The second of three courses at Legends Resort, the Moorland is one of the more controversial tracks in the Myrtle Beach area. This is often the case with courses that involve the Dye name. In Moorland’s case, paterfamilias Pete’s son P.B. was the main designer. The course opened in 1990 and has caused a stir from the start. Nevertheless, it endures largely unchanged, which has to count for something!
The Course
Much of the controversy over the Moorland course surrounds P.B. Dye’s liberal use of large man-made mounding, nasty pot bunkers and a number of water hazards. These factors—especially the first one—create the occasional blind shot, which tends to grate against the entitled, whiny golfer. In fact, the approach shot to the opening hole is at least partially blind, which means that you are going to know pretty much from the outset whether you’re going to like the Moorland Golf Course or not.
Open-minded players will find the Moorland Course to be an awful lot of fun, with a number of holes where a birdie can be made practically as easily as a double bogey. The best example of this dynamic is the drivable par four 16th, which sports one of the most imposing hazards in the Myrtle Beach area. In addition to seven pot bunkers, there is a sandy waste area—Myrtle Beach’s own “Hell’s Half-Acre” that is some ten feet deep, lying directly between the tee and the green. If you want to have an eagle putt, there’s no way around it. If you find yourself locked in a match with the other half of your foursome, there is the potential for some high drama, which is all you can ask from a golf course. If it, or anything else at the Moorland Course, seems “unfair,” you might as well take up a different sport.
The Experience
Legends Resort continues to be one of the best-value places to play golf in Myrtle Beach, and that’s even before they (usually) give you breakfast before you play and lunch and a couple beers after you play. Of course, it seems you must take the bad with the good, and at Legends that comes in the form of somewhat harried and inattentive service at the bag, followed by an approximately five-hour round.
The Verdict
All in all, the Moorland Course at Legends Resort is well worth playing as part of a golf vacation to the middle section of the Grand Strand. It is a good test of your open-mindedness as a golfer—if you can’t handle the Moorland Course, you need to try and lighten up, pay less attention to your score, or both.
(posted 11/21/13)