Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (May 2007)

It's hard to imagine Caledonia Golf & Fish Club was Mike Strantz's first solo design. A review foursome that played the course in April found it lived up to its reputation as one of the best courses on the Grand Strand.

``I'm impressed with a lot of golf courses around here,'' reviewer Marvin Burkholder said, ``and this is right at the top of the list.''

Strantz's imaginative layout in a scenic Lowcountry setting amidst marsh and live oak trees established the course's reputation as a top 100 national course according to both Golfweek and Golf Digest, and continued conditioning of the course maintains its status. Marvin believes what separates Caledonia from other courses on the Grand Strand is ``without question the eye for detail. The flowers, bushes, shrubs - all the things they do to make it a beautiful course.''

It's not a course that should host a major pro tournament with a par of 70 at a yardage of just 6,526 from the tips and 6,121 from the blue tees, but it is one for players of all abilities to enjoy.

``It's a really good golf course experience even for a mid- to high-handicap golfer,'' said reviewer Joe Domelowicz, a 20.5-handicap. ``I wasn't intimidated by the course. It does not beat you up, though you do have to make good shots.''

Because the course is forgiving, pace of play is steady. ``The way the course is set up it's playable for just about everybody, and it sets itself up for a good pace of play,'' Marvin said. ``It's a great experience. We never felt rushed and didn't wait on many shots.''

Caledonia greens are generally oddly shaped, creating a number of difficult pin locations. A pin on the high back plateau of the 528-yard eighth green makes it difficult to get to, and a pin in the back valley angling to the right on the deep 12th green adds about a half a shot to the hole. ``A pin back there could make this a really difficult hole,'' Marvin said.

Bunkers contribute to Caledonia's attractiveness but also provide much of its difficulty. They feature white sand and are well-manicured and often deep. ``The bunkers are all pretty deep, so they don't leave much room for error,'' Marvin said.

Likes

They begin and end with the course's beauty. ``As far as beauty, this course is top notch,'' said reviewer Matt Lynch. ``It is a beautiful setting with Augusta-like azaleas everywhere.''

The drive in to the clubhouse under a canopy of moss-draped oak trees is your first impression of the property. ``They really set you up on that drive down the entrance road,'' Marvin said. ``You immediately think class and beauty.''

And the course lives up to the entrance with detailed manicuring, numerous and diverse flower beds and an extensive variety of wildlife. ``I think the whole course has an Augusta look,'' Marvin said. ``When you play here you almost feel like you're playing in an animal preserve or garden. Everything is manicured perfectly. This is one of the most beautiful golf courses.''

There are some homes around Caledonia, but they're so well hidden by vegetation they go unnoticed. ``You feel like there are no houses because you never see them,'' Marvin said. ``You never feel like you're hitting between homes.''

The group was also impressed with the course's general conditioning, as well as the condition of bunkers and greens, which were converted to Champions Bermuda a couple years ago. ``I think the greens are great,'' Joe said. ``They roll true and they're in good condition.''

Dislikes

The lack of a driving range was universally targeted as a negative. The course has an arrangement with sister course True Blue to have players use that course's driving range prior to a round, but golfers playing Caledonia for the first time aren't likely to know about the arrangement, which is inconvenient at best.

While the rate during peak season wasn't considered exorbitant for the product, it was still a deterrent to replays. ``I personally find the cost to be a disadvantage,'' Joe said. ``Unfortunately, I won't be able to play [Caledonia] more often.''

Par-3s

Like the course in general, Caledonia's five par-3s are scenic and not overpowering. ``They are not overly challenging but very pleasant to the eye,'' Matt said.

The 187-yard third hole, with a narrow green protected on the front and right by a large bunker, is the longest on the course. ``The one negative I would put on the course is there is only one relatively long par-3,'' Marvin said. ``They're all good holes, but the ninth hole is too short and there's no par-3 over 200 yards from the tips.''

The 118-yard ninth and 175-yard 17th are well protected by bunkers, and the 11th received consensus as the best par-3. It has a slightly downhill shot to a green fronted by a meandering creek that empties into a pond to its left. ``This is the prettiest and best par-3 on the course. It's not even close,'' Marvin said.

Par-4s

The par-4s vary in length from 376 to 462 yards. ``They have a lot of different looks and shots,'' Marvin said. ``It's a nice mixture of lengths and right and left doglegs.''

The first hole is a fairly easy, straightforward 376-yard par-4 with slight elevation, the 396-yard fourth doglegs right around a large waste bunker and doesn't require a driver off the tee, and both the 399-yard seventh and 415-yard 14th have drives over water to a fairway angling to the left with the water continuing down the entire left side of the hole, which have long bunkers acting as buffers against the water.

The 15th is a 462-yard monster par-4 that doglegs left with a bunker at the inside edge of the turn. Trees on the left can also partially block approach shots from the left side of the fairway. Nobody in the group managed a par.

The course finishes with the 383-yard 18th requiring a drive down the left side and approach to the right over water to a wide but shallow green with a majestic clubhouse for a backdrop.

Par-5s

The three par-5s to all were very playable. ``As a whole they could have a little more difficulty,'' Matt said. The second hole is straightforward with a narrow landing area measuring 571 yards from the back tees, 553 from the blues and even 479 from the reds. The 528-yard eighth doglegs to the right and has water fronting the green. ``The eighth hole is a great example of risk-reward,'' Matt said. ``With a good tee shot you have the option to go for the green or lay up.''

Typical of a Strantz layout, sight lines are obscured on a few shots around the course, including the 553-yard, par-5 10th. That hole has a bunker taking up much of the right side of the fairway from 200 yards out nearly all the way to the green, but it's difficult to know the length and width of the bunker because of fairway elevation and mounding. ``If you haven't played out here before it would be worth investing in the yardage book,'' Joe said.

Favorite holes

The 167-yard, par-3 11th hole was Joe's favorite. The hole measures about 150 from the blue and white tees, and 135 from the red. ``It's a nice length and very scenic,'' Joe said. ``It reminds you of Augusta with the flowers and creek.''

Matt enjoyed the par-5 eighth, which has a deep green that is low in the front and plateaus in the back. ``The second shot gives you the opportunity for a long carry of water to the green that makes for a very interesting shot,'' Matt said.

Marvin was partial to the 398-yard, par-4 13th, a dogleg left featuring a green elevated above deep bunkers with steep lips, water to the back left of the green and a waste bunker to the right of the fairway at the dogleg. ``It's a great dogleg left with sand surrounding the green that makes this a beautiful hole and fun to play,'' Marvin said.

Least favorite holes

Joe said he didn't dislike a hole on the course. But Matt singled out the 175-yard, par-3 17th, which has a green nearly entirely surrounded by a bunker and fooled the entire group. ``The par-3 17th plays much shorter than the yardage says,'' Matt said. ``We all flew the green.''

Marvin's least favorite hole is the par-3 ninth, which is beautiful with a tee shot beneath a canopy of oaks but measures just 118, 110, 92 and 80 yards from the four tee boxes. It's one of the few signs that Strantz may have run out of room on the property. ``It's too short being only 118 from the black tees,'' Marvin said. ``I'm amazed [by the layout] because it seems he was limited with the amount of land he had.''