Caledonia Golf and Fish Club Sets the Bar in the Grand Strand

By Shane Sharp,
TravelGolf.com Senior Editor

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. - Every Thursday in the spring, the owners of the Caledonia Golf and Fish Club gather in the Fishhead Shed alongside the Clubhouse to socialize, cook up the catch of the day, and catch up on local gossip.

The tradition began back in 1971 when the outdoor enthusiasts purchased this 152-acre portion of the Caledonia plantation from the descendents of the original owners - Dr. Robert Nesbit and Elizabeth Pawley.

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Today, an 18-hole Mike Strantz designed golf course meanders through the property, but the remnants of the rice plantation and the fish and hunt club aren't hard to find. The Fishhead shed was part of the original plantation house, the clubhouse is vintage Antebellum, and an old boat dock sits in the shadows of the property's 150-year-old oak trees, waiting to take the course's owners out on the Intracoastal Waterway for an afternoon of fishing.

From rice plantation, to hunt and fish club, to golf club. Caledonia's gradual progression from farm to golf course is not a typical of the plantation style courses of coastal South Carolina. In the South Strand alone, one can count Willbrook, True Blue, Litchfield, the Heritage Club and Pawleys Plantation as true plantation style courses.

But since its opening in 1995, Caledonia has distanced itself not only from its South Strand siblings, but also from almost every other course in Myrtle Beach. Golf Digest adorned it with 4.5 stars, Golf Magazine rated it the 30th best course in the country that you can play, and Golf Week included it in its list of the America's 100 Best Modern Courses."

"In my objective opinion, as a golfer and a golf professional, this is one of the best, if not the best course at the beach," says Caledonia golf professional Bob Seganti.

Exactly what is it that has made Caledonia the most sought-after round of golf at the beach?

Seganti believes it's a basic combination of great golf and great service.

"There are two factors that make the course popular," Seganti says. "High handicappers love the landscaping, which is nearly perfect. Every space that could or should be landscaped is. As far as playability goes, we have four sets of tees and our staff will recommend which tees to play from based on your handicap."

That Caledonia was Strantz's first solo design effort only adds to the lore and legend of the course. Now one of the most recognizable and controversial names in golf course design, Strantz was just beginning to make his mark in business when he was approached by Caledonia's owners.

The Toledo, Ohio native was fresh off a collaborative design of the Parkland Course at the Legends Golf Complex off Highway 501, when the Caledonia stockholders came a calling. Larry Young, the Legends owner, was quick to recommend Strantz for the job.

With his imaginative and celebrated layout at Parkland, Strantz showed the first signs of becoming a major player in the profession.

When he arrived onsite at Caledonia, Strantz immediately set to walking the property, pencil and sketchpad in hand. The holes he designed - virtually off the top of his head - mystified Caledonia's owners, and despite his small portfolio, Seganti says that Strantz was given free reign to design whatever style golf course he saw fit.

"What they wanted to do was preserve as much natural beauty as possible and move very little dirt," Seganti says. "That was the only instruction they gave Mike."

When the last hole was shaped and the final piece of sod was placed, Strantz had produced one of his finest and least controversial golf courses. Anyone who has played Caledonia's sister course, True Blue, or Tobacco Road and Tot Hill Farm in North Carolina, knows that Strantz doesn't always adhere to the traditional principles of golf course design.

Caledonia is the lone exception to Strantz's in-your-face design philosophy.

"Obviously, Caledonia is the non-controversial Mike Strantz course," Seganti says. "I have never heard a negative comment about the actual design of the golf course, and I run the pro shop and I have dealt with tens of thousands of guests."

The first hole at Caledonia, a 350-yard par 4 from the blue tees, is a wonderful starting hole with a wide fairway and subtle contouring that funnels tee shots back towards the middle. The green complex is raised in a stately fashion, and the putting surface is large enough to catch less than perfect approach shots.

The way that Strantz goes on to mix and match yardages and hole shapes is nothing short of brilliant. The 553-yard par 5-second hole lets players shake every last ounce of nervousness from their body with its behemoth fairway and general lack of penal hazards.

The 175-yard par 3 third hole, with its tee shot over an intimidating waste bunker, comes back to slap players in the face and let them know that they will not be walking all over this course.

The front nine bobs and weaves with long par 4's and another three shot par 5. Then, just when players are expecting some type of dramatic end to the walk out, Strantz presents the 110-yard ninth, perhaps the only controversial hole on the entire course.

"A lot of players don't like a pitch and putt hole to end the front nine," Seganti says. "But others view it as a welcome relief to a front nine that can play tough depending on the pin positions."

But just when you think you've gained a competitive edge at Caledonia, a slight measure of relief, Strantz brings you right back down to earth.

The back nine begins in full force, with the 531-yard par 5 10th hole that calls for healthy carry over the marsh off the tee. And if Strantz isn't trying to humble players with distance, he's attempting to mesmerize them with sheer beauty.

The 363-yard par 4 14th hole may be the prettiest hole on the course, and one of the most aesthetically appealing in all the Grand Strand. The 377-yard 18th hole could easily be the best finishing hole at the beach, requiring players to hit their approach shots over the marsh to a peninsula green. The clubhouse sits just behind the green, and it's not uncommon for dozens of players to gather on the porch and cheer those shots that find the putting surface and not the water.

"It is one of the few courses where you can go through your bag and hit every club in your bag," Seganti says. "The course can play fairly easy or very difficult depending on pin position."

Caledonia is gushing with memorable holes, but Seganti says that it's the course's conditioning and service that most players remember.

"The year around condition is rated very good to excellent," he says. "We have one of the best superintendents, Jackson Clemons, who has been with us four years, and he has to deal with 50,000 rounds per year. Conditioning is one of the biggest factors here in choosing a golf course. Then you have the service and the quality of the clubhouse that factor in."

Caledonia Golf and Fish Club
COURSE CAPSULE

Designer: Mike Strantz
Year Opened: 1995
Turf: Greens - Bermuda, Fairways - Bermuda.
Slope: Pintail (back) 132, Mallard 122, Wood Duck 114, Redhead (Ladies) 113.
Ratings: Pintail (back) 70.9, Mallard 68.8, Wood Duck 114, Redhead (Ladies) 113.
Address: 369 Caledonia Dr., PO Box 1320 Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Phone: 1-888-633-6102
Head Professional: Todd Weldon
Sharp Says: Caledonia is one of the top three courses on the Strand, and you must play this course at some point in your travels. Only Tidewater and the Dunes Club can rival its setting, but no course approaches its conditioning and overall aesthetics. The service is outstanding, as it should be for the price. But you are truly made to feel like a guest, and that you are experiencing something special. As for the controversial 9th hole - I love it. I was staring at a low number on the front nine, and when I saw that pitch and putt hole, I wanted to buy Strantz a beer.

Join Senior Editor Shane Sharp this week as he explores one of the Grand Strand's most highly rated courses.