Mystical Myrtle Beach Experience

For many Canadians, Myrtle Beach is a rite of passage: a spring break destination, a buddies golf getaway or simply a retirement mecca. Located just south of the state line with North Carolina, it has always understood its price point as a value destination for Canadians that can be easily accessed by car or air for a weekend, a week or even the winter season.

The city has come a long way from its honky-tonk beach image in the 60s and 70s, with accommodation from very basic up to luxury-- all at a price that competes well with Florida to the south. While Canadians make up just three percent of the area’s visitors, that still constitutes an impressive 300,000 visitors annually-- a number local operators would be happy to increase.

Affordable golf at its 101 courses is Myrtle Beach’s calling card. A trio of local courses run by Mystical Golf sum up the Myrtle Beach golf for both playability and value. The Wizard, the Witch and Man O’War-- designed by Dan Maples-- express the different aspects of local golf as they weave through the Georgia pines and swamps that cover the region.

The Witch is a 6796-yard descent into low swamp and wetland through an impenetrable forest that recalls Civil War battles like the Wilderness. Eagles and buzzards lazily circle the lush front nine that provides an isolation and tranquility even on a busy day. Course employees are suitably respectful of the inky-black dark when it descends here, giving the course back to the creatures of the night.

After the low-lying front nine, the back nine features greater elevation changes as players work through forest dotted with flowering azaleas and dogwood in season. The 520-yard hole No. 11 typifies the rolling fairways on the bask side. If you’re wayward with your driver, the Witch will put a nasty spell on your score.

The Wizard and Man O’War run beside one other on a piece for land that was once pine forest and lakes but now tends toward a spare linksland topography. The Wizard plays a deceptive 6721 yards from the back tees and features large receiving fairways framed by rolling hillocks of rye grass and bermuda. The bent-grass greens are unusual for a climate that saw 54 straight days of temperatures above 30 C. this past summer. But they run true and quick.

The back nine at the Wizard (the clubhouse is designed like a wizard’s castle-- honestly) is perhaps the best nine on the property as it winds between the rolling dunes. The 518-yard No. 14 plays long and tight to a tiered green. Next to the Witch, the wizard’s subtle fairways and lack of water can lull you into a false sense of security.

Wind and water is a major component of 6967-yard -yard Man O’ War, however. Located right next door, it features the classic forced carries and fairways bordered by the vast lake that meanders through the property. The 392-yard No. 9 embodies the Man O’ War credo as players tee off into a fairway that doglegs--bordered on both sides by water. the fairway narrows at a green flanked by pines. The tiered green is an island that just out into the lake. Par is a worthy accomplishment when the wind howls into your face.

The philosophy of the courses, says Mystical’s owner Claude Pardue, is to provide a challenging experience but leave visitors with positive images of the courses. “We want them to leave feeling challenged by the courses but not beaten up by them. We like it when our players score well.”

Winter prices for Canadians are tempting. Play 3 rounds of golf for as little as $143.00 per person carts included before 8 am or after 1 pm , until September 7, 2011 playing each of The Witch, The Wizard and the Man O' War. As a book-it-online package just pick your dates till September 7, 2011, they'll find the times - making sure you pick times before 8 am or after 1 pm.

PGA National's Quintet of Beauties

For a sport routinely identified with privilege, golf has a wonderful democratic streak. While all the money on the world won’t let you throw a pitch from the mound at Fenway Park or skate in a game at the Air Canada Centre, recreational golfers can tee it up on the holiest of the holies such as Pebble Beach, the Old Course in St. Andrews, TPC at Sawgrass or Banff Springs.

That fantasy player experience extends to the PGA National Resort’s famed Champion Course, home of next month’s Honda Championship (March 3-6) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The Tom and George Fazio design-- updated in the 2002 by local resident Jack Nicklaus-- has hosted the Honda tournament, the 1983 Ryder Cup, the 1987 PGA Championship and the PGA Seniors championship (1982-2000).

With its renowned Bear Trap (holes 15 through 17) featuring some of golf's most challenging par-three approaches, the Champion has become a bucket-list destination for Canadian golfers looking to test themselves against the best. The Champion features water on 16 of its holes. Add in Florida breezes, white sand and heat and you have 5145- 7048 yards of challenge to satisfy golfers at all levels.

