COURSE REVIEW

Blackmoor returns a true test for shotmakers

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Oct. 28, 2003) -- Blackmoor Golf Club has been regarded as a gem by Grand Strand golfers since it opened in 1990. A fair and enjoyable test of golf that is easily recommended to a friend, Blackmoor is one of the area's finest layouts.

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At the heart of the project was the conversion of the course's greens to TifEagle Ultradwarf Bermuda grass, a heat tolerant strain that approaches the speed of bent grass and offers greater durability. The venerable course didn't stop with the installation of new greens. In addition to adding several new bunkers and renovating all the existing traps, subtle movement was added to 12 of 18 greens.

"I'm not a firm believer in a lot of undulation or tricky greens because I don't think that is the game of golf," said Bob Zuercher, Blackmoor's director of golf operations. "But the mellow undulation we put in makes them a little more challenging and a little more memorable."

Built before golf's technological revolution, one of Blackmoor's charms lies in the fact that golfer's don't have to train with Barry Bonds to acquire the strength to compete against the course. Measuring 6,614 yards from the tips and 6,217 yards from the white tees, the course challenges golfers with accuracy and creativity.

Can the course be overpowered by long hitters? Maybe, but anybody swinging the big sick better be accurate. With eight doglegs and tree-lined fairways throughout, Blackmoor places a premium on being in the short grass.

"It's more of a shotmaker's course," said Jon Fritz, Blackmoor's head pro. "He [Player] makes it real well known that you have to keep the ball in the fairway and after you get up around the green there is not just one shot. Don't just pull you wedge out and chip it up on the green. Use your imagination and see what you can create."

A player's imagination and sense of bravado are both put to the test on the 371-yard, par-4 eighth hole, which offers two sets of tees and two fairways. Playing the hole conventionally, a well placed 200-yard tee shot will leave you with a relatively easy approach on a hole that dogleg's slightly to the right.

The hole will test the mettle and decision-making of every person who tees off at Blackmoor, but it also provides the type of memories that golfers carry with them long after they've left the Grand Strand.

While No. 8 is probably the most memorable hole on the front nine, it's the seventh hole that benefited most from the greens renovation project. The 544-yard, par-5 previously featured a green about the size of a postage stamp. Prior to the renovation, it's was difficult, at best, to hold a very small green that bordered on being unfair on one of the layout's most difficult holes.

As part of the project, the seventh green was completely rebuilt and is now approximately four times its original size and features mounding around the back that beautifully frames the green and its movement. A waste bunker that ran to within 15 yards of the green was also extended to the left side of the hole, creating a greenside bunker that aids both the challenge and the beauty.

Starting with the 10th hole, a 411-yard, par-4 that is the No. 1 handicap, the heart of the course is on the back nine. The 10th, a dogleg left that requires a long and accurate drive onto a tree-lined fairway, and 11th hole offers divergent yet equally compelling challenges.

The 11th hole is only 332 yards long, but the fairway slopes from right to left and a large cypress tree resides in the left center of the fairway. Like the seventh hole, the 11th also benefited greatly from renovation project. Club officials added a bunker on the left side of the green that prevents balls from tumbling into the woods.

No. 11 is a hole that will require golfers to make the choice between the urge to pull out the Great Big Bertha and swing for what could result in an easy birdie attempt or play the percentages.

Whether you are swinging for the green or laying up in the fairway, keeping the ball on the right side of the fairway is almost a must. There are large mounds to the right of the fairway that help push the ball into the short grass and they can be your friend. Anything onto the fairway's lower shelf on the left side runs the risk of careening into the woods.

Certain holes may prove to be more aesthetically pleasing and others more challenging, but no hole at Blackmoor Golf Club is more memorable than the par-5 13th. Blackmoor sits on historic Longwood Plantation, an anti-bellum rice plantation.

The 13th plays alongside the plantation's cemetery, which has headstones that date back to the 1800s. There are close to 30 headstones visible in the woods along the 13th hole. To prevent golfers who might already be cursing from tempting fate, a free drop is permitted from the cemetery.

The 13th hole brings the rich history of not only the former Longwood Plantation but also lowcountry South Carolina.

From an elevated tee box, the par 3, 15th hole offers Blackmoor's prettiest hole. With wetlands in front of the hole and three pot bunkers lining the right side of the green, the 166-yard hole provides a lasting image.

"You will literally use every club in your bag at some point and be challenged by a lot of different shots," said Zuercher.

Fast fact

Blackmoor closed on May 18, 2003 for extensive greens and course renovations before reopening on August 10.