Posted on Nov 12, 2008 - 09:11 PM

Founders Club Ranked Among America’s Best New Courses

By Chris King, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday

http://www.golfholiday.com/content/assets_c/2008/10/18_clubhouse-thumb-450x337.jpgThe Founders Club at Pawleys Island opened its doors in February 2008 convinced it was ready take a place alongside the South Strand’s lineup of elite courses.

Belief in the upscale status of the Pawleys Island layout was validated by the October 27 release of Golfweek’s Best New Courses list. The ranking took into consideration every course opened in the United States – public or private – in 2007 and 2008, and Founders Club was ranked 36th.

“We are very thrilled with the ranking,” Founders Club head pro Wayne Weldon said. “(Golfweek’s) readership is hardcore golfers. You know there isn’t a lot of fluff in that ranking … Founders Club is a first class golf course, and we are glad they recognized us.”

Golfers who visited the property Founders Club resides on in years past certainly wouldn’t recognize it. Founders Club sits on the land that used to house Seagull Golf Club, but the Classic Golf Group, eager to have a layout equal to the quality of its prime South Strand real estate, contracted architect Thomas Walker to completely reconstruct the facility.

“It’s very difficult to explain (the amount of change),” Weldon said. “Probably the best way to explain it is we blew the old place up and started over again. It’s the same corridors as the old course but everything about it has changed. Every blade of grass, every tee stand, and every green complex is different.”

One of the most noticeable differences is Walker’s use of waste bunkering to frame the course. The waste bunkers, which run along both sides of each fairway, create great visual contrast and virtually eliminate the need for carts paths, except around the greens and tee boxes.

Founders Club is located within a long J.B. Holmes drive of three of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses – Caledonia, True Blue and Heritage – but the course more than holds its own.

“It’s a tough golf course,” Weldon said. “You have to think your way around. It’s not a course where you hit driver all day long. You have to plan out your strategy.”

A smart golfer’s South Strand strategy will now include a stop at Founders Club.