GOLF COURSE REVIEW

Bay Tree Plantation: Timeless Layouts, Championship Golf

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – So many golf courses have been built in Myrtle Beach over the past decade, sometimes it’s a good idea to stop and take stock of the older venues that laid the ground work for the Grand Strand to emerge as the modern “Golf Capital” of the world.

Bay Tree Plantation opened in 1972, and paved the way for modern, multi course facilities like the Legends, Wild Wing, Myrtle Beach National, Sea Trail, Barefoot Resort and Ocean Ridge Plantation.

Opening two, three, or even four courses simultaneously today at the beach won’t raise too many eyebrows. But 30 years ago, Bay Tree head professional Tracy Connor says the courses’ owners were looked upon as mavericks.

“People were like, ‘are they crazy, and why are they building three courses in the middle of nowhere,’ ” Connor says. “We were the first golf course anywhere in the world that opened three golf courses at the same time. And now our location, that used to be in the middle of nowhere, it very convenient for golfers.”

Bay Tree Plantation is located off S.C. Highway 9 in North Myrtle Beach, and is home to three exquisite George Fazio/Russell Breeden designed golf courses. The Green Course is commonly referred to as the “Green Monster” and hosts a variety of professional golfing events.

The Silver Course was remodeled in 1995, and is a favorite among members, locals, and the ladies, who felt strongly enough to vote it as one of the most women friendly tracks in the country.

The Gold Course is the most popular overall, says Connor, and has yet to undergo any major renovations, but is slated for some major improvements in the near future.

“We chose the Gold Course to do last because it’s the most popular,” Connor says. “When we do it, we’ll spend more money and time. We do most of the work in house and sub out only the big work. We wanted to go through the process a couple times before we tried it on the Gold Course.”

• Reader forums • Myrtle Beach course reviews • Myrtle Beach golf packages • More Myrtle Beach features

The Dunes Club, TPC of Myrtle Beach, and Wachesaw Plantation East may have received more publicity in recent years over the professional golfing events they hosted, but Bay Tree is the granddaddy of them all when it comes to attracting big name tournaments.

“We have hosted a PGA, LPGA and USGA events in our history,” Connor says. “We currently host the largest college tournament in the country and the largest high school tournament in the country. We host the Hooters Tour stop here. We feel like we do tournaments and events very well. We are able to do it because we have the three courses and can maintain public play while it’s going on.”

In 1975, just three years after it’s opening, the PGA selected Bay Tree as the site of that year’s final stage of Tour qualifying. Each of the three courses stood up to the test, and the Tour decided to return the next year.

In 1977, Bay Tree cemented its reputation as a championship facility when the LPGA elected to hold its tour championship there. Most recently, Bay Tree has been a regular site of the Myrtle Beach Open, the Carolinas Open, and the National Left Handed Championship.

Connor says a variety of things have come together to make Bay Tree the timeless facility that it is today. The facility still boasts its original owners – a rarity in a region where courses change hands like Brittany Spears changes outfits. And having three courses in operation at once offers Bay Tree more flexibility with tournaments and routine maintenance.

“The owners here are the same owners since day one,” Connor says. “First they built Possum Trot and Robbers Roost and operated them for a couple of years and they were successful. They thought they could open three courses and be successful, and they were right.”

Bay Tree also had success designed into its traditional fairways and greens.

Fazio and Breeden had enough foresight to design courses that were easy to maintain, but challenging enough around the greens to keep good players coming back. Fazio, uncle of now legendary course designer Tom, designed the green complexes on all three courses while Breeden was responsible for the routing and the layout of the holes.

“At the time, George was probably the most sought after architect in the country,” Connor says. “Russell had done some work at Possum Trot and Robbers Roost. He did the initial work and George did the finishing work.”

Connor says that there was never any controversy as to which architect would design what. The collaboration was brought about by necessity – Bay Tree’s owners wanted three golf courses and they wanted them fast.

“It was more of a timing issue,” says Connor of the Breeden, Fazio tandem. “George was on another job and told Russell to go ahead and lay the holes out. Architecture 30 years ago was much different. That would be unheard of today, for say Tom Fazio to come and do the finishing work for Pete Dye or Jack Nicklaus.”

In a show of appreciation for its dedication to conditioning, service, and community impact, Bay Tree was voted Myrtle Beach’s “Course of the Year” in 1999 by the Golf Course Owners Association. Connor says the award came as a pleasant surprise, but that Bay Tree’s philosophy has always been to operate in the best interest of the area.

“Our goal here since day one has been to get people to come back to Myrtle Beach,” Connor says. “We know that people will enjoy Bay Tree, but we are not under any illusions that this is the only course that people want to play. Our mission statement involves getting people back to this area.”

By all accounts, mission accomplished.