There’s a good reason why Pete Dye, one of golf’s all-time
great course designers, has been called “dye-abolical.” All you have to do is
try to get your ball around Prestwick Country Club’s track in 72
strokes or
less (par for the course) and you’ll understand why. Pete and P. B. Dye (Pete’s
youngest son) designed this gem that may not be as well-known as some on the Myrtle
Beach Strand, but it ranks among the best courses I’ve played in the 28 years I’ve
played the game.
Over those 28 years I have played lovely courses, difficult
courses, relatively easy courses, but nothing has captured both my eye and
imagination as Prestwick has. As soon as you step up to the first tee box, your
eyes and imagination are engaged. Prestwick just grabs your attention and holds it. I
did see the beautifully manicured homes on the property, but they were just on
the periphery of my consciousness. Simply put, the course itself captured and
captivated me.
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| The friendly Bill Gregg |
Before I get to the golf though, I have to note the
exceptional service from the Prestwick staff. From the moment I drove onto the
property, the exceptional experience began with Bill Gregg, a retired police
officer from Pennsylvania who manned the gatehouse. The Prestwick staff members
at the bag drop were also about as congenial as you’re going to find at a
country club or anywhere else for that matter.
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| Skip & Sparky in the pro shop |
The noteworthy welcome continued when I made my way into the
pro shop with Claude “Sparky” Sparks and Anthony “Skip” Sialiano. They were helpful, informative and we had a good time bantering about their nicknames
before I made my way out to the course to shoot photos prior to Day 1 of the
World Amateur Handicap Championship.
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| Denny, Lee & Connor getting it done |
Driving the course during my photo shoot, left me salivating to get on it to play. However, our scheduled World Am first round
was rained out. I didn’t make Friday’s championship round, but I was going
to play golf on Friday. There was no way I was leaving South Carolina
without playing Prestwick. When I went back to play the course, the
staff members were every bit as accommodating as they had been the previous Sunday.
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| T. A. with the Hellers & staff member Jim Hall |
Jim Hall introduced me to the Hellers, the father and son twosome
with whom I’d be playing, and he led us out to the first tee. Jim gave us all the
lowdown we would need to have an enjoyable round. I can only hope that the
staff at Prestwick treat their members as well as they treated us, their guests. I'll bet they do, and that is surely a reflection of Head Professional Jay Smith's leadership.
Hole No.1
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| Tee box view of Hole No.1 |
The first hole (only 341 yards from the white tees where I play
these days) lets you know right away that you are on a golfer’s course, not one
where you can just grip it and rip it without carefully considering the
consequences. Towering trees to your left and right signal a warning that hooks and
slices are felonies in this neck of the woods. The waste bunker down the
right side challenges the fader to “go for it pal.” It is definitely a “hacker
beware” hole.
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| Fairway view of No.1 |
You want your tee shot on right side of the fairway or
even in that waste bunker if you want a clear shot at the green. Bailouts on the
approach to the first green (as with most of the greens on this track) are few.
You don’t want to miss short or long right. You have the possibility of getting
up and down from long left, but that depends on where the cup is placed.
Belly-dancer undulations on the greens are one of Dye’s course-protection
devices, and the green on Hole No.1 is no exception!
When I played it with the Hellers, both got in trouble in the trees on the right, and paid the price. I hit a decent 3-wood off the tee and sat comfortably in the
fairway, but my second shot plopped into the left green-side bunker. I
hit a nice bunker shot (for a hacker) to the back left pin...at least it came out as I had
hoped, but the ball rolled off the back to the fringe. I got up and down for a
bogey. Honestly, given what I had seen during the photo session, I was set
to be happy with bogeys all day.
Hole No.2
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| View of No.2 from tee box |
So after that nifty introduction to Prestwick, you are
greeted with Hole No.2, which is listed as the toughest hole on the course (at
least for men- No.1 handicap, No.7 for women). The second hole is a 387-yard,
dogleg left, par-4, with mile-high trees and a massive
bunker at the inside corner of the left turn.