For the real Tour experience, try walking the course with caddies to simulate the tournament feel. You may not score four straight 68s or better (as 2010 Honda winner Camilo Villegas did) but you can try his patented Spiderman stance lining up a putt on the Champ’s testing greens. To complete the experience, the resort has a Honda Classic package with unlimited one-day play at the Champion, carts, accommodation, breakfast and practice facilities that ranges from $210 (low season) to $315 (high season).

The new PGA Resort owners have spent $65 million since acquiring the four diamond, triple A property in 2006 to replace the greens with Tif Eagle grass that allows for a bent-grass experience in a climate where Bermuda usually holds sway. For a little extra you can get a caddie to line them up for you.

But the Champion is just the beginning of the experience at the Resort, which features four other courses. The 7079-yard Palmer course with its new Champion Bermuda greens is an ideal resort course known for its distinctive cochina shell hazards.

The Squire (named for Gene Sarazen) plays a tight 7048 yards to challenging Tif Dwarf greens, while the Haig (for Walter Hagen) features forgiving fairways for the casual round among friends. A fifth course, the Estates, is located nearby the resort for players wanting a new experience every day. All the resort courses feature a range of tee boxes to accommodate every skill level.

In addition, PGA National features a David Leadbetter Golf Academy (run by former Chateau Whistler instructor Matt Denzer), a Dave Pelz Scoring School and Titleist Performance Institute to brush up on your game. If a workout is required, there’s the newly remodeled Health and Racquet Club, a 33,000-square-foot fitness center that includes tennis and racquetball courts. And the Spa can soothe sore muscles with a range of service from Swedish massage to pedicures and facials.

With the well-known attractions of the nearby beaches and resorts as competition, the PGA National has poured much care and attention into renovations of its rooms, restaurants, conference and recreation areas. A new chef, Irishman Gordon Maybury, was lured from Doral in Miami to upgrade the menus of the resort’s restaurants. On a recent visit the upgrades were apparent with two splendid restaurants – iBAR and Ironwood Grille – and a zero-entry pool providing a beautiful place to while away a 19th hole experience.

PGA National is a short 15 minute drive from Palm Beach International airport with daily direct flights from Montreal and Toronto.

The Links of Spanish Bay/ Bayonet

There is an understandable tendency to see Pebble Beach as defining Monterey golf. But the peninsula has so much more than just the world-famous links that will host the 2010 U.S. Open. Spyglass, Cypress, Del Monte and Poppy Hills are all well-known, must-play courses on the 17-mile drive to the north side of Monterey Bay.

If you’re looking for a contrast in styles, however, visitors to northern California looking for public-play can do no better than the Links at Spanish Bay, Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s challenging course by the shore, and Bayonet, the refurbished parkland gem just inland north of Monterey airport. Contrasts in style, they round out any collection of the area’s best courses.

Spanish Bay (Tom Watson helped with the design) is part of the Pebble Beach Resort complex just past Pacific Grove on the peninsula’s north point. In keeping with the tradition of links courses, the 6820-yard layout plays along the beach next to the chilly Pacific waters. Like many of the better links courses, much of its charm and challenge lies hidden among the dunes and hummocks created by nature. The “blind” element of the course annoys some but is familiar-- and appreciated-- by others who’ve enjoyed the British style of golf.

Spanish Bay’s first nine holes run from just in front of the clubhouse along the water before finally turning inland on the back nine for a series of demanding tree-lined holes. Shot selection is imperative in navigating the tight confines of Spanish Bay’s fairways, and approach angle is critical to leaving the proper putt on the greens. Typical is the 451-yard par-4 No. Five (Blind Choice, ) which requires a tee shot to avoid the three pot bunkers in the middle of the fairway. The hole ends with the waves crashing on the shore below the green.

Among the memorable holes are No. 14, (Wind & Willow) a tight par five that descends 576 yards through the unspoiled brush and dunes to the ocean. Depending on the wind, this hole can play as a downwind teaser or a beast into the teeth of the Pacific winds. The green is poised above a series of sand traps that catch errant shots. A beautiful view from the tees, too.



No. 4 green,The Links At Spanish Bay (photo Bruce Dowbiggin)


Inland, the uphill par-four No. 12 (Cathedral) is another example of how Jones makes the golfer shape his shots. You need an accurate drive of around 220 yards into the right side of a narrowing fairway. That sets up a second shot across a deep ravine to a sloping green. Beware getting above the pin on this one.

