COURSE REVIEW

Litchfield Country Club: Born back when Myrtle Beach was a baby

By Tim McDonald,
Contributor

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Dec. 19, 2005) - Litchfied Country Club has that settled, old-time look, from the gnarled, old oaks making shade in the parking lot and on the course, to the layout of the course itself, with its narrow, tree-lined fairways and small greens.

In the golf-chaos of Myrtle Beach, where they churn out golf courses like fast-food joints - or at least they used to before business went south - Litchfield is the family who's been in the neighborhood almost since someone first teed up a golf ball here. It's the fifth-oldest course on the Grand Strand and the first in the Litchfield-Pawleys Island area, a charming old belle who's replaced her youthful beauty with an almost regal quality.

• Travelers still finding the deals on golf and more at Myrtle Beach • Myrtle Beach, S.C. has some great golf courses - just not these • River's Edge Golf Club in Shallotte, N.C., might keep you on the edge of sanity • Visit GolfBoards.com

"You can tell it's old," said Head Professional Christa Bodensteiner, a 12-year Myrtle Beach resident since being lured from Iowa and a career in psychology. "The trees are old. It's stately. I think it's a very Southern feeling."

Litchfield is on Pawleys Island, right off busy Highway 17, in a pleasant, shaded neighborhood. You can almost - almost - picture how Highway 17 must have looked when the club opened in 1966. The plantation-style clubhouse is modest, no pretensions here, though they have added a nice sun room in the grill. The course was built on an old rice plantation with fairways bordered by live oaks.

The club has gone out of its way to maintain the integrity of the original Willard Byrd design. That means greenside pathways for bump and run shots. Remember when they used to do that? They've tinkered a bit with it over the years, installing new irrigation and re-doing the bunkers, but the only serious change was moving the putting green out of the shade and into the sun, which caused the first hole to be shortened a little.

Litchfield isn't overly short like many older courses, at 6,752 yards, and its slope rating of 130 means you will neither be bowled over or do any of same. It's also traditional in the sense there are no parallel fairways. This is back when they had room to build.

It's nicely-wooded with the oaks mixed with tall pines and some cedar, and Byrd put in a good mix of holes with varying yardages on the par 4s. The course has more than its share of doglegs, both left and right.

You'll find yourself using a lot of different clubs here and employing a lot of different shots. One of those shots will almost certainly be low screamers out from under the trees, which you will almost undoubtedly find yourself under, unless you're laser accurate off the tee.

One of the odd things about the course is the water, which you will note is on 17 of the 18 holes. That sounds like a lot, but the odd thing is that you don't really notice it that much. It's either lateral or hard to reach, though there are several places where it's hidden from the tees, and of course in those cases you do find it.

The verdict

Litchfield Country Club is a very pleasant, little golf course, especially for those fans of traditional layouts. You won't be dependent on your driver, but you will get to try a variety of shots. Another of the highlights are the one-shotters.

"I think we have some of the toughest par 3s in the area," Bodensteiner said. "There's not a one of them that's easy."

The course is generally known for its conditioning, though in October the greens were bumpy and the fairways had some brown patches.

"I like the layout of the course," said Ron Walker , a mid-handicapper from Pennsylvania. "But, the conditioning isn't that great. But, you've got to understand it's the end of the season."

"We just overseeded," Bodenstein said. "So they do get a little bumpy and slow. We're kind of in that awkward season. Normally, the fairways would be a lot more plush."

Stay and play

River Oaks Golf Plantation, just to the west of the Intracoastal Waterway, is a good, centrally located place for golfers to stay. It's easy to go north or south via Highway 17 and it's close to Broadway at the Beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

They have one-, two- and three-bedroom villas, many of them overlooking the fairways of the 27-hole golf course on the property. It's also within walking distance of both Fantasy Harbour and the Waccamaw Pottery shopping complex. There are also indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis and walking trails.

Dining out

Myrtle Beach has more than 1,600 restaurants and they aren't all fried fast food. In fact, the area has some nice eateries: Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Frank's Restaurant and Bar on Pawleys Island, Bella Napoli, Islamorada Fish Company, just to name a few. The buffet at Sea Trail Plantation is said to be excellent.

Fast fact

No. 18 at Litchfield is featured in "The 100 Greatest Holes along the Grand Strand" by The Sun News.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.