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| View from green back to tee on No.2 |
Your tee shot had better be long and straight, because short
left or right will give you no reasonable shot at the well-protected green. Big hitters might be able to go up over the trees on the left, but short-knockers like me
had better just try to get it down the right side far enough for a good angle to the green. You can’t stray too far right though, because there are plenty of tall
leafy things to snag your ball and confound your efforts to fire at the green.
Missing the second green short pretty much guarantees at least one
extra shot. Even if you manage to get the ball on this green, the contours
will keep your neurons firing as you try to figure out how to get the sphere in
the hole.
If you miss the green and manage to escape all of the bunkers right
and left, you still have no picnic getting up and down, because a funky stance
is pretty much a given with all the mounding enveloping the green. Ah Pete, P.
B., you really are dye-abolical!
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| Slightly elevated green at #2 |
Recognizing all of the above did nothing for me when stood on the second tee. I
hit my tee ball into the trees on the right, but was not out of bounds as I
feared, and had only about 250 yards to the green. I hit a 3-wood out of the wet
rough and it ended up in the front sand trap about 40 yards away from the cup.
My sand shot looked good, but it spun back to the fringe. By the time I had
gotten the ball in the hole, I had posted a double. Yep, my wick is already pressed!
Hole No.3
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| Hole #3 from the tee |
The third test at Prestwick is a 444-yard par-4 that is
pretty straight away, and like most of the holes, it just requires that you hit
it where you are aiming. Too left or too right and you’ve got issues. Not too
much challenge if you drive the ball 240 yards or better in the fairway, but
short-knockers should be prepared to post bogey.
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| #3 green |
Being a short-knocker myself, my plan was to hit a gentle fade so
that I’d be toward the middle or right of the fairway for a better angle to the
green. My shot was gentle but it didn't fade. I sat in the left rough, still about 250 yards from
the hole. No problem, because I was planning on playing this hole like a par-5
anyway. I went from left rough to left rough with my 6-iron, and still had 100
yards to the front pin. I hit a beautiful little gap wedge to about 20 feet,
and finished off the two-putt for the bogey as planned. Okay, I'm not feeling too bad now.
Hole No.4
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| Tee box view of #4 |
The fourth is a short par-4 of 305 yards, which is defended by water off
the tee and in front of the green. Only a really bad shot off the tee would
bring the water into play, but the liquid guarding the green is in play
all the way. You want to hit a tee shot that gives you a number that you like
coming into the green. You’re better off long than short on your second shot as there are
just grass bunkers that you can easily navigate if you go long. The wet stuff
awaits if you’re short.
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| Second shot into #4 |
I ended up in the right rough off the tee but only about 116
yards away from the flag. I hit a pitching wedge a bit thin and into the grass
bunkers behind the green. A splendid little chip and nifty putt later and I card my first par of the day. Sweet!
Hole No.5
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| Tee box view of #5 |
I'm a sucker for wooden bridges and you cross one after leaving No.4 green, on your way to the par-3
fifth. No.5 is listed at 164 yards on the card from the white tees, and depending on
where the pin is placed, and how the breeze is blowing, club selection is
paramount here, particularly since it plays a bit downhill from the
tee. This green is protected by water to the left, bunkers long and right, and
thick rough in the rounded mounds to the right as well. The green is large and two
tiered so you want to be on the proper tier.
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| Treacherous green on #5 |
Determined not to come up short, I hit a 5-iron to the
middle of the green, on the upper back tier. The pin, however, was on the
lower front tier, far too close to the water for comfort. I had about a
40-footer to the cup, left the first putt about 10-feet short and missed that putt to card a three-putt bogey. Another terrific little golf test that makes you
pick your poison. I needed an antidote.
Hole No.6
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| Tee box view of #6 |
At 459 yards, the sixth hole is a very pretty, tree-lined
par-5 that should be reachable in two unless you’re a short-knocker like me. There’s
not much in the way of trouble on this slight dogleg right hole, except
for the trees, and you want to keep your tee shot on the left side of the
fairway to better position your second shot into the green.
