to play it again.


The 13th at Pawleys wasn't awful. I thought the tee boxes built into the bridge was kind of a silly, contrived idea, and they were beat to hell. But as a short par 3, I was ok with it leaving very little margin for error. Very different from the 9th at River's Edge, where all three shots on the par 5 are the absolute worst of target golf.

For the record, the "bridge" is adapted from a feature that was part of the property on which the golf course sits from roughly 200 years before it was a golf course. It was a dike built to regulate the flow of water in the fields back when the land was a working plantation. It may be contrived in the sense that all manmade objects are contrived, but it wasn't Jack Nicklaus who contrived it.

I prefer the dike and tees at Pawleys vs the cart path/tees at hole #15 at Rivers Edge. That is the first par 3 I have played from golf mats. It appears they have not even tried to grow grass for the tees. 

[Dan_Callahan]

I prefer the dike and tees at Pawleys vs the cart path/tees at hole #15 at Rivers Edge. That is the first par 3 I have played from golf mats. It appears they have not even tried to grow grass for the tees. 

We didn't have a mat on that hole, but now that you mention it, the condition of the tee boxes at River's Edge were wildly different. Front 9 was lush, back 9 pretty chewed up. I thought the 15th was decent and enjoyed having a longish par 3 thrown in. It was into the wind when I played it, and it took a hybrid to ensure not coming up short in the marsh. There was plenty of room long left and right to miss, so it was very playable.

[Kalen Braley]

Nicklaus originally intended for the green complex to be about 3x the size that it ultimately ended up being allowed to be by the Army Corps of Engineers. It's not an easy hole from any tee box, but like most of the course it's a solid test of a golfer's ability to select the correct set of tees relative to his or her ability. Lots of people play from at least one set too far back at Pawleys Plantation.

I fired up Google Earth and took some measurements.  Given the hole basically plays as an island green, as ams rarely miss long, its only about 15 yards wide.  For comparison TPC Sawgrass 17 is about 25 yards wide.  Certainly a very tiny target, and Lord help you if the wind is blowing.

[Dave Maberry]

I prefer the dike and tees at Pawleys vs the cart path/tees at hole #15 at Rivers Edge. That is the first par 3 I have played from golf mats. It appears they have not even tried to grow grass for the tees. 

We didn't have a mat on that hole, but now that you mention it, the condition of the tee boxes at River's Edge were wildly different. Front 9 was lush, back 9 pretty chewed up. I thought the 15th was decent and enjoyed having a longish par 3 thrown in. It was into the wind when I played it, and it took a hybrid to ensure not coming up short in the marsh. There was plenty of room long left and right to miss, so it was very playable.

We played from forward tees. Checking Google maps it looks like back tee is traditional grass and the 2 forward tees are mats. These are located along cart path as you drive to green.

[Edward Glidewell]

I prefer the dike and tees at Pawleys vs the cart path/tees at hole #15 at Rivers Edge. That is the first par 3 I have played from golf mats. It appears they have not even tried to grow grass for the tees. 

Those used to be grass tees. I think it was impossible for them to keep grass on them due to the small size and the brackish water nearby, so they gave up and installed the mats. The back couple of tees on that hole are still grass but they're usually not in very good shape.

[Peter Sayegh]

Dan, RE #9 may be the most polarizing hole at Myrtle Beach.
Did you happen to notice if/where a drop zone option was on the day you played?
Edward nailed it. The approach after a "smart" layup is no bargain.
It's a beautiful piece of terra firma; not sure it's where a green should be situated.

[Dan_Callahan]

Dan, RE #9 may be the most polarizing hole at Myrtle Beach.
Did you happen to notice if/where a drop zone option was on the day you played?

I did not. I hit my drive down the left, into a pretty stiff wind. As tempting as it was to go for the green, it was clear it was a one-in-a-million shot. I hit an iron out to the right and had 100 yards in from there. And with a 56 degree wedge in my hand, that was by far the most intimidating shot to that point, and I was looking right down the green. With wind, there is zero margin for error. I put it in the right greenside bunker. Dumped one on the green from there, which was also a nailbiter because there's really no backstop ... if you are even a little bit strong, it's likely to roll off into the marsh. Two-putted from there and was decently happy to walk off with a boggy. And the resolute conviction that it was one of the worst holes I've ever played, in a very attractive setting.


The only course we played that had clearly marked drop areas (that were also mentioned repeatedly by the starter) was at Glen Dornoch. They do a good job moving the drop ... and encouraging people to use it ... beyond the hazard to speed up play.

[Edward Glidewell]

The drop area is usually off to the right where you have the very difficult wedge shot described above.