Jones finishes off Spanish Bay with a series of narrow, target-sensitive holes running across the dunes below the resort. The finishing par 5 No. 18 (Long Home) is a 574-yard roller coaster that moves right to left along a narrow sliver of fairway that punishes a fade. You can try for it in two, but a band or gorse swallows short shots. The green is wide but shallow and getting on the wrong side of the hole can lead to all sorts of headaches.

Rounds at The Links at Spanish Bay are less expensive than at Pebble Beach and Spyglass but still cost a healthy $250 in high season. The best way to take advantage of Spanish Bay is to stay at the beautiful Inn and combine the stay with one or more of the other courses on the peninsula. For more phone (866) 939-6423 or go to pebblebeach.com.


Having belonged to a Willie Park Jr. course for years, we have to admit a certain weakness for the classic parkland course designs with their mature trees, sweeping fairways and testing greens. With the magnificent resource of statuesque cypress, oak and pine trees available in Northern California this has left the area with wonderful examples of parkland courses available to the public. This year’s President’s Cup is being played on such a course, San Francisco’s wonderful Harding Park course, just across Lake Merced from the legendary Olympic Club.

But Harding Park has strong competition from the recently refurbished Bayonet/ Black tandem in the Monterey suburb of Seaside. We only had the opportunity to play the 7104-yard Bayonet, the older of the courses that was completely restored by noted architect Gene Bates (Circling Raven, The Rise, Corballis Golf Links) in 2007 (front nine) and 2008 (back nine). Bayonet, which opened in 1954, was created on the site of the former Fort Ord and christened in honor of the 7th Infantry Light Fighter Division (nicknamed the “Bayonet Division”). Ken Venturi, then in the military, was consulted in the building.



Bayonet photos @ Julio Rodriguez
The routing has been changed by Bates, and new bunkering has toughened up the course. And while the course has added just 150 yards in total length, the removal of poa annua and Kikiyu grasses in the fairways has kept the experience difficult but fair. The appropriately named Bayonet can produce the death of a thousand cuts should players decide to venture into the statuesque trees that line virtually every fairway here or be swallowed in the snow-white sand that punctuates Bates’ design.

Bayonet’s new teeth show in the combined eighth and ninth holes that stretch a combined 1089 yards. The beastly No. 8 requires two lengthy shots to avoid the fairway bunkers and set up an approach. The green is narrow and provides a variety of pin positions so a proper distance read is imperative. The dogleg right, par-4 No. 9 follows to rock the unwary player. Playing uphill, it is almost impossible in two at 476 yards. Best to lay up and try for a well-earned up-and-down par.

Par threes? No. 17 is a downhill 225 yards from a beautiful tee box that overlooks the Pacific. The green runs away to the right behind dramatic bunkering so grab plenty of club for back pin positions should the wind blow. Plus, get a photo of the view.

You can’t get a stronger finisher than the 527-yard par-5 that plays into a steady wind off the water. Mere mortals are again advised to take this in three as the green has a ridge running through its middle that can make three putts a possibility for misplaced approaches. Bayonet is ranked No. 35 on Golf Digest's list of the "50 Toughest Golf Courses in the United States, and our recent round underscored that reputation. Tough but honest, Gene Bates has made the classic a must-play in the Monterey experience.



Bayonet is $160 during the weekends, $115 during the week. Afternoon, replay and junior rates are priced even lower. For more information, call 831-899-7271 (PAR-1)or email info@blackbayonet.com.

Pebble Beach

The burden of greatness lies in living up to the expectations thrust upon you. Comedians talk about being funny all the time to please fans, while singers are never allowed to miss a note. Immortality comes not from meeting standards, but exceeding them. So then what are the expectations of perhaps the most famous golf course in North America, venerable Pebble Beach on the Monterey peninsula in northern California?

The credits are many. Host of the 2010 U.S. Open, annual home of the February AT&T National Pro Am stop on the PGA Tour, top of the “Bucket List” for every dedicated golfer-- Pebble Beach is the Mecca of golf courses. So are the challenges of every one’s imagination on the perfect course. Add the fact that a greens fee at the most famous public course in America is a healthy $475 U.S. to play Samuel F.B. Morse’s links course on the cliffs above the Pacific.

It’s a tall assignment. But from the first hole through to the legendary 18th stretching alongside Monterey Bay, Pebble Beach lives up to its reputation. Not easy for a course carved out of the rugged coastline in 1919 by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant when the sport and the equipment were very different. Pebble Beach Golf Links must host the everyday player as well as Tiger Woods. Yet, everyone seems to leave the property with the timeless gift only Pebble can bestow on a golfer.

That’s not to say Pebble Beach is a museum unchanged since the days when Bing Crosby hosted his annual “clambake” each February. As head pro Chuck Dunbar told us, “This is a living course that adapts as the years goes by-- but always retains its essential character as a test of golf.” As recently as 1999, this meant having Jack Nicklaus restore Morse’s original No. 5 par-three that was never executed in the building of the course 85 years ago.

A recent outing saw new trees planted beside the course, new flanging on the sand traps and some stretching of the length which is still listed as 6828 on the card. All to meet the challenge of the Open next year. Four greens and 16 bunkers have been rebuilt, altered or installed, 11 tees have benefited from enhancements, six holes have seen the addition or adjustment of trees (including Cypress) and the total length of the course has been extended to 7,012 yards for the pros who invade next June 14-20.

And when the United States Golf Association talks about challenge, they mean the most exacting test of golf. Brutal rough. Billiard-table greens. “The USGA says it doesn’t seek to punish golfers with its rough and setup,” says Dunbar. “They say instead that they are seeking to identify the best golfers with the setup for the Open. That’s not always easy for us, of course, We have to be a fair test for the celebrities who play the AT&T National Pro-Am and the golfing public. So we have to find a middle ground.”

Where to start in cataloguing Pebble Beach’s glories? Start with its greens, the
compact surfaces that exact a toll on even the slightest wayward shot. Approaching from too far or from the wrong angle-- or short-siding yourself in the bunker-- has vexed golfers from Bobby Jones through Arnold Palmer to today’s stars. These beauties are as elusive as the wind. Once planted on the putting surface, there is the added test of reading the lightning surfaces with their almost mystical breaks and grains. Take a caddie to read your putts; it’s worth the cost in frayed nerves alone.

For the holes, nothing quite matches the thrill as you emerge from the trees bracketing No. 4 tee box to see the signature lone cypress on the horizon cresting the point beside No. 6 green. Or the bracing challenge of playing holes 6 through 10 with the Pacific crashing at your side and the sea breeze buffeting your shots. The diabolically short par three No. 7 is a nautical challenge at 106 yards, gauging the wind ripping off the waves to land on a tight, two-tiered green.

After the brute par-five No. 14 and insidious dogleg on No. 16, players emerge once more from the inland holes to face perhaps the most memorable finishing hole in golf. The 543-yard eighteenth hole hugs the curve of the bay like a stave to a barrel. The two lonesome trees in the middle of the fairway can sour even a good drive as players find themselves either fading or drawing around them on the second shot to keep par in sight. Then there is the mighty tree standing sentinel to the right side of the green, forcing players to confront the sea wall and disaster.

And if the golf gets too be too daunting, there is always the splendor of the beaches below to soothe the weary golfer. Sea lions, seals and every manner of bird frolicking in the sand make golfing into a naturalist’s dream. A camera is the fourteenth club in every golfer’s bag the first time he or she makes it to play Pebble Beach.

As mentioned, the greens fee is formidable but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of golfers who make their way from around the world to play this gem. Perhaps the best way to experience Pebble Beach-- or the other magnificent courses on the peninsula (Spyglass, Spanish Bay, Cypress and Del Monte)-- is to stay at either the Lodge at Pebble Beach or the Inn At Spanish Bay. Run by the same company that owns the course, these hotels are the ultimate in luxurious comfort for the traveller come to golf nirvana.

The hotels run frequent shuttles back and forth between Pebble Beach, Spyglass and Spanish Bay. They offer a range of excellent restaurants that feature local produce and the wines of California. There is a selection of shops featuring the latest golf fashions. And, of course, they can pamper golfers and non-golfers alike with spa treatments, yoga sessions and tennis. The Lodge and the Inn will be happy to coordinate your golf and other needs with packages designed for everyone.

A word of warning about weather. Autumn and early winter are often the sunniest months to play Pebble Beach. Summertime sees a lot of fog and cooler temperatures on the peninsula-- even as the land is baking just a few miles inland.

For more about golfing Pebble Beach or staying at either the Lodge or the Inn At Spanish Bay, contact the course at http://pebblebeach.com or phone 1-(800) 654-9300.

Iron Mountain/ GreyWalls Michigan Golf

Iron Mountain, Michigan, is best known for its mines, its locally produced sports and entertainment heroes (Steve Mariucci, Tom Izzo, Diana Ross), its Italian heritage and for the simple life of the Upper Peninsula of the state. Oh-- Henry Ford was born here, too. The town of 7000 would hardly be described as a magnet for the golf crowd. Which is too bad because there are some fine courses that are well worth the trip.

Cut from the north-country forests just south of Lake Superior, TimberStone at Pine Mountain Resort is a challenging course that consistently ranks in the Top 100 public-play courses in America by Golf Digest. In fact ti’s one of just 24 courses in the nation to receive the five-star rating from the magazine.

Starting from the foot of the ski resort, the layout plays 6937 from the tips but can accommodate even the beginner with a great golf experience. It’s imperative to keep the ball in play on almost every hole, but the fairways are wide and responsive to a good shot.

Our favourite part of the course was probably the combination of holes No. 5 and 6 that skirt a large pond and are framed by woods full of deer and other wildlife. No. 5 is a par 5 that features the pond running along the left side of the fairway. To the right is a falloff into brush and trees. A good drive of 260 yards or more brings the green into play on the second shot. But there is no forgiveness in front for short shots. If unsure, best to lay up and approach the left-to-right sloping green with a wedge.

No. 6-- the No. 1 stroke hole-- requires a carry of 250 yards from the tips over water to reach the fairway. From there, the green is sunken into a slope, guarded by hills on both sides. Par here is worth bragging about.

If you like steep downhill par threes, then No. 17 will tickle you. From the tee box you can see for miles, but the drop required is 215 yards from the tips. There is a large trap guarding the green’s right side and woods surround the two-tiered putting surface. Depending on pin placement you could be hitting anywhere between a high iron to a hybrid to measure your shot properly.

If you can find the time, TimberStone at Pine Mountain is well worth the trip. Rates are very reasonable for a course rated on par with Whistling Straits and Pebble Beach-- $69 US low season/ $100 high season. Plus, Joe Rizzo and his staff will treat you well. The course is about two hours north of Green Bay, Wisc., and an hour from the Marquette Mich. International airport. You can get more details on travel packages by calling 906.776.0111 or emailing joe@pinemountainresort.com.

To the east in Marquette is GreyWalls, a beast of a course cut from the northern shield rock and scrub. The grey walls of the title refer to the omnipresent sheets of Northern Shield stone that guard greens, pop up in fairways and line most of the front nine. The back nine is more tree-lined and features rolling fairways and tricky changes in elevation.

Like TimberStone, GreyWalls has been widely recognized. GolfWeek named it the No. 2 course you can play in Michigan, and it was included in the Top Ten Best New Course listings of all the major golf publications when it debuted in 2005. While it plays a deceptive 6828 from the tips, the true story lies in its 144 slope rating.

Not for the faint of heart, it pays to have someone along who’s played the course before to explain the lines of sight and the best approaches to many of the greens designed by Mike DeVries. On the day we played we were lucky to be joined by New York Jets kicker Jay Feely, a member of the club and a scratch golfer. He was kind enough to steer us through the multiple challenges of GreyWalls.. The No. 1 stroke hole is the par-4 12th that plays a daunting 491 from the tips. It takes two mighty whacks to get there in two-- and if the wind is in your face, forget it. Two of the par threes involve forced carries of over 180 yards to greens cut out of the rock face. Miss the shot into the steep rock cut and it can rebound halfway back to the tee box. Perhaps the only disappointment was the par-five No. 18 that begins promisingly with a long tee shot into a stony chute but then finishes with an enormous, featureless green with no bunkering or hazards.

Bring plenty of balls and a creative imagination for GreyWalls. This one should include a sign that says “The Holes Are Played By Experts. Do Not Repeat At your Home Course”. GreyWalls can be reached via the Marquette airport with service from Detroit, Minneapolis and Green Bay. Canadians can drive over from Sault Ste,. Marie, Ont., a drive of a couple of hours. Rates range from $90 in low season to $125 in high season. For more call 1- 866.678.7171.