More than three decades into operation, the word on Long Bay Golf Club is not only out, it’s screamed from the front of the Jack Nicklaus statue out front.
The Golden Bear design is among the more difficult in the Myrtle Beach area.

Massive waste bunkers, towering trees of multiple varieties and diversified fairway widths were laid out exclusively to cut the pretenders from the contenders. That’s not to say the higher handicap golfer can’t enjoy the heck out of it, but being realistic with your abilities before you tee off on No. 1 isn’t a bad idea, either.
Still, not every hole here is going to have you flirting with a snow man.

These four holes are the give to the rest of the course’s take. We’re basing this off a bunch of rounds here, not the scorecard or the listed handicap. Still, we’re going to give you that information, too.
After all, knowledge is power.

HOLE: No. 1
PAR: 4
LENGTH (from whites): 377 yards
HANDICAP 11 (men)/7 (women)
ABOUT THE HOLE: The opener appears much more intimidating on the scorecard than it will in real time. The fairway itself is pretty slender, but the surrounding turf isn’t a no man’s land for slightly off-center contact off the tee. What’s more, there’s a fish-hooked secondary fairway up the right-hand side that will serve as a catch all for any righty who hooks off the tee or a left dealing with early round slicing. Regardless, a majority of players can attack the green in two, meaning a nice start is plausible for most.

HOLE: 3
PAR: 4
LENGTH: 354 yards
HANDICAP: 5/7
ABOUT THE HOLE: The trouble on the third hole comes in the form of a tiny bunker up the right-hand side about 100 yards from the green. And while it could be conceived as being part of the fairway, there is a divot into the nice stuff so this technically is off the fairway. Avoid that trap, and, again, players should have an opportunity for a mid- to short iron into the green. The trick is to get that second shot up in the air to fly the greenside bunker. The putting surface itself is elongated and perpendicular to the fairway, so it’ll work in most players’ favor, too. (3rd hole top photo)

HOLE: 5
PAR: 3
LENGTH: 149 yards
HANDICAP: 13/13
ABOUT THE HOLE: The first par 3 at Long Bay is not so coincidentally the easiest of the bunch, at least in our mind. The water up the left is only an issue for the biggest of mishits, and the lead-up to the green provides for bump-and-run chances for those who don’t quite get it all the way to there. But from every tee box, it’s a straight shot. We’ve seen players hit the ball no more than 10 feet off the ground and roll it right up next to the pin. And as far as pin placement, there really isn’t a spot on that green where the approach needs to change much.

HOLE: 11
PAR: 5
LENGTH: 480 yards
HANDICAP: 10/4
ABOUT THE HOLE: There’s obviously a bit of a difference from the men’s tees to the women’s here, but everyone should approach this hole in a measured fashion and trust the club in his or her hand. This Par 5 can be successfully tackled by simply not trying to get fancy. The landing area off the tee is solid, the fairway widens some on the second shot and if all goes well with those two, players can then decide if they want to lay up short of the C-shaped bunker surrounding most of the green. That’s not a bad play, as getting to this tiny green in four still lets you putt for par.