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| #6 green |
I hit a thin 3-wood down the left side of the fairway but
had a long way to go. I hit my 4-hybrid to about 110 yards, and put a wedge on
the green, but about 50 feet away from the cup. My first putt rolled past the
pin and off the green, and I rolled it with the flat-stick from the fringe to
about a foot, and made the bogey. As I knew coming in, precision is at a
premium when you play Prestwick!
Hole No.7
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| Tree-lined #7 |
You want to stay to the right of the fairway off the tee on
this 384-yard par-4 to create the best angle to the green. The seventh is
perhaps the first hole that doesn’t do much to challenge the imagination, at
least not from the tee box. With the exception of the huge green-side bunker
protecting the right side of the green, you don’t see much to threaten you on
No.7.
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| #7 green |
Of course, you still have to hit good golf shots to do well
on the hole, and perhaps it appeared too nonthreatening to me. My tee shot wasn’t
bad, just a half-inch into the right rough, but a long ways out. I topped my
2-hybrid 50 yards down the fairway, then topped a 6-iron into the big sand trap
on the right. The bunker shot was mediocre at best, leaving me 30 feet from the
cup, and it took me two putts to get down for my double bogey. That I couldn’t
blame on Pete and P. B. Dye. It was all me.
Hole No.8
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| View of #8 from the tee |
The eighth is listed as a 193-yard par-3. The green is huge
and the sand traps you see from the tee aren’t really in play unless you hit it
really short, so this is as easy an opportunity for par as there is on the front
side.
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| #8 Green |
I approached the eighth tee box feeling pretty confident
with a 3-hybrid in my hands, and proceeded to top another ball and came up
about 50 yards short of the green. I hit a sweet pitch shot to about eight
feet, but missed the putt and slinked off with a bogey.
Hole No.9
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| Stay right off the tee on #9 |
The ninth is another short par-5 (486 yards), but with water
all the way down the left side, numerous moguls down the right, and another of
Dye’s contoured greens protected by the water on the left and imaginative bunkers to
the right. Par is a good score for all but the long and accurate
hitters.
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| Dye-abolical Green-side bunkers on #9 |
Both of my playing companions hit unplayable shots to the
right, and we all thought I had hit a good shot down the right side. I’m not
sure if the ball plugged, if it was lost in the rough, or what, but we couldn’t
find it and I had to play it as a lost ball. I topped yet another shot with my
3-wood. For my fourth shot, hit my 4-hybrid to the fringe at the front of the
green, chipped to a couple feet and sank the putt for a double bogey. Being neither
long nor accurate certainly cost me on this one.
Hole No.10
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| Tee box view of #10 |
The back side at Prestwick begins with what appears to be a
relatively harmless par-4. The tenth hole is 373 yards long, but you have a
stress-free look off the tee. The only real challenge on this hole is the second
shot with a green that has some
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| #10 green |
sloping edges that can leave you chipping up to
a rolling putting surface that could be tough to hold. My poor ball striking
continued off the tee on No.10 and I ended up having to one-putt for a
bogey. As I felt with No.8, this is one that was getable and I let it get away.
Hole No.11
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| View from #11 tee |
Rated the easiest par-4 on the course (No.14 handicap hole),
the eleventh is an 344-yard par-4 with a massive waste bunker down the right
side of the fairway, which represents the only real risk on your tee shot. The
150-yard marker is a nice aiming reference off the tee. The elevated green with its wavy contours presents a challenge if you don’t hit the right segment
of the green.
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| Elevated and undulating #11 green |
I smoothed a 3-wood to about 140 yards from the flag, and
floated a 7-iron to about 30 feet left of the cup. A good first putt and easy
second led to just the second par in the 11 holes I had played.
