MYRTLE BEACH, S. C. -- For golfers, the Grand Strand area of Myrtle Beach is Duffer's Heaven.
Everywhere you turn, there's an outstanding golf course.
Over the years I have played probably close to half of the more than 100 courses strung along the approximate 60-mile stretch of sand comprising the greater Myrtle Beach area.
But until recently I had never experienced two of the top 4-5 courses in the region: True Blue Plantation and the Tournament Player's Club (TPC). I got ' em on consecutive days in April. And, boy, was that a T and T (or TNT) experience.
Both are located just off U. S. Highway 17 South at Pawley's Island and Murrel's Inlet, respectively.
Firstly, True Blue for years has consistently been rated the toughest golf course on the Grand Strand. Its 145 slope rating for its back tees (7,062 yards) makes it one of the top 20 toughest courses in America.
With my handicap ranging up to the 20s, I chickened out and played it from the white tees (6,375 yards, slope rating 127).
Perhaps surprisingly, I found I liked the course.
Designed by golf course architect Mike Strantz, True Blue is a beautiful, and fair, golf course.
The best thing about True Blue is that practically every par 4 and par 5 have ample tee ball landing areas. You can be a bit off on your shot and still be in play. But many of the fairways narrow down near the greens, requiring accurate iron play. The greens are fast, of course, and offer lots of undulation. I managed to par only three holes on the front nine enroute to a 48. On the back, I had two pars and a 49, for a round of 97.
From the whites, the four par 3 yardage runs 141, 151, 130 and 181. Even over water, that's fair for the average duffer.
If you want to start your round adventureously open play on the par 5 No. 1 by hitting from the black (back) tees. Its only 624 yards long. The white distance of 499 was quite enough, thank you (and -- blush, blush -- I managed to par it).
The course debuted in 1998 and quickly started piling up honors, zooming to the top of every "Best New" award, being named the"Fourth Best New Public Upscale Course" in the country by Golf Digest, and as one of the "Top 10 New Courses In America" by The Golfer Magazine as well as being hailed as the "7th Best Course in South Carolina" and the No. 1 course in Myrtle Beach by Golf Digest.
True Blue is very demanding yet, ruggedly beautiful.
Built upon the site of an old indigo and rice plantation, True Blue features uncommon natural elevations and naturally rugged terrain. The rough, sandy areas have been retained and provide striking contrast to the immaculate greens, tees and fairways.
The elevations also make True Blue unique. On the Par 3, 14th, the tee box is nearly 50 feet above the green which is cleverily placed between the dangers of a huge waste area and a disastrous "pot" bunker. This results in the rare (for Myrtle Beach) situation of hitting down to a Par 3 green. The elevation provides sa great view of the beauty surrounding this hole.
The greens in general were reasonably receptive, although some were hard to hold moderately high shots, if you can manage to get there in bogey or less. The non-receptive greens, we were told, were the biggest source of complaint from customers and they have been improved and are continuing to be softened up.
Left and right doglegs are common, so it would be nice if you could work the ball. You also often find yourself trying to hit par 4-5 greens across water from anywhere from 150-200 yards -- not the most ideal situation. The lakes sometimes afford you a view of an alligator or two (I saw about a 9-footer only 5-6 feet offshore from one of my fairway shots).
True Blue offers a real test of your game. Don't expect to shoot very close to your normal game (10 over your normal score would be very good play).
The TPC exudes class, as you might expect.
The course opened in 1999 and has hosted several tournament events, including the 2000 Senior PGA Tour Championship (won by Tom Watson) and the DuPont/Cool Max World Amateur Handicap Championship (not won by me, though I was third in my flight). The course has received many honors, including Top 10 courses in South Carolina, Top 10 New Upscale Public Courses in America, Top 20 New Courses in America, No. 2 Best New Clubhouse in America, Friendlest Golf Course in Myrtle Beach and Top 100 Golf Shops.
The Myrtle Beach TPC, like all other TPC courses around the nation, is owned by the PGA Tour. The Myrtle Beach tract was designed by Tom Fazio, with an assist from former tour pro and TV commentator Lanny Watkins.
The TPC plays 6,950 yards from the tips and 6,193 from the blues (which I chose to use).
The course weaves through various stands of towering pine trees (which have a few less boughs after my round). Fazio, as usual, threw in a goodly assortment of mounds to make sure we had several uphill and downhill lies.
There are lots of ponds and marshes (many designated as do-not-enter protected wildlife areas, in other words kiss your ball goodbye when it lands there).
Water comes into play on 11 of the 18 holes (by unofficial count I left 5 balls in those various drinks).
Fazio threw in five dogleg lefts and five dogleg rights (again, wouldn't it be nice to work the ball when you need to). By my count, there are 61 traps that come into play (I believe I hit only 8).
This not a short hitters course. There are numerous forced carries of 200 yards or more. The final two holes might make great drama for televised PGA events, but for sheer duffers they can be Nightmare Alley. No. 17 is a par 3 of 158 yards from the blue (193 back). Not bad, eh? The rub is the green is basically on a penisula with water all the way down the right side and bookoo trees and marsh and what have you on the left. Hit the green or die. No. 18 is a par 5 of 496 from the blue (538 back) that includes a very narrow fairway running alongside a lake the final 300 yards or so. Make sure you have lots of balls left in your bag when you get to this one (I donated two balls to the fishes enroute to my score of 11 on this hole).
The bentgrass greens are very fair and true and only rate about a 12 on the putting scale. No word on how much they rate on the Richter scale, but judging from all the jumping up and down I saw it must be about a 3.5).
Players are given a very nice TPC course book, which provides extensive detailed information (including various yardages), which provides for a nice souvenir. Not that I took great pride in my round of 99 (though I did managed to scrape by under the dreaded Century mark).
Green fees for these two courses vary somewhat seasonally, but you can expect to pay in the $140-165 range, including cart. A plus: Free practice balls are provided for warm-ups on the large and extensive range. For some players, it would be wise to never leave the driving range. If you normally shoot about 90-100 back home, don't be surprised if you score 110-120 on the TPC. But if you can downsize your expectations it could still be a fun and memorable experience.

This story was published on 25 Jul 2003.