COURSE REVIEW

Tradition G.C. suffers from living in classy neighborhood with traditional Strand favs

By Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (Feb. 20, 2006) — The Tradition Golf Club may suffer a bit of prestige from its location in a ritzy neighborhood. It's like that beautiful house within shouting distance of the Taj Mahal. Tradition is an imaginative and playable course on Pawleys Island in the South Strand, which boasts names like Caledonia, Heritage and the River Club.

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It stands up to all of those, with the exception of Caledonia. As befits its name, Tradition has a very traditional layout, with tight, tree-lined fairways, strategic bunkering and relatively small, Bermuda greens, some of the best at the beach, in fact.

"A lot of people up north come down here and have trouble reading them," said Assistant Professional Mike Henderson.

Good. What good is it to travel south and be met with northern-type greens? The course is thickly forested and nicely tended. It does wind through neighborhoods, but despite the fact it may set a record for the number of streets you have to cross, the homes aren't usually visible. The cart paths take you through some nice rides through the dense woods, though the routing would make it tough for those who dare to walk.

Course architect Ron Garl is known for making his layouts playable and Tradition is no exception. It sports five sets of tees, including two for the ladies, who have responded; Golf for Women magazine has rated it in the top 50 in the U.S. for women.

Still, there's enough to keep it interesting for the Y chromosomes. Those narrow fairways for one. And while the course is not long at 6,717 yards from the championship tees, water is in play in some way, shape or form on 10 holes, and many of the fairways throw nasty bunkers at the wayward. You have to negotiate many of them to get the best angle into the green.

"It's not real wide-open, but it's a spread-out course, mainly woods with a little bit of water," Henderson said. "A lot of bunkers, some big fairway bunkers. You need to stay out of those bunkers."

As well as the water. You're hitting over water to the green at the par-5 14th hole, as well as the par-3 15th. No. 2 has water down the entire left side and No. 6's island green is tricky, but not as much as the peninsula green at No. 7, which allows virtually no margin for error.

The verdict

The Tradition is one of the south Strand's better courses, not as challenging or steeped in tradition as Caledonia or as scenic as, say Willbrook Plantation.

"I like Willbrook for the aesthetics," said mid-handicapper Dave Clark. "You're not seeing that here."

Still, for the money, it's well worth it: some critics have called it one of the top courses on the Grand Strand, though I would put it somewhere in the upper-middle. Like most Strand courses, green fees vary dramatically according to the season and time of day, so call ahead.

Though the Bermuda greens are in excellent shape most of the year, they were slow from over-seeding in late November, when most other courses go through the same transition.

"I can't hit the damn thing hard enough," complained Clark, after leaving another putt short.

The Tradition is also a great place to hone your game, with its 43,000-sqaure-foot putting green and multi-level chipping and pitching areas. It's home to the Tradition Golf School.

Stay and play

Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort is at the southern end of the Grand Strand, a great place to play the south courses. It's affiliated with three courses: the Litchfield Country Club, River Club and Willbrook Plantation. The latter two in particular are excellent layouts. There's a racquet club and fitness center, and several restaurants to choose from: Websters Lowcountry Grill and Tavern, the eateries at the golf courses and the Calypso Beach Bar and Grill.

Sea Trail Plantation has one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom accommodations, as well as mini-suites and luxury suites from $72 to $386 a night. It's on the southernmost coast of North Carolina, and most of the golf villas are on the fairways of the courses, within walking distance of the Byrd/Jones clubhouse and the Magnolia Restaurant. The villas have full kitchens and the plantation has tennis, swimming and fitness centers. It's a good opportunity to play the plantation's three resort courses, as well as the other courses located here at the northernmost end of the Grand Stand.

River Oaks Golf Plantation, just to the west of the Intracoastal Waterway, is also a good, centrally located place for golfers to stay and play Myrtle Beach. 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 excellent. Try a drive through Murrell's Inlet to find one of dozens of specialized seafood restaurants, with freshly-caught seafood, or eat at Greg Norman's excellent grille at barefoot landing.

Fast fact

Service at the Tradition is on a par with some of the top country club courses on the Strand and it also has one of the better drainage systems to cope with the lowcountry weather.

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.