Some architects were clearly given a patch of land that seemed destined for not only great golf, but clear-cut divides between holes.
You know the ones we’re talking about.
A fluid design and minimal hoops to jump through to get from one green to the next tee, sure. But, maybe most important to you, few chances of plunking one into the next fairway over. Of course, that may lead to an extra golf ball or two down the tubes.
What it simultaneously allows for, though, is a chance for you to focus on the task at hand. Without holes feeling like they’re on top of each other, these five Grand Strand golf courses exhibit it better than most. They have few, if any, parallel holes. And most of the ones that are there are separated by other aspects of their properties.
GLEN DORNOCH WATERWAY GOLF LINKS
There’s a spot by the club house where if you pivot some, you are going to see parts of four different holes. However, that’s the rarity at Glen Dornoch. Clyde Johnston was given a nice spot to carve his design out of the thick forest butting up against the Intracoastal Waterway. For the most part, he didn’t remove any trees that weren’t absolutely necessary for the holes to exist. (Top Photo)
LITCHFIELD COUNTRY CLUB
It’s true that some of the area’s older courses seemed to find more success in this regard, as they were able to buy up bigger quantities of land. Case in point, Litchfield, which was the first course in Pawley’s Island and opened in 1966. The dogleg-happy track has just two parallel holes (Nos. 1 and 18) and otherwise lets you take in everything it has to offer one hole at a time. (Pictured Right)
MYRTLE BEACH NATIONAL, SOUTHCREEK
Unlike its sister courses West and King’s North, the land utilized for SouthCreek almost forced the Palmer design group’s hand. Aside from two small pockets, the tee boxes run in a much more straight-line approach, the swing from No. 10 right on through No. 14 being a prime example. This heavily wooded area was left that way on purpose amid an otherwise widely developed part of the Carolina Forest area.
RIVER HILLS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
With both parts of the namesake to this course coming into effect over and over again, even the small number of holes that line up next to each other evaporate further into the distance. Tom Jackson’s layout here, then, almost required those lines of separation from one to the next, so that getting around that undulation and 12 holes touching water without distractions from others coming into play. (Pictured Right)
TRADITION GOLF CLUB
Jump onto that first tee box, and you’ll see the finisher at nine. And then on No. 2, you can see the back half of No. 3. From there, though, the prevalence of co-existing holes is few and far between. Ultra-thick tree lines do the trick nicely on Ron Garl’s lone area design, as the Florida-based architect wanted to ensure that each hole stood out on its own.rivertrad
