South Grand Strand Offers Great Golf and Old Southern Flavor

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

May 17, 1999
SHANE SHARP IN THE SOUTH STRAND: THE THIRD SEGMENT IN A THREE-PART SERIES ON GOLF IN MYRTLE BEACH'S HIDDEN GOLF HEAVEN.

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. -- While the name may not be as recognizable to students of golf architecture as Robert Trent Jones, Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, or Tom Fazio, Dan Maples is as has staked his claim to the Myrtle Beach area golf arena. Wrapping up the trip to the South Strand brings into play two fine Maples designs: Willbrook Plantation, which Maples simply declares as "one of my best," and the Heritage Club, which is regarded by many as one of the fairest tests of golf on the strand.

Also appearing in the final segment of this saga is William Byrd's (of Lockwood Folly fame) venerable tract at Litchfield Country Club, and the Jack Nicklaus designed tract at Pawleys Plantation; a surprisingly friendly layout. Rounding out the uncanny number of fine places to play, eat and generally just hang out is Tom Jackson's River Club design, which exemplifies "plantation" golf with its gaping fairways and large greens.

Dan Maples' creations dot the landscape of the Grand Strand so prolifically, you'd think he must have some inroad with local area developers. Or it could be that the guy can just flat out design a lowcountry golf course.

Since in all likelihood, the good fellas that once ran Vegas probably don't run Myrtle Beach (we all know its the guy who owns all those Eagle souvenir shops anyway), it is probably the later quality that has endeared Maples to locals, tourists, and big developers. Willbrook did nothing more than seal Maples reputation as one of the most sought after course designers in the Grand Strand.

Wilbrook is carved from not one but two old lowcountry rice plantations. Upon playing the course, it almost seems criminal that as a private course, this layout was closed to the public until 1990. The saying on the PGA Tour goes, "you drive. The saying on the PGA Tour goes, "you drive for show, and putt for dough." Forget it. At Willbrook you drive to stay alive. Well placed tee shots are a must if you plan on staying away from the abundance of oaks and sporadic creeks.

Ponds, streams and creeks are present throughout Willbrook, but by some clever act of course design, when the water does come into play, Maples always provides a way around it. Keep in mind that the course was designed as a private course, and members constantly gripping about the water in play is not something that Maples had on special order for the staff.

Moving on from Maple's solid effort at Willbrook, the next South Strand adventure takes us to Maples' Heritage Club golf course, property of the Legends Group. If only for a day you'd like to know what it feels like to drive up Magnolia Lane into Augusta National, then you'll love the drive up to the clubhouse at the Heritage. The antebellum style structure will conjure up images Masters past, and prepare you for the classy round of golf that lies ahead.

Unlike many of the courses on the South Strand, Heritage sports two totally different sets of nine holes, and the probability of boredom weighs in somewhere around zero. The front nine lulls you into thinking that the course is quite conquerable and devoid of any severe water hazards. The back nine quickly smacks you in the face for even positing this assumption, and offers vast quantities of water in play, and a stretch of hearty par-4's like few other courses on the Strand.

If you find it impossible to imagine a time in Myrtle Beach when only eight courses laced the beaches of the Grand Strand, and when only one course was located south of Murrells Inlet, then take in one of the limited number of rounds offered at the venerable Litchfield Country Club. Since it opened back in 1966, Litchfield has remained virtually unchanged over the years. Player still rave about the greenside pathways that provide for ample bump and run opportunities.

Its tree-lined fairways focus all attention off the tee boxes to Litchfield's narrow, but negotiable fairways. Setting the standard for Lowcountry course design, water comes into play on almost every hole. The 406 yard par 4, 18th is featured in the "The 100 Greatest Holes Along the Grand Strand," as published by the Sun News, but the rest of the course could very easily be featured as well.

As the end of your South Strand saga draws near, try to carve out rounds at both Pawleys Plantation and the River Club - both equal in quality and experience to any of the other premier tracts in Lowcountry territory.

You may have played a Nicklaus course in the past, and generally felt that the Golden Bear had designed the course with his playing ability in mind, and not yours. But Pawleys is refreshingly playable, and this Nicklaus layout provides a rare look at lowcountry wildlife and scenery if played late in the afternoon.

Not surprisingly, the River Club exemplifies its name, what with water coming into play on 15 of 18 holes. Both the 14th and the 18th holes are ranked in the Sun News' "The 100 Greatest Holes Along the Grand Strand," and the River Club is the perfect finishing course after a long weekend of Myrtle Beach's finest rice plantation based courses.