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By Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.COM staff
Sometimes the intrinsic value of a golf course is about more than strategic
refinement and philosophical representations of playability and shot values.
In other words, dare we say it, a golf course embodies more than just
a test of golf.
In some instances, a course appeases reticent instinctual requirements.
It appeals to the senses, to our mandatory bonds with nature.
So it is at the Tournament Players Club of Myrtle Beach, which weaves
a marvelous challenge through a visually pleasing labyrinth of natural
wonder.
A craftsman with a penchant for building gorgeous golf holes, Tom Fazio
predictably fashioned a national wetlands conservation area in the inland
town of Murrells Inlet, SC, into a golf course that caresses our visceral
pangs. But the TPC of Myrtle Beach is as challenging and strategically
sound as any golf course you come across, thanks to the additional input
from design associate Lanny Wadkins.
Tom Watson verified that in winning the 2000 Ingersoll-Rand Senior Tour
Championship.
This TPC course, which opened in 1999 as the 100th golf course in the
Myrtle Beach area, also was the site of the final round of the 1999 DuPont
World Amateur Championship and was selected for the finals of the Toyota
National Golf Skills Challenge. Golf Digest voted it among the Top 10
Best New Upscale Courses in America.
But it offers so much more. Certified in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary
Program, the TPC of Myrtle Beach is simply a visual delight, one of the
most scenic on the Grand Strand.
As Watson himself said: "The course is beautiful. I recommend it highly
to any golfer who wants both an interesting challenge and a quiet walk
in nature."
Give Fazio credit for taking a picturesque parcel of land and squelching
his tendency to overwork a property with his bulldozers. He and Wadkins
directed the movement of a mere 300,000 cubic yards of earth, yet the
property features 35 feet of elevation change in the Carolina Low Country.
Traditional southern water features and wetlands permeate the property;
wetlands come into play on 11 holes. Towering pine trees frame many holes.
It all makes for a serene setting.
But, in the end, golf is the primary purpose of the TPC experience. For
a modern par-72 layout the TPC of Myrtle Beach is not long, just 6,950
yards from the championship tees. But it can be menacing. The wetlands
create formidable carries on several holes, though alternate routes are
provided for higher handicap players. More than 70 bunkers, most of them
around the medium-large, undulating greens, protect targets. Many fairways
have pronounced slopes.
A model of the elevation changes on the TPC course, the putting surface
on No. 16 sits well above the fairway. |
To enhance the visual strength of the property, and the playability of
the course, most tee boxes are elevated, enabling players to clearly see
landing areas. Other free-form bunkers, flashed up and back-tilted, add
further definition to Fazio's broad fairways.
The par-3s are consistent with the course theme, artful and attractive,
but none is longer than 205 yards. The 17th, featuring a peninsula green,
is arguably the boldest and most beautiful. A bunker left connects the
water on three sides. A ridge runs along the front third of the green.
No. 5 is reminiscent of the 12th at Augusta, which might be no small coincidence
given Fazio's recent responsibilities as chief consultant for Augusta
National Golf Club in the ongoing renovation of the famed Masters course.
Because of the use of marsh and creeks, the par-5s aren't easily reachable,
though the longest is 549 yards. The par-4 ninth is the toughest hole,
buttressing a collection of strong four pars. It stretches to 472 yards
with a landing area pinched by water and pines.
The clubhouse's cedar-shake roof, clapboard siding and large wrap-around porch provide one of golf's most beautiful backdrops. Enjoy it as you approach the 18th green.
| As with most TPC courses, spectator viewing areas are incorporated into
the layout, but here Fazio and Wadkins again eschewed any contrivances,
relying on natural ridges and subtle slopes on the periphery that blend
with the landscape without obstructing its beguiling attributes - no small
feat, but one, among many, Fazio and Wadkins pulled off.
"Obviously, with the entities of a great golf town … the expectation level
was very high," Fazio says. "(But) I can honestly say that I think we met
all the objectives."
Which is all pleasingly plain to see.
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