I played the Parkland course today and found it very, very impressive. I had last played it five or so years ago with my father and didn't remember more than a few holes until my round today. If I remember correctly, whereas the Heathland course is certainly an early-ish Tom Doak creation and the Moorland course is a P.B. Dye layout, the Parkland course has a somewhat checkered lineage. If anyone has some insight, I'd appreciate it.
In short, I believe the Parkland course is one of the most underrated on the Grand Strand. It bucks many preconceived notions about Myrtle Beach golf being bland "buffet golf." Plenty of courses are like that, but none of them are at Legends. Parkland kicks off with a pretty easy 380-ish straightaway par 4, but unlike most courses in the area, nearly all of the surface of the green is obscured even from wedge range, making things uncertain and a little more interesting. Many other greens at Parkland are at least very partially hidden behind mounds and huge, deep, sheer-lipped bunkers. The putting surfaces themselves range from merely large to enormous, and have very good interior movement. The drivable par 4 9th hole has three or four separate sections and with the pin up front today, I was able to play a bump-and-run (yes, the bermuda fairways were rather firm in places, which is a rarity in MB) up the slope in front of the green. There was also the option of hitting a ball up the big slope behind the hole in order to let it roll back towards the cup. Ahh...options!
The par 3s at parkland are probably the course's best feature. They increase in difficulty and quality as the round progresses. The 5th is 200 from the tips and sits in a very peaceful part of the property, with a pond that wraps around the right and back sides of the green. I cannot think of any other holes in the area that have a pond over the back of the green in this fashion...I wish there were more, as I found it a very cool feature. The hole encouraged a running long iron, but to a back pin, it's dicey. My favorite par 3 on the golf course, though, is the 230 yard 16th, which is a Lowcountry Biarritz-esque par 3.5. The green has a sideways dip that is more gradual and wider than the classic Biarritz green. The green is also angled from front-right to back-left. I wanted to drop a bag of golf balls this afternoon and spend an hour trying to hit a little cut 3 wood to the back pin; what a neat hole.
I'd love to hear any insight about the architectural history of the Parkland course or anyone's thoughts on the course itself.
Cheers.
--Tim