Hole No.12
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| View from the tee at #12 |
The par-5 twelfth is the longest of the par-5s at Prestwick,
but not a long hole by any means at 504 yards from the white tees. You want to
keep the tee shot to the right on this dogleg left with tall trees and a waste
bunker down the left. There’s another waste area down the right side waiting to
welcome your second shot, so you want to avoid the right side if you aren’t
long enough to reach the green on your second. Yet, you don’t want to go too far left because
more trees await. The green is, of course, well protected by bunkers
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| View from #12 fairway |
I hit a 3-wood off the tee that drew just a bit more than I
would have liked, but it was safely in the fairway on the left. I wanted to
stay down the left side for a good shot at the back pin, but the gentle draw I
hit with my 4-hybrid was just left of center of the fairway. Nope, not
complaining one bit!
I hit my 8-iron third shot to the middle of the green, about
35 feet left of the back pin placement. My first putt came up about seven feet
short and I couldn’t convert the putt into a par. What should have been a relatively
easy par from where I was on my second shot, was thwarted by my lack of
precision and Prestwick’s slithering, undulating greens.
Hole no.13
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| #13 from the tee box |
When you leave the 12th hole and come around for
the 13th, you see the water guarding the front of this gorgeous
little par-3, with a multi-tier green and slippery slopes from back to front.
Going long is no bargain because there are both grass and sand bunkers behind
the green, and you can’t afford to be too aggressive coming back onto the green
if you are off the back.
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| #13 green |
Sadly enough for me, I didn’t get my own yardage and
listened to my playing partners. After I had hit the shot 10 yards too far, I
looked at the tee box markers and realized that we were playing about 15 yards up.
I paid the price as I came out of the grass bunker about 20 feet short of the
hole which was down the hill, knocked that putt eight feet past the hole,
missed that and posted another double. Very silly mental error there on a
course that makes you pay for mental or physical errors.
Hole No.14
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| The lovely 14th from behind the green |
This picturesque hole is listed as the second most difficult
of the par-4s on the course at 409 yards. Your best bet is to hit your tee ball
down the right side of the fairway with a fade. The fairway slopes from right
to left and you have a severe uphill second shot if you go into the left rough.
There’s water left as well if you don’t hit the tee shot well.
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| #14 green & beyond |
The backdrop of this hole really catches the eye, and if you
go too far right, or left, the trees will gobble your ball. As is the
case with most of the holes on the course, where your second shot ends up, along
with the pin placement, will greatly influence the outcome given the elevated
green.
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| Chipping up to #14 green |
I never had a chance on this hole because my tee shot was
headed in the direction of an out-of-bounds stake when last I saw it, and I never
did see it again. I didn’t recover from that snafu either. It took me five shots
to get on the green, and three putts to get the ball in the cup. This hole will
be unforgettable for multiple reasons. It represented my third consecutive 3-putt, something I don't think I'd ever accomplished. Can I use the word "accomplish" there? Oh well...
Hole No.15
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| #15 from the tee |
A straight-away 350-yard par-4 with a slightly elevated
teeing ground that provides another terrific view of rolling fairways with a
wooden bulkhead encircling the green in the distance.
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| View from green to tee on #15 |
The contours of the
fairway will definitely impact your second shot, but your best bet is to try to
keep your tee ball down the right side. You want to aim your second shot
toward the middle of the green, because too far left and you’ll have to loft
your ball over the bulkhead and too far right and you’ll likely roll off the
green.
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| Bulkhead surrounding left side of #15 green |
I pulled my tee shot but it went through the trees on the
left and found the left side of the fairway about 135 yards out. I got my
second shot onto the far right side of the green and had a 50-footer to the
left pin placement. I almost made the birdie putt, coming up just an inch
short. Interestingly enough, I had recorded only my third par of the round,
after making a mistake off the tee. This may have been the only error that this
lovely, "dye-abolical" track let me get away with.
Hole No.16
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| Tee view on #16 |
The par-3 sixteenth presented much the same challenge as the
13th, except that it was 40 yards longer. It is another elevated
tee box with water left, but not much else protecting the hole. The biggest
challenge, other than hitting the shot of course, is choosing the right club.
