If your Myrtle Beach golf trip is booked and your bags are packed, that doesn’t mean your preparation is over. Scouting the courses you’re going to play builds anticipation, and it might even save you a stroke or two.
If Long Bay Club, one of two Jack Nicklaus designs along the Grand Strand, is on your itinerary, we’ve got you covered. Consider this a scouting report on a layout that has reclaimed its place among the North Strand’s best.
This isn’t a hole-by-hole guide. It’s a look at what you’ll need to do to score well on a course that tests every part of your game.
Ball-Striker’s Paradise
Long Bay isn’t exceptionally long at 6,593 yards from the blue tees and 6,209 from the whites (it tips out just over 7,000, but you probably aren’t playing from there), and it’s not brutally tight off the tee.
But it’s not short, and those fairways aren’t generous either.
Put another way: Long Bay rewards good ball-striking.
Finding the fairway is critical because the greens are small by modern standards, especially early in the round. If you want to give yourself birdie looks, you need to play from the short grass.
Arrive early enough to get in a proper warm-up.
Strong Short Game = Good Day
No matter how well you’re hitting it, you’re going to miss greens.
The putting surfaces are protected by bunkers and run-off areas that repel anything less than a precise shot. There are very few simple recoveries, so your short game needs to be sharp, and mentally you need to accept that bogeys are coming.
Handle the challenge around the greens, and you are on your way to a good day.
Survive the Start
Nicklaus doesn’t ease you into the round.
The second (a par 5) and third (a par 4) holes feature two of Long Bay’s smallest greens. You need to be dialed in early because the Golden Bear doesn’t open with a handshake, he throws the first punch.
Be ready when you step onto the first tee.
Roll the Rock
Those small greens can be difficult to hit, but their size means you’ll have makeable putts when you do.
Long Bay installed new TifEagle greens in 2023, and the upgrade shows. If your approach game gives you chances, a hot putter can do the rest.
Where You Can Score
We’ve talked about the challenge, but there are opportunities, especially in the middle of the round.
The eighth is a gettable par 3, Nos. 9 and 10 are short par 4s, and the 13th – despite being an island green – is inviting if the wind isn’t up.
From holes 5 through 15, you’ll find three par 5s and several scoring chances. Take advantage, because the closing stretch – especially the par-4 18th – will test your nerve.
Long Bay has been chronically underrated, but this Nicklaus design is as good as it’s been in years.
Photos for this feature from MyrtleBeachGolfTrips Instagram Account
