Score well, feel good.
At Myrtle Beach National’s SouthCreek Course, five holes often drive the bus when it comes to your score card. These three Par 4s, one Par 5 and one Par 3 run the gamut of the difficulty range, show off the best of what the Arnold Palmer track has to offer and even encourage you to take advantage of your window of opportunities.
These aren’t the hardest holes here, but they will more than likely decide what your final number is in more ways than one.
NO. 1, PAR 4, 382 YARDS
As simplistic as it is to say that an opening hole can set the tone for an entire day, you better be ready for the subtle bend on No. 1. For starters, you’re going to see plenty of that at SouthCreek. But you need to take advantage of this one because unlike some of the others, there’s no real hazard in play. This one is all about the tree line on the left.
NO. 7, PAR 4, 325 YARDS
One of the more interestingly designed holes at SouthCreek, the seventh is a dogleg right, but also a chopped fairway that leaves anyone who catches all of his or her tee shot potentially hitting that short second shot off the pine straw lining the ground beyond the bend of the fairway. With a lengthy pond banking the dogleg, there is zero chance to cut the corner. (pictured right)
NO. 10, PAR 5, 525 YARDS
Rated as the most difficult hole here, the back nine opener is a confluence of sand and water and then a little more sand. The goal here is to find the good stuff down the middle and then again and give yourself a legitimate shot at reaching the green in regulation. Big hitters can certainly find it in two with a pair of clean shots, but the trouble comes in the form of folks trying to do too much, something that happens here often. (top photo)
NO. 11, PAR 4, 339 YARDS
Standing on the tee box, the visual of No. 11 isn’t going to scare off anyone. It’s not long, and while the fairway is cut in tiers, there is more than enough room to left and right where a dead-center ball strike isn’t necessary. This is where you need to make good. Of the holes at SouthCreek, this one is arguably as ripe for a birdie as any you’ll find. Aside from a bunker smack dab in front of the green, there’s nothing to stop you from attacking. (pictured right)
NO. 17, PAR 3, 130 YARDS
Show us a person who claims to have a perfect 130-yard swing to an elongated green and we’ll call that person a liar. Now, roll in a nasty front-side bunker and a false front on a green that rolls back to front, and you can start to see why this super short hole can cause problems late in a round. This is definitely a survive-and-advance feel to it, and it doesn’t care if you’re starting to fade down the stretch.
