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DUNES GOLF AND BEACH CLUB , NO . 13
One of Myrtle Beach ’ s most well-respected courses put even more emphasis on its top hole back in 2013 when its No . 13 was extended to 640 yards from the championship tees . The idea , head golf professional Dennis Nicholl said , was to give the best of the best a true drive on a hole , Waterloo , named after when Napoleon ’ s reign in France came to an end .
The trick for any skill level , of course , is to find a way to get the proper distance with that first shot so that flying Lake Singleton with the second is possible . Easier said than done . The par 5 doglegs a full 90 degrees around that body of water , and even with a spectacular second shot , an undulated lead-in to the green and a trio of bunkers keep up the pressure .
“ It ’ s quite a beast ,” Nicholl said . “ Now , players can hit driver off that tee from the tips to try to get down closer to the water . But a lot of players , that second shot over the lake , mentally , it just crushes them . I ’ ve seen many balls get topped . … It is most people ’ s Waterloo when they ’ re coming down the stretch . People get so geared up for those first two shots . They do well there but still get double bogey because it ’ s no easy ( approach ).”
CALEDONIA GOLF AND FISH CLUB , NO . 18
If the drive through the live oaks into the Caledonia property is the perfect way to begin a round , the 18th hole is an equally impressive bookend .
It is there , on a dynamic track as decorated as any course in the Myrtle Beach area , that the 383-yard par 4 brings players
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Try not to get wet on the 18th at Caledonia . The gallery is watching . BELOW LEFT : Muscling a good tee shot on the 13th at Dunes is crucial if you have any hopes of getting over the water in two . BELOW RIGHT : Pay close attention to the wind coming off the Atlantic at Pawleys ’ No . 13 — if you aren ’ t distracted by the hole ’ s sheer beauty .
to their knees — either out of awe or the potential danger of the oversized yet seemingly innocuous pond that splits the fairway from the isolated green . Just beyond that putting zone rests a prestigious clubhouse where players potentially finish up in front of some of the faces that voted to erect the course out of the former indigo and rice plantation in the mid-1990s .
Soaking in those final few scenes of Mike Strantz ’ s design at Caledonia and taking your time is also a proper mechanism for playing the hole . From the tee box , most can get enough distance into the fairway to at least toy with the idea of going after a deep green that measures an accommodating 53 yards . But much like the initial tee shot , missing left is preferred ; it is the difference between looking for your ball under a tree line and putting one in the pond .
TIDEWATER GOLF CLUB , NO . 4
Chris Cooper readily announces what was arguably the best compliment Tidewater Golf Club ever received .
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A golf writer attached a moniker to the course , and Cooper , the head golf professional there , believes it was because of No . 4 .
“ When he referred to us as the Pebble Beach of the East , that ’ s the hole he was referring to ,” Cooper said . “ I tell people when they check in to have their iPhones or cameras ready . I ’ ve probably played it 1,000 times , and it ’ s the same thing every
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ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOUNDERS GROUP INTERNATIONAL |