How many Par-72 courses can boast five Par 3s?

The answer along the Grand Strand golfing mecca is easy.

One.
True Blue Golf Club tackled the abnormal by cutting down on the Par 4s and adding one additional longer and one more shorter one. It was a routing decision based on the land Mike Strantz was given to work with, and he made sure that each of those Par 3s was different from the other four.

You’ve got to have fun with them, appreciate their individuality, and then attack.

LOFTY EXPECTATIONS
A huge, hourglass-shaped green is going to pop out of nowhere when you pull your cart up to No. 3. And it’s going to look glorious. After you’re done snapping a few pictures, take a moment to reset yourself and recognize that 141 yards from the whites is going to feel more like 131 once that jet stream comes into play. Just play it soft, and remember to save your breakfast ball for this hole. (pictured right)

PUNCHER’S CHANCE
From 151 yards out, No. 7 is arguably the easiest of the five Par 3s at True Blue. That’s because even on the evil pin-placement days, there is no straighter and uninterrupted path from tee to center green than right here. What’s more, Strantz essentially gave players a fairway-quality punch-and-run zone that has inspired more than a few players to take a short swing with a bigger iron than necessary and let it roll up for a decent-probability birdie putt.

THE HOFF
Some people stand on the tee box, afraid to tee it up just right. Some people need help from somebody, when the edge of surrender’s in sight. Don’t you worry. It’s gonna be alright. ‘Cause a huge waste bunker’s ready, if your ball doesn’t have the flight. Translation from the semi-amended “Baywatch” theme, if you’re going to miss here, that’s OK. There is a ton of sand on No. 11, and missing the green is only going to cost you so much. You don’t need David Hasselhoff.

PICASSO’S INFLUENCE
The overhead shot of No. 14 (top photo) is pretty schizophrenic. There are grass patched dropped into parts of a bunker you’d never touch, a tree line that makes zero sense and a green that looks like someone screwed up and Strantz was called in to make it look right. With what is essentially 190 yards from the back of the deepest tee box to the furthest reach of the green, this one is straight out of a certain Spanish painter’s playbook.

SOUNDS GOOD
No matter what piece of advice your playing partners give you ahead of No. 16, just respond with that. From cross breezes one moment to other at your back the next to – just for good measure – one coming at you the moment you make contact, your best chances on the final Par 3 of the day are for some crazy good luck. Water on one side, waste bunker on the other and up to 208 yards to the middle of the green? Go get ‘em, Tiger. (pictured right)