Monday, Jun. 08, 2009
True Blue Plantation
Unique qualities make True Blue dramatic layout
The Sun News
The 18th par 4 is lined by water on the left and sand on the right at True Blue Plantation in Pawleys Island Photo by Steve Jessmore sjessmore@thesunnews.com
True Blue Plantation GalleryGolf course architect Mike Strantz lost a battle with cancer at the age of 50 in 2005, but not before he left the Myrtle Beach area with one of its more innovative and treacherous layouts in True Blue Plantation.
Like all of Strantz's designs, including neighboring Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, True Blue features an imaginative layout with uncommon features.
The course has five par-5s and five par-3s resulting in a par of 37-35-72. The course is inundated with bunkers that often serve as cart paths and are built to be dramatic, deep and intimidating.
TifEagle Bermudagrass greens are in good shape, are large stretching up to 60 yards deep or wide and have a lot of undulation. Elevated tee boxes that typically descend as you move forward and several elevated greens contribute to the scenery and shot-making requirements.
"This is my favorite course of any I've ever played," said Tom Lannen of Pawleys Island, a retired information technology executive with a 13.6 handicap who took part in a review of the 11-year-old, 7,126-yard layout in late April. "This is just a wonderful course to play. It's always in good condition, every hole is different and it's challenging. The greens are very difficult and you've really got to work yourself around the course."
Joining me and Tom in the review foursome were Pawleys Island residents Eric Muller, a registered nurse and a 5 handicap, and Susan Gibbons, a real estate agent and a 25 handicap.
In addition to the ever-present bunkers, which are all played as waste bunkers per a local rule, water is a significant factor on six holes, either running alongside a fairway or forcing carries to greens. Wetlands also create forced carries on a few holes.
"There are plenty of hazards to humble the best players, especially from the tips," Eric said.
As difficult as the course is now, with course and slope ratings of 74.3 and 145, respectively, renovations several years ago eliminated some blind shots and made the course more player-friendly. Wide landing areas help make the course playable, though dry conditions tightened fairways for our group.
"The nice thing about this course relative to the length and difficulty is the fact the fairways are wide so you can generally wail away at it without getting in too much trouble," Eric said.
The strategy changes considerably as you change tee boxes. From the tips, there are a number of carries off the tee and a lot of possible shortcuts are eliminated.
"It takes away shortcuts, or at least makes them hazardous," Eric said.
There is seldom a carry for women off the tee on anything but par-3s, allowing them to hit low shots and get the full benefit of roll. The trouble and carries are on second and subsequent shots.
"I laid up on many shots to the green, which worked well for my game," Susan said.
True Blue is among the more pricey Strand courses, with walk-in greens fees ranging from $79 to $159.
"It's a reasonable price for a great course," Tom said.
Likes
Eric appreciated the complimentary range balls and good course condition.
Susan enjoyed the cordiality of the staff, and especially liked the news from a ranger that a slow-playing group in front of us was asked to skip a hole.
"I like that," she said. "Not enough courses do that. I think it's the way golf should be played."
Susan also enjoyed the wildlife, including an alligator sunning itself in the front bunker on the third hole, and thought the yardage books were helpful for first-timers.
Tom appreciated the strategy required throughout the layout.
"You need to really focus on where to hit your shots," he said.
Dislikes
Our group played late in the afternoon and was disappointed with the state of the bunkers. The vast expanses of waste bunkers were seldom raked, even in areas right around greens, so we were forced to hit greenside bunker shots out of deep footprints or uneven lies. Players are all but forced to walk through waste bunkers to get to the green around many holes.
"I guess they consider it rub of the green if you're in a footprint," Susan said. "Even around the greens no one rakes. I've never seen anything like it."
Added Eric: "With the abundance of sand and the fact that it's all waste area, the amount of raking traps is minimal, leaving lots of footprints and other poor lies to contend with," Eric said. "I guess the rakes are for decoration. No one seems to use them."
Eric would have appreciated club and ball washers on carts, and the driving range was bare in spots.
"The practice range was in poor condition from overuse," Tom said.
Par-3s
True Blue offers a good variety of par-3s. Two are less than 180 yards, while the other three are between 184 and 208 yards.
The 190-yard third hole measures 141 from the white tee and features a virtual island green with only a narrow walkway to the putting surface. The peanut-shaped green is 60 yards deep and narrow in front, and angles to the back left.
The 176-yard seventh has a wide but shallow green that slopes right to left with a plateau on the right behind a deep and high-lipped bunker.
The 184-yard 11th has a waste bunker that horseshoes the green, the 158-yard 14th is downhill over a waste bunker, and the 208-yard 16th is long and over water.
"The par-3s are challenging with very large greens, different levels and undulations," Tom said.
Par-4s
Par-4s measure between 367 and 449 yards, with five of the eight less than 415.
The 449-yard 17th and 437-yard 18th present a difficult finish. The 17th has water along the right side and a green protected in the front and right by water, with a bailout area left. The 18th requires a drive over water from tee boxes on the left to a fairway on the right, and the second shot comes back over a portion of the lake to a wide green that slopes sharply to the left.
The 404-yard sixth has two greens. It requires a drive over wetlands and greens to both the left and right are well protected by bunkers. The 382-yard eighth is a sharp dogleg right with a blind tee shot over a boulder to a shallow fairway.
"The par-4s are fantastic," Tom said. "Each one is different."
Par-5s
The five par-5s are spectacular and are monsters from the two back tees, measuring a minimum of 523 yards from even the blue and accounting for 2,921 of the course's 7,126 yards. Three are 599 yards or longer from the tips.
"Only two of the five can be reached in two, and even they require two really good shots," Eric said.
The 624-yard first hole turns left around a waste bunker and has a creek fronting an elevated green. The 548-yard fourth turns sharply left around a lake, and the 548-yard ninth is a slight dogleg right with an elevated green. It has wetlands between 150 and 100 yards from the green.
The 599-yard 10th is a dogleg right with wetlands fronting the green and the 602-yard 15th doglegs left near an accessible but elevated green.
"The par-5s are my favorite holes on the course," Susan said. "They are friendly to women if you play them smart, other than No. 9, where you have to waste a shot if you're a high-handicap player."
Favorite holes
Tom's favorite hole is the 599-yard 10th, which measured 476 from the gold tee. The hole has a series of five deep bunkers to cross on the second shot and wetlands crossing the fairway 60 yards from an elevated green.
"It's a long par-5 with a split fairway and a wide but not deep green," Tom said.
Eric's favorite hole is the 437-yard par-4 18th. "It's a beautiful, well-designed hole," he said.
Susan particularly enjoyed the holes that offered her birdie and par opportunities, including the sixth, a par-4 measuring 228 from the red tee, and the 14th, a downhill par-3 measuring 108 from the red tee.
Least favorite holes
Tom's least favorite hole is the 367-yard, par-4 second hole, which measures 335 from the gold tee. Tee shots are partially blind, and drives too long in the middle or right side can find a waste bunker and drives too long on the left can reach a tree line. A tree impedes shots from the right side of the fairway or waste bunker, and the green is narrow in the front.
"It is short from the gold tees and it's not easy to determine where to hit your drive," Tom said. "An errant drive is big trouble."
Eric thought the third hole was too long at 190 yards for the difficulty of the tee shot over water, particularly if the wind is blowing, and a deep, oblong green can be difficult to hold from the wrong angle.
"It's too long over lots of water and the green's so big you can be off by four clubs," Eric said.
Susan's least favorite holes were the handful with relatively long carries for women in front of greens.
