Friday, November 23, 2012

Willbrook Plantation Golf Course '12

I have to admit, Bruce is getting smarter about how to con me into playing golf with him.  He's finally figured out that I like going to places that have cultural significance, are visually  appealing, and /or are at least athletically and mentally challenging...  So he took me to the Willbrook Plantation.  That golf course definitely has all three traits.
Willbrook  is one of the a multitude of  nearby golf courses that are built upon what were once a major Rice Plantations

The difference is that Willbrook has managed to highlight the culturally significance of the area by allowing archeological digs on the property, and documenting these sites with historical markers.


Site  ruins and marker of the original plantation house


These include the plantation house, slave village, slave cemetery headstones,  a rice mill,  rice fields, and the original canal system to irrigate the rice fields

Which brings us to the second benefit of playing at Waccamaw  -  the canal system is based upon tidal input which is constantly ebbing and flowing, and presenting an never ending series of  reflections.  I only wish that golf courses would let artists on-site  to paint.  I could spend a lifetime here and never capture all of the beauty of this place.



 Which brings us to the third  attraction... again provided by  water..  It's everywhere.

You tee off across it, onto a  islands that are surrounded by water.  


You play long narrow fairways that have a canal running along its length,


Or drive over  what appears to be a  large lakes in the middle of the fairways.


And water isn't the only hazard along the fairways some are even more intimidating


Willbrook  Plantation is certainly one of the more challenging courses around , and definitely tests ones  nerve as well as driving skills.

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