Wild Wing’s Avocet Course is one of Myrtle Beach’s most varied designs, featuring a drivable par 4, a double green, a double fairway and one of the area’s toughest par 4s.
Put another way, the Jeff Brauer-Larry Nelson design has something for everyone, which is at the heart of the layout’s popularity. There are a lot of good times to be had at Wild Wing, but here are the three holes your group will love.
● We are talking about good times so I feel bad to begin with Avocet’s hardest hole, but 406-yard (all distances from white tees) sixth hole is a treat, provided you are a bit of a masochist. Generally speaking, Avocet is open off the tee, but No. 6 (pictured right) is the notable exception. The right side of the fairway is heavily wooded and water runs up the entire left side. Given the hole’s length, sacrificing distance for control isn’t advisable. You have 50 yards to land the ball and the cost of a miss is a penalty stroke. It’s not a tee shot you want to face multiple times in a round, but it’s a wonderful test of your nerve (FWIW, I failed). Once the tee shot is in play, the fun is only just beginning. The sixth hole shares a 105-yard, multi-tiered, double green with the 17th hole and it’s a doozy, as are the surrounds if you miss it. The sixth is difficult but it’s a fun challenge to embrace.
● On the other end of the spectrum is the 265-yard, par 4 14th hole (top photo). While 265 is a long drive (no matter how far your buddy tells you he hits the ball), most of us can dream of getting lucky. Even if you don’t reach the putting surface, unless disaster strikes off the tee, you will have a short approach, allowing everyone to dream of birdie. The opportunity to circle a number on your card, makes the 14th a treat to play, especially if the pin is in the front.
● A 461-yard, par 5, No. 15 (pictured right) presents a risk-reward decision that will get the blood pumping. The drive is straight forward but things get interesting on the second shot, when long hitters can attempt to go for the green, assuming they can carry the water that runs up to a greenside bunker. A series of mounds interrupts the fairway, leaving most players to decide how aggressive they want to be. The safe play is to the right side of a fairway that resumes on the upper side of the mounds, setting up a longer approach. The more daring among us will flirt with the water on the left in hopes that a shorter approach will lead to a birdie or easy par. Choice is yours.
Avocet is a treat to play, thanks in no small part to the sixth, 14th and 15th holes.