On October 29th of 2018, I holed a putt for bogey on the 18th green of Three Crowns Golf Club in Wyoming. While making bogey was unfortunate, this putt signified the accomplishment of playing golf in all 50 states. I was officially qualified to make experiential judgements on golf in each state. In this blog post we will discover some hot destinations in one of the best golf states in America, South Carolina. While there is a ton of golf to discover in South Carolina, this golf journey is a brief one through Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head.
There is an abundance of golf to be played in the Myrtle Beach area and it can be difficult to determine which ones are worth a visit. Golf nut tip: All of them are worth visiting… but places like Caledonia, Glen Dornach, and the Dunes Golf & Beach Club should demand your immediate attention. For this trip, my attention was focused on Tidewater Golf Club.
Nestled between the Intracoastal Waterway and Cherry Grove, Tidewater utilizes the natural contours of the land to its advantage. The course weaves out and back from the often marshy Intracoastal, with 2 holes on each 9 playing directly on the shore. Architect Ken Tomlinson has done a great job of using the surroundings to his advantage and the result is a fun and natural round of golf that harmonizes with the land.
The 13th hole at Tidewater Golf Club
The 8th hole at Tidewater is a reachable par 5 that requires accuracy if you want to putt for eagle.
After getting around Tidewater in decent shape, I headed into town for some action. Even with a plethora of options available for entertainment, I decided to do a little homework and practice my skills. Modeling skills that is. With a huge rematch looming on the horizon with Paige Spiranac, now was the time to perfect my poses against some of the world’s best looking models. Fortunately, all of the best looking people were in town at the Myrtle Beach Wax Museum.
As you can tell, my modeling skills got stronger the more that I practiced. After a convincing win over Clooney (Cloons) in round #1, I upped my percentages over Bieber in Round 2. After taking 73% of the popular vote from Leonardo DiCaprio, I hung it up for the evening. Paige doesn’t stand a chance.
After dominating the male modeling circuit in Myrtle Beach, it was time to move onto Hilton Head and the highly anticipated Sea Pines Resort. With fog circling the island and rain looming, I pressed on, certain that South Carolina would eventually afford me some sun.
There are three golf courses at Sea Pines Resort and the first one I will be addressing is Atlantic Dunes. Davis Love III completely reconstructed the The Sea Pines Resort's historic Ocean Course, the first course built on Hilton Head. The name was changed to Atlantic Dunes and Albert the Alligator moved right into the pond on the first hole.
Albert The Alligator
Albert’s brother Steve hangs out on the 17th hole
Two local golfing studs joined me for the round at Atlantic Dunes. Together we created a three man karaoke band called Atlantic Dudes. We even gave ourselves cute nicknames. Eric Sedransk made an appearance as “Trombone Shorty,” Chris Miller joined the crew as “Healy Dan,” and I rounded out the group as “Chance the Putter.”
It was the Atlantic Dudes at Atlantic Dunes! The fans eagerly filled the seats.
Trombone Shorty.
Healy Dan
The foggy 15th backs up to the Atlantic Ocean
A rare fog rainbow just above the 15th green… a fogbow.
The 14th hole at Atlantic Dunes
The 2nd course at Sea Pines is Heron Point. Designed by architectural legend, Pete Dye, Heron Point bears many of Pete Dye’s hallmarks. Long hazard hugging bunkers, bulkheads, railroad ties, and target framing mounding all make Heron Point “very Pete Dye” and a fun golf course to play.
The fog continued for my round at Heron Point and added a nice ambiance to my walk down the fairways… and sometimes into the woods. The finishing hole was my favorite of the bunch and reminded me of a more manageable version of the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass.
Pete Dye gives the golfer a glimpse of the finishing hole from the tee box on #1
Pete Dye has created some fun and interesting angles at Heron Point.
Caroline McCoy: “Hi I am Caroline and I am going to be your forecaddie.”
Me: “How about you play golf with me instead of the forecaddie thing?”
Caroline: “OK.”
When you have a player like Caroline on your team, you don’t sit her, you put her in the game. Caroline even managed to maintain her forecaddie duties as she played along with me. The future looks bright for this young golfer and fashion designer.
Every year, the week after The Masters, the eyes of the golf world turn to Harbour Town Golf Links for the RBC Heritage tournament. Since 1969, Harbourtown has been a player favorite on the PGA Tour’s schedule.
Even though it is one of the shortest golf courses on tour, the course is filled with strategic decsions and provides a unique set of challenges that test the very best players in the world.
Th 9th hole provides us with a great example of the strategic thinking required to score well at Harbour Town. At 332 yards, the golf hole is not drivable for most players, so there is a decision to be made on the tee. Do I hit driver as far as I can? Do I lay back and attack from a distance? Do I go down the left or right side of the fairway?
The view from the tee box on the 9th hole.
For most players, the decision comes down to where the pin location is on the green. If it is in the back right or left portion of the green, it’s bombs away with the driver. If it’s tucked up close to the front of the green, the decision is usually to lay back with an iron off of the tee. With the ability to impart more spin on a shot of 100 yards or more, players are able to stop the ball closer to a front pin location. Whereas a shorter pitch shot would release to the back of the green.
Harbour Town is filled with these sort of decisions and it’s precisely what makes the golf course so much fun to play. Your golf brain is engaged for most of the round and any mindless shot making will be met with additional difficulties. For a shot maker, those additional difficulties can also be quite fun to navigate.
The heart shaped green on the 9th hole is as strategic as it is good looking.
My only birdie of the round come on the difficult 14th. From the back tees, the hole plays 192 all over water.
Quick little buzz around Harbourtown Golf Links. @Discover_SC @SeaPinesResort pic.twitter.com/PrY1FnuSV5
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) January 25, 2020
The 4th hole at Harbourtown is another excellent par 3.
The sun finally popped through the clouds for my final day at Harbour Town.
The finishing hole at @Harbourtowngolf is bananas good. Long, strategic, challenging, beautiful, The only thing missing is actual bananas. @Discover_SC pic.twitter.com/06c3LKWyAq
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) January 11, 2020
The 18th at Harbourtown.... always a spot for a Pete and Alice. pic.twitter.com/fRzV3vK7P7
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) January 13, 2020
For years, I listened to people talk about how great Harbour Town Golf Links was and it was a pleasure to finally experience it in person. Instead of just watching the RBC Heritage tournament every year, I highly suggest that you book your trip to Sea Pines and experience the golf for yourself.
When you pair Harbour Town up with some of the other great golf that South Carolina has to offer, you have yourself a serious golf destination in one of the country’s best golf states.
Plus, somebody needs to make birdie on 18 and it might as well be you. The journey to South Carolina starts here.