COURSE REVIEW

Nicklaus never visits, but his influence hovers over Pawleys Plantation

(March 22, 2005) - Jack Nicklaus doesn't come around no more, leaving his Pawleys Plantation design with the sudden certainty of an absentee father.

"Jack hasn't been back since Hurricane Hugo hit in '89,'' assistant pro Ross McCullogh said. "At least no one's seen him since then.''

• By land or air, getting around Myrtle Beach becoming simpler • The Founders is a gauntlet by any other name • Despite some hokey marketing, Santee offers decent golf and fishing

McCullogh chuckled, his little joke easily translating over the phone line. Like Jack Nicklaus could ever show up at a golf course and walk around unnoticed. Not that the people at Pawleys are fretting over the legend's 15-year absence. The course is all grown up and independent, thank you very much.

"I'm sure he's got so many responsibilities and commitments all over the place, he can't just be stopping back at every course he ever designed,'' McCullogh said. "Especially if he got it right the first time.

It's hard to imagine anyone getting the scenery wrong at Pawleys Plantation. Set on a resort that encompasses 600 acres of wetlands, mammoth oak trees, salt marshes and small lakes, the natural landscape gave Nicklaus plenty to work with.

While working on the course, Nicklaus reportedly became so enamored with the scenery that he bought a house in the area. We know how well that worked out, but what's a passing fancy to a golf great can be an enduring treat for the regular folks.

"It's one of the prettier courses in the Myrtle Beach area,'' said Gus Steiger, a New Yorker who makes frequent pilgrimages to the golf hot spot. "You definitely enjoy the views. Of course it's a Nicklaus course so as you're enjoying the views, you curse the design a little too. It's Jack."

"He always throws something a little crazy into it.''

At Pawleys Plantation that little bit of crazy is the 145-yard, par-3 13th. This might be the most notorious hole in the Grand Strand. Many feel it is simply designed to frustrate and infuriate the average golfer. It requires a shot from a scrunched tee box onto an island green that's about as forgiving as Red Sox fans. Winds often knocks down your shot before it even reaches the green and if it does, it's hardly a sporting proposition to bet on it staying on.

McCullogh laughs when the 13th comes up. The hole may be 16 years old now, but if anything it's only gained in controversy with age.

"It's still about 50-50,'' McCullogh said. "Half the people love it and half the people hate it. The people who hit it on the green love it, the people who don't hate it. But I think everyone who plays the hole agrees the view is second to none in Myrtle Beach."

Of course, some feel the view is just another sick joke. It's not so easy to enjoy the Low Country's charm if you're working on a quadruple bogey 7.

The 201-yard 17th is another nasty par 3 that might be infamous itself if not for its 13th neighbor. With the marshland on the left and the oaks on the right, there is little margin for error when aiming for this green. A difficult flag placement and you are all but cursing another 13.

Yet for all the gripes over the 13th influence, many feel that Pawleys Plantation is one of Nicklaus' fairer course designs. The Golden Bear is often criticizing for building courses for him and his PGA-worthy buddies rather than taking the recreational golfer into account. While the par 5s at Pawleys measure 511, 543, 563 and 525 yards from the back tees, there are few holes that require John Daly driver blasts to survive.

"It's a Jack Nicklaus course you can play,'' McCullogh said. "No question."

Maybe that's why even if Jack no longer visits, so many others are frequent guests. On this early fall weekday, McCullogh and his staff had just finished joking around with a group of 16 that keeps coming back, year after year.

"It's almost like they're members,'' `McCullogh said. "They're always back and they're always happy to be here."

Sometimes you just fall in love with a course, character marks (or warts) and all.

Pawleys regulars are just happy the hurricanes that rock the southeastern seaboard have largely left their scenery alone. Charley shut the course down for a few weeks, but that's the only one of this summer's massive storms that affected the resort on Pawleys Island.

Turns out it isn't a bad place to visit. Really, Jack.

Places to eat

Frank's Restaurant (843) 237-3030 offers upscale American food with a decent wine cellar for the island. Bovines (843) 651-2888 provides casual waterfront dining with wood-fried steaks and brick-oven pizzas. The usual fast food joints have also moved into the island in recent years.

Places to stay

There are the customary chains with a Best Western (843) 237-4261, Hampton Inn (843) 235-2000 and Holiday Inn Express (843) 235-0808 right on the island. You'll pay more than usual for the location however. For something with a little more character, the Sea View Inn (843) 237-4253 is a bed & breakfast right on the beach.