NEWS FEATURE

"The Brick" gets a major makeover under new ownership

Quirky Mike Brazeal design to sport new look this summer

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. (June 8, 2004) - An area of the Grand Strand hankering for some good news after a series of ugly course closures finally got some last week. Donnie and Lou King, owners of Brick Landing Plantation as of nine weeks ago, announced their intentions to bring Brick Landing Plantation back to the upper echelon of North Strand golf.

"We want to bring this area back to where it should be," said Donnie King, son of former PGA Tour player Claude King. "With Marsh Harbour and Ocean Harbour we've had a lot of bad press up here lately. It's time to get this thing turned around."

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King is nearing completion on a number of improvements to the Mike Brazeal designed course that opened in 1987. The 114-yard par-3 17th has been eliminated, and are the 530-yard par-5 fourth has been split into a 320-yard par 4 and a 185-yard par 3. The new layout will be a par 71 for the time being and will play slightly shorter than its original 6,788-yards.

"I think it is a beautiful layout and the people who had it had let it go," King said. "Once upon a time this was one of the best courses around here."

Indeed, "The Brick" was considered one of the most scenic courses in the North Strand in the late '80s and early '90s. The first and 18th holes - both par 4s -- play along the Intracoastal Waterway, and the tee box of the par-3 17th is set on a bluff overlooking the water.

In the late '90s, however, the course fell into disrepair and was blacklisted by most local golf packagers.

Reader feedback "I've only played it [Brick Landing] once, but to me, the fairways seemed "crowned." Anything that landed on the right side of the fairway went right, and ditto left, usually into a hazard. I remember hitting a sand wedge on No. 2 to the very back of the green. Couldn't believe they had a 90-yard par 3 from the tips! The first hole is a great start, and 18 is a great finish. In between....?" Jeff Gehm, New Castle, Pa.

"When it was in good condition, Brick Landing used to be on my list," said J.T. Kobelt of Carolina Golf Travel in Wilmington. "The conditioning got so bad we had to pull it."

Kobelt said he and the other golf directors at Carolina Golf Travel would welcome a new and improved Brick Landing back into the fold. With Marsh Harbour and Ocean Harbour closed indefinitely, Brunswick County's golf inventory has taken a major hit. As someone who has played the course a number of times, however, Kobelt doesn't agree with all of King's changes.

"I think eliminating the 17th is a mistake," he said. "It was a pretty good par 3 with enough scenery and penalty if you hit it long to be an interesting hole. The most disliked hole was No. 2. It was one of these dinky little par 3s that just connected the first hole to the rest of the course."

When asked about the 96-yard second hole, King said phase two of the makeover includes its elimination, and stretching some par 4s into par 5s to bring the course back to a par 72.

"We also have plans to build an entirely new hole to replace the second hole and that should take seven or eight weeks," King said.

The 17th actually remains open for the time being until the Bermuda grass green on the new par 4 and the tee boxes on the new par 3 grows in. King said he expects the new-look Brick Landing to come to fruition in four weeks. Other improvements include tweaking some bunkers and a major remodeling of the clubhouse.

The Golf Division of Phillips and Jordan Inc., is handling the on course improvements. The Knoxville, Tenn. based company was the contractor of record for the largest golf course construction project in U.S. history, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama.

In addition to the hole reconfiguration and bunker work, King also asked Phillips and Jordan to "soften" the layout and make it more player friendly.

"The golf course was just too extreme in some areas," King said. "It was too tough from the blue and white holes. It always was a tight golf course that guys who could work the ball liked. We're not trying to take that away at all. But some of the holes weren't fair."

Brick Landing was also known for its various green sizes, and King said he has no plans to change the dimensions of the putting surfaces. He did add that some "major hole changes" could happen in the near future. When pressed for details, King refused to delve into specific improvements.

"This course has a lot of character. But when we are done, every hole will be a good hole," King said.

So good, King envisions a rate structure similar to Tiger's Eye, Rivers Edge and the North Strand's other marquee courses. Kobelt, for one, thinks that may be a bit too ambitious.

"He will get a good deal of play if it is priced along the lines of Angels Trace or one of the other quality mid level courses," Kobelt said. "It's tough to go from having a bad reputation to one that can bring you surcharge rates."

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.