Author: Jim Maggio

The penultimate hole on the Bay nine at Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club will bare its teeth, but it’s a challenge you’ll happily accept when you play this North Strand gem. Join us for an aerial tour of this par 4 hole, and get some suggestions on how best to play it!

Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club
Bay Course No. 8 – Par 4
Black – 432 Yards
White – 397 Yards
Gold – 346 Yards
Red – 311 Yards

This dogleg left is the longest par 4 on the Bay nine. While playability is at the heart of Sandpiper’s appeal, No. 8 has teeth.

The challenge here comes in avoiding the hazards. Water or wetlands (sometimes both) loom from tee to green, with tight landing areas along the way.

Don’t take unnecessary risks here. There’s no shame in laying up with your approach if your drive isn’t as long as you’d like.

Bay #8 is not an unconquerable monster, but avoiding a big number here should be the goal. Your decision-making and swing will be tested!

The Wizard Golf Course is known for its picturesque finishing holes with significant water features, but dry land offers plenty of challenge on the back nine’s toughest hole at No. 14. Join us for an aerial tour of this par 5, and get some insight on how best to play it!

The Wizard
Hole No. 14 – Par 5

Blue Tees – 518 Yards
White Tees – 485 Yards
Black Tees – 458 Yards
Red Tees – 432 Yards

This is the No. 2 handicap hole on the course, and the most challenging on the back nine.

Your tee shot is guarded by a pinched fairway and bunker along the right side.

Bushes left and bunkers center and right spell danger for any approach not carefully placed.

It’s one of the North Strand’s most picturesque holes, and the lengthy, par-5 7^th on the West course at The Pearl Golf Links in Calabash, N.C. offers plenty of challenge to go with it. Join us for an adventurous aerial tour of this beauty, and get some advice on how best to play it!

The Pearl Golf Links

West Course No. 7 – Par 5

Black Tees – 604 Yards

Blue Tees – 573 Yards

White Tees – 552 Yards

Gold Tees – 475 Yards

Red Tees – 436 Yards

Pearl West’s Hole 7 is a gargantuan par 5 that is lined with beautiful Calabash River views down the right hand side of the hole.

The entire hole slopes left to right towards the water, so be sure to allow for the roll.

The approach shot has a tendency to be difficult because players are faced with a side-hill lie.

Of its holes given a new look in recent years, the par-4 12th at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club is among this popular Clyde Johnston design’s most notable. Join us for an aerial tour of this beauty, and learn more about how the reconfiguration has enhanced its playability.

Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club
Hole No. 12 – Par 4

Blue – 420 Yards
White – 384 Yards
Gold – 357 Yards
Silver – 319 Yards
Red – 300 Yards

A 2016 renovation of this hole saw the elimination of rough down each side of the fairway.

Magnificent waste bunkering now surrounds it, starting at the forward tees and working its way up the entirety of the hole.

This has vastly improved playability of No. 12, offering a visual framework for each shot on a hole that’s less penalizing for those that stray from the fairway.

A long drive down the left side offers the best approach angle to this green. Good luck!

Tom Jackson and Raymond Floyd don’t exactly ease you into the experience on Arrowhead Country Club‘s Cypress nine, as its brutish par-5 2nd hole will show you. Join us for an aerial tour of this great Myrtle Beach golf challenge, and get some tips along the way on how best to play it!

Arrowhead Country Club
Cypress #2
Par 5

Blue – 571 Yards
White – 528 Yards
Green – 510 Yards
Red – 417 Yards

This monster is a true 3-shot par 5, but laying up off the tee is not advised as the second shot increases in difficulty the farther back you are.

Play toward the right half of the fairway on your second shot and the ball will normally feed back to the center off the mounds.

5 is always a good score here.

Rees Jones doesn’t wait very long to roll out formidable challenges on his signature design at Arcadian Shores Golf Club. No. 2 is a test to your short game that might look completely different from one round to the next. Join us for an aerial tour of this great golf hole!

Arcadian Shores Golf Club

Hole No. 2 – Par 3

Black – 201 Yards

Blue – 178 Yards

White – 148 Yards

Gold – 143 Yards

Red – 114 Yards

Depending on the day or your handicap, your tee shot may be from this angle … or this one.

Either way, select the club that will get over the water to the most receptive part of the green, which is the front left portion.

It’s the shortest distance from the tee, and you can bail out left of the green if needed.

Modeled after the famed C.B. McDonald hole at Midocean, the finishing hole at Wild Wing’s Avocet Course dares you to bomb it off the tee to shorten the length of a long par 4. Join us for an aerial tour of No. 18, and get some advice on how best to approach this challenge!

Wild Wing Golf Club
The Avocet Course
Hole No. 18 – Par 4

Black – 453 Yards
Blue – 426 Yards
White – 381 Yards
Yellow- 360 Yards
Red – 343 Yards

Modeled after the famed C.B. McDonald hole at Midocean, this hole dares you to bomb it off the tee to shorten the length of this long par 4.

The four fairway bunkers are intended as targets only – it’s unlikely that you can reach them.

The approach might be Wild Wing’s most difficult, to a large and angled two-tiered green. It’s at least two clubs front to back, so proper distance and direction are crucial.

Water and a devilish left-side bunker are obviously not the place to miss.

It’s the second of a four-hole finishing stretch that features the beauty of the Shallotte River in spectacular fashion. Join us for an aerial tour of the par–four 16th hole at Rivers Edge Golf Club, and get some tips on how best to play it!

Rivers Edge Golf Club
Hole No. 16 – Par 4

Gold – 412 Yards
Black – 386 Yards
White – 370 Yards
Green – 349 Yards
Teal – 260 Yards

This is the second of a four-hole finishing stretch where the beauty of the Shallotte River and Copas Lake come into play.

Hit your tee shot past the right edge of the left-side bunker for ideal position. It’s just over 200 yards from the back tees to reach the front of it.

The green is guarded by a crescent bunker that wraps the right edge of the green.

Avoid the grassy marshes along the way, and enjoy the views!

On a course built on a 100-acre lake, it’s only fitting that water factors heavily into Man O’ War’s finishing hole. Join us for an aerial tour of this one-of-a-kind beauty and get some tips on how best to play it!

Man O’ War Golf Club

Hole No. 18 – Par 5

Championship – 494 Yards

Regular – 468 Yards

Senior – 442 Yards

Ladies – 360 Yards

On a course built on a 100-acre lake, it’s only fitting that water factors heavily into Man O’ War’s finishing hole.

Off the tee and on your approaches, missing left has obvious consequences. Well-struck drives also risk finding three bunkers to the left of the landing area.

Your approach is guarded by four greenside bunkers – but with an opening that tempts the aggressive to go for the green in two.

Do that, or get home in three, and you’ve got a chance to end a memorable round with a birdie or eagle. Good luck!

Your first dramatic introduction to the Intracoastal Waterway at Myrtlewood Golf Club’s Palmetto Course comes at No. 17, a par 3 that’s not the course’s most difficult but certainly one of its most scenic and memorable. Join us for an aerial tour of this beauty!

 

 

Myrtlewood Golf Club
Palmetto Course

Hole No. 17 – Par 3
Blue – 179 Yards
White – 162 Yards
Gold – 125 Yards
Red – 106 Yards

The 17th has three teeing areas, all at different elevations. The combination of elevation and wind can significantly impact club selection.

It’s not exceedingly difficult, but there is trouble to be found. Take your time and trust your club selection.

Throw in a pond, two bunkers in the front, and the Intracoastal Waterway to the left of the green, and the 17th is one of Palmetto’s prettiest holes.