 FEATURE STORY
Grand Strand South:
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PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C., (Dec. 18, 2006) - The Grand Strand is grand not only in terms of the quantity of its golf courses but in its length as well: 50 miles of unbroken beach, from the southern tip of North Carolina down to Georgetown, S.C.
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With stays averaging about five days, few golfers can do more than scratch the surface of the Strand's 100-plus playing possibilities. Sensible visitors confine their stay to the north, central or south Strand and play the best courses in that area.
The northern and southern tips are relatively peaceful places, suited to older golfers looking for some serenity with their tee times. The central Strand tends to draw younger crowds with its active nightlife.
For each portion, there's a perfect itinerary. The South Strand is all about plantation golf, with more than enough great examples to fill out a leisurely week of round-a-day play.
Monday
If you want to match scenery with history - and start the week in player-friendly fashion - you can't do much better Willbrook Plantation.
Located in the sedate, upper-middle-class neighborhood of Litchfield, Willbrook is 20 minutes and a world away from congested, T-shirt-shop-lined Myrtle Beach. The traffic noise dies and you're apt to see fish hawks nesting in old woodpecker holes, great horned owls and even Carolina chickadees.
The setting in the Waccamaw River basin is beautiful, full of giant, spreading oaks and pampas grass. The track winds through some houses, but many holes are isolated and have an almost wild feel. Thick marsh vegetation comes into play often, and the course is overflowing with small tidal ponds, lakes and meandering creeks, with wood bridges taking you from dry spot to dry spot.
Tuesday
With a day under your belt it's time for True Blue, a true South Strand must-play. Recipient of countless awards since opening in 1998, this Mike Strantz design is the evil twin to his Caledonia Golf and Fish Club down the street - just as scenic but much more difficult.
So difficult that many golfers initially shied away. Strantz was brought back to tone True Blue down, taking out some of the more radical features that frustrated mid-handicappers. Now, according to General Manager John Springs, most golfers who play it want to come back.
Don't be fooled, though: True Blue will still challenge you as much as any Grand Strand course. It's a beautiful track in beautiful surroundings, on the historic True Blue Plantation, where they used to grow rice and indigo. Many golfers swear this is their favorite Myrtle Beach course.
Wednesday
Caledonia Golf and Fish Club is another top-rated Strand stop, recently named of the country's 100 best modern courses by GolfWeek. It's easy to see why. Playing here is a pleasure - for the golf, the low-country scenery and the glimpses into the plantation's history.
"Most people who play Caledonia come away sucking air," said Springs, who manages here as well as True Blue. "They don't talk about the golf."
That may be so, but the golf is excellent too.
"In effect, Strantz and Caledonia's owners have produced the perfect combination of location, course design, course conditioning, service and ambience," Shane Sharp wrote in a TravelGolf.com review.
Thursday
Wake up and head for the Reserve course at Litchfield Country Club. The place has that settled, old-time look, from the gnarled old shade-making oaks to the course's narrow, tree-lined fairways and small greens.
Built in 1966, Litchfield is the oldest course in the Litchfield/Pawleys Island area and the fifth-oldest on the Strand, a charming belle whose youthful beauty has given way to an almost regal quality.
"You can tell it's old," said Head Professional Christa Bodensteiner, a 12-year Myrtle Beach resident was lured here from Iowa and a career in psychology. "The trees are old. It's stately. I think it's a very Southern feeling."
Aside from re-doing the bunkers and shortening No. 1 in order to move the putting green into the shade, the club has gone out of its way to maintain the integrity of the Willard Byrd design. That means greenside pathways for bump-and-run shots. Remember when they used to do that?
Friday
Cap the week at Pawleys Plantation, yet another example of the fine plantation golf found on the south end. This Jack Nicklaus design opened in 1988, but you'd swear it was built 100 years ago.
"Pawleys is very underappreciated. It has every element you want out of a golf course," golf packager Roger Kirtz told TravelGolf.com's Sharp in a 2002 review. "You get more bang for your buck and it has the strongest par 5s in the South Strand. You have to work the ball and you get all your shot values. You get scenery and you get strong design. I'd take Pawleys over any course down here."
The back nine is particularly scenic as it turns toward the coastal marshland. The course can be tough from the back tees at more than 7,000 yards, but from the whites it's a very playable 6,100. Stiff sea breezes keep the mosquitoes at bay, which is why the original settlers stayed here. Nicklaus liked it so much he built a house here too.
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.