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| #16 green beyond the bridge |
I struggled with my club choice, given the downhill shot, pin
in the front, and the wind which felt like it was slightly in the face. I chose
my 5-iron and hit it just the way I thought I should. I should have hit my
4-hybrid, because I was surprised to see the ball come up short of the green, about
10 feet right of the water. I chipped onto the green and 2-putt for a bogey.
Hole No.17
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| View from the tee on #17 |
The penultimate hole is short for a par-5, just 499 yards,
but water from the same creek that protected the 16th
green runs all the way down the left and curves around to the front of the
17th green. The tee shot is pretty straight forward, because you
know you can’t go left, but you have some room to the right.
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| 2nd shot into #17 |
It’s all about where you position your second shot on this
hole. Unless you hit it 350 yards off the tee, you want to lay up, and where
you lay up is important. The fairway narrows about 190 yards from the middle of
the green, and widens again about 130 yards from the center of the green.
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| View from green to tee on #17 |
The green itself is wide, but it isn’t very deep, and there
is out of bounds about 10 yards over the green. Your only bailout is left of
the green about pin high. However, pull it too far left and you’re out of
bounds. Push it short right and you’re in the water. Yes, No.17 is a doozy of a
hole and is listed as the second hardest on the course.
I drove my tee ball down the right side of the fairway, and
hit my second shot to about 155 yards from the flag. Again, considering the
breeze, the water in front, and the danger behind, I hit a three-quarter 5-iron
as well as I hit any shot all day to about 20 feet from the pin. Two putts
later and I had just my fourth par of the day.
Hole No.18
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| View from the tee on #18 |
Prestwick’s final hole is the mirror image of the ninth, as
they share the lake between the two fairways. This time the water snakes all
the way down the right side, even beyond the green. There’s no mystery to your
tee shot on No.18. You have to keep it left, but you’d be wise to avoid the
monster mounds that constitute the left rough and the sand traps along the left
side.
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| Wet stuff all the way down the right on #18 |
The challenge on No.18 doesn’t decrease much on your second shot even if you’re safely in
the fairway, because you still can’t hit it right or you’re wet, and left of
the green is one of the more interesting bunker complexes you’ll see anywhere.
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| Up and down is not easy from left of #18 green |
Naturally, the green is complete with slopes and ridges, so getting par on the
18th is no mean feat. I made sure I stayed clear of the liquid on the right, but
found the left rough with a side-hill lie and the ball below my feet. Having
lost a ball that I expected to find easily on the ninth hole, I was relieved to
find my ball in the rough on 18.
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| Better not go right on #18 |
I was about 160 yards from the back-left pin placement. I
selected a 5-iron figuring it would get on the front and chase back to the cup.
I hit a good looking shot that finished about middle of the green directly in
line with the hole.
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| Love this bunker |
Again, the green contours formed the final defense, and the
hole was cut on a little ledge about eight feet from the back of the green. My
putt would have to climb the hill up onto that ledge for me to have a good shot
at par.
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| #18 green |
Well, I didn’t leave the birdie putt short. It climbed that
hill a bit too quickly and stopped just short of the fringe at the back of the green. I
was left with a downhill 9-footer that was tough to read. I didn’t read it
well enough, the par putt slid by the cup an inch or two to the right, and I
ended the round with a three-putt bogey. Ouch!
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| Danny & Shelton |
I can’t remember feeling as good about a bad round of golf
as I did when I finished Prestwick. When I returned the cart, Tim was there
to see me off along with Danny Clarke and Shelton Plumer. They all had knowing
smiles on their faces, and asked jovially how we liked the course. I’m guessing
they haven’t run across too many negative responses, and they didn't get one from us.
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| Lake between #9 & #18 |
If you play wide open courses without much nuance,
relatively flat greens, and fancy yourself a golfer as a result, then you may
leave Prestwick a bit shell-shocked.
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| Audience by lake in front of clubhouse |
From where I stood then and stand now, Prestwick is a
tremendous test of golf that can’t help but please the eye and heart of a lover
of the game. It's a must-play for me whenever I return to Myrtle Beach.
