Posted on May 23, 2007 - 11:05 AM

Five favorite finishing holes in Myrtle Beach

Nothing beats a fantastic finish on a golf course, especially if it's the last hole of your golf trip. I've seen about two dozen Grand Strand courses so far. Here are five of my favorite high-drama finishing holes: 1. River Club - A great risk/reward drive. You can cut the corner for a shot at the green in two on this par 5 but only if you carry about 240 yards over water. The approach isn't much easier, playing to a shallow green guarded by water in front and sand in back. 2. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club - This isn't my favorite hole at Caledonia, that honor belongs to the 13th or maybe the 6th. But this is a dramatic par-4 finisher with a bunch of drunk knuckleheads egging you on from the clubhouse's balcony. A scout team from Tin Cup visited the hole to consider using it as the finishing hole in the movie before deciding there wasn't enough room for the production. 3. Palmetto Course, Myrtlewood - This hole plays right along the Intracoastal Waterway. The fairway is wide enough to land a DC-9 but I still sky-hooked my tee shot enough to almost land in a boater's iced tea. Sorry guys. 4. Leopard's Chase, Ocean Ridge Plantation (pictured) - The newest of the "Big Cats", the finisher here is a long par 4 that plays to a green guarded by a collection of ponds strung together with tiny waterfalls and rocks. 5. West Course, Myrtle Beach National - This is the only par 3 finishing hole I've seen so far in the Grand Strand. It's okay from the middle tees. But last time I played it from the blues and I fell in love with it: a beastly 220 yards with water tight down the left side. Honorable mentions: Dunes Club, King's North, all three tough finishing holes at Aberdeen. Does anyone want to add a finisher of their own I haven't mentioned?

Comments

J. Robert says on 02/10/2009 at 11:37:

#9 on Cypress at Arrowhead - short par 4, dogleg right that wraps around a lake, and a green that’s slightly elevated and well guarded by bunkers. Long-hitting righties try hitting a power fade, and their machismo more often than not winds up getting them wet. As a Tom Jackson design, a very similar finisher to Aberdeen.
Brian Dickie says on 02/10/2009 at 11:37:

Only Par 3 finishing hole? How about the 18th at Eagle Nest?

The Par 6 18th at Farmstead is unique. Wide open at the start but very tight with lots of water at the end.