The PineHills Course at Myrtlewood was on the ground floor of the Myrtle Beach golf boom. It was the Grand Strand’s seventh course, and its opening in 1966 coincided with the beginning of the area’s meteoric rise as a golf destination.

Following the opening of PineHills, the number of area golf layouts doubled by the end of the decade, and the rest is history.

This year, PineHills celebrates the 60th anniversary of its opening, and the Arthur Hills design is better than ever after a 2024 bunker renovation. The layout isn’t easy, but it offers players of all skill levels a chance to score.

Early in the round, however, players face the Arthur Hills design’s most demanding test: the par-5 third hole.

Here’s a closer look at the PineHills challenge that is most likely to wreck your round.

No. 3 – Par 5
505 yards (blue tees), 482 yards (black tees), 470 yards (gold tees), 420 yards (red tees)
Handicap: 1

Distance from tee to green isn’t the issue, managing everything in between is.

There is water down the right side off the tee, but if you slice the ball bad enough to lose it, you deserve the penalty. But the lake, which runs nearly 400 yards along the right side, looms large on the second shot.

Pine trees lining the left side of the fairway encourage players to favor the starboard side off the tee, leaving a carry of roughly 140–170 yards over water, depending on the length of the drive. While there is bailout room left, it’s perilously narrow, and missing it often means your third shot is coming from the trees.

Drives that find the left side of the fairway offer no real relief. The layup area remains narrow, and everything slopes toward the water. Translated: you need to clear the lake no matter which side of the fairway you play to, which will leave you less than 100 yards on the approach.

Low handicappers can more comfortably eliminate the trouble by flying the water in hopes of reaching the green in two. For mid- to high-handicappers, however, this second shot is among the most anxiety-inducing on the Grand Strand, because there is little margin for error.

When you arrive, a two-tiered green awaits, fronted by a bunker on the left. When the flag is on that side, the approach is demanding but manageable. When the pin is on the right, it’s go time.

Bottom Line: This is the most difficult hole at PineHills, and the challenge revolves almost entirely around the second shot. Keep the ball dry and out of the woods, and good things should await.

Photos for this feature from MyrtleBeachGolfTrips Instagram Account