Myrtlewood Palmetto Golf Course Review

Myrtlewood Palmetto Golf Course Review

The Palmetto Course At Myrtlewood Golf Club
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Grade: C+
Teacher’s Comments: An enjoyable round, but conditions were so-so.

One of 22 golf courses under the Founders Group umbrella, Myrtlewood’s Palmetto offers an enjoyable round that would a good way to start a Myrtle Beach golf vacation.

Myrtlewood’s Palmetto is routed in a meandering fashion through a residential setting, finishing along the inter-coastal. While I am not normally a fan of residential courses, in this case, the houses are well back of the fairways; stands of pine along each hole keep the homes from becoming visually intrusive.

As you might expect in South Carolina’s low country, the course is very flat,  leaving architect Edmond Ault to create visual interest with water, bunkers, and gently curving fairways. Water potentially comes into play on thirteen holes, although I managed to work my way around without getting a single ball wet. Half the holes have fairway bunkers that give you both a target line and something to think about off the tee. On occasion, stands of pines prevent an obstacle as the fairway bends around an outcrop.

Fairways at Myrtlewood Palmetto are wide enough to accommodate the occasional wayward ball. If you do manage to get under the trees, however, there is no undergrowth with which to contend. Pine straw under the branches will give you a chance for a hole saving out. Greens were good sized and I thought not terribly tricky. In all, Myrtlewood’s Palmetto course is what you might expect to find in a beach resort area course.

This is not to say that Myrtlewood’s Palmetto course is easy, however. From the back tees, Myrtlewood Palmetto stretches to 7015 yards and plays to a 73.6/137. That’s relatively difficult. I played the gold tees at 6009 yards, which are rated at 69.0/126. That distance produced a very fun round. As usual, I suggest that you play it forward. If you’re in Myrtle Beach for golf, you’re there for a good time, not practicing for the US Open.

My favorite hole was the eighteenth. Running along the inter-coastal waterway, the par four measures 468 yards.  While there no actual danger of being in the water, its presence haunts the left side of the hole. A good tee shot will head to the right center, between two fairway bunkers. From there, it’s a matter of threading a needle between bunkers to the green.  It is the second shot that I really like. Players have a choice of trying to fly it in, or laying up in front, and then playing a pitch-and-putt for par. I chose to lay up, pitched it close and made par. One of my playing partners hit the fairway bunker left and had no choice but to go short. The other went for the green, hit bunker, took two shots to get out and then two putted.  I think I made the correct choice.

Another good hole was the par four third (photo at top). At just 397 from the back tees, and 366 from the middle, this hole wraps right around a water hazard. Fairway bunkers left and right should make players carefully consider their tee shots. The slightly elevated green is protected by a series of bunkers.

I probably visited at the wrong time of year (July) to reliably comment on the course conditions. I frankly did not really know what to expect. By Michigan standards, conditions at the Myrtlewood Palmetto were not particularly good. While the greens were in top condition, the fairways had significant dead areas and were a bit rough in many others.  My playing partners — year-round residents as it turned out — explained that July was a rough time for many courses. Heat, high humidity and extended use apparently conspire at that time of year to make courses susceptible to various turfgrass ailments.

The photo above is an extreme example, but all of the fairways seemed a bit rough to me.

Pace of play was a lot better than I expected, especially in a resort area. My group got through the eighteen in around four hours.

Rates seem quite fair. Prices were in the $30 to $60 range, depending upon time and date.

If I were taking a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, I might try this one first to get the travel kinks worked out.

The Myrtlewood Palmetto Course review was first published July 31, 2017.

More photos of Myrtlewood Palmetto follow: