Golf at Pawleys Plantation: 7 '22

Nine holes at Tupelo Bay: 4'21

It was another beautiful sunny day so we decided to paly 9 holes at Tupelo Bay Golf Center.. Bruce played really well. On the 9th hole, he drove his ball from the Tee straight into the flag pole; his ball bounced off the pin and onto the back upper shelf of the green, from which he holed it.

I was sore and stiff from yesterday's game which threw my driving 'off'' a bit. Even so, Tupelo Bay remains one of my favorites places to play bc, for a par three course, it is surprisingly technical. For one thing, there is water on almost every hole, narrow fairways, and lots of elevation change. Many of the fairways have moguls and steep slopes that make it hard to stick your ball. I lost several balls in the water, not because I didn't land them dry, but because they rolled into the water due to the slope of the fairway.

There are also a lot of bunkers. Usually, I can avoid bunkers, but the placement of the bunkers on the narrow fairways at Tupelo Bay meant that I didn't have room to play around them, but had to try to shoot over them... or in my case yesterday, I was chipping out of them.

Golf at Founders Club: 10 '2020

Today was perfect weather for a golf game,

so Bruce and I played 9 holes

at the Founder's club across the street from us.

 

All went well until  Bruce drove his ball

straight down the 16 th fairway

and landed his ball right in the middle of a 

sprinkler head  maintenance project.

Since the hole was right in the middle of the green ,

we agreed to call it a hole-in-one 

and scored it that way.

Golf in the midst of a Pandemic: 5 ' 20

I haven't always been the most enthusiastic fan of playing golf, but my appreciation for the game has improved considerably since the Onset of COVID19. We played a round at our home course of Pawleys Plantation last week, and another at Tupelo Bay today. Even though there were a lot of people on the course, we were spaced out enough

that felt like it was just us and the Canada Geese.

The new rules for playing golf at our home course of Pawleys Plantation (and most other courses in the area) have made it one of the safest group sport activities to participate in during this pandemic (and provided us with some much needed out of door exercise) . Except for married couples living in the same house, each person must have their own golf cart. The golf bag drop off crew sanitize all the carts before any golfer can take them out. When you arrive at the bag drop, you are pointed to a cart and told to load your bags onto the cart yourself. The bag drop crew holds out a box with the score cards and pens and ask someone in each cart to take a set. Flags are left in the putting range holes and in the greens' holes. Golfers are asked not to remove the flags to prevent potentially passing on the virus. Golfers also unload their a bags from the carts when the game is finished . Some pub are open for food and drink orders but golfers are asked to take their food/drinks to the out of door patio. Overall, other than the 1 person per cart rule and un/loading your own bags and leaving the flag in the hole, I don't think most golfers would notice a lot of differences in the game. But there is a distinct feeling of safety on the course, that we don't have when we are elsewhere beyond the sanctuary of our home walls.

Nine-hole Belated Birthday Game: 5 ' 20

I had promised Bruce to play a  nine-hole round of golf  to celebrate his birthday.  Unfortunately  we were locked indoors on April 30th by a  strong thunder-storm and a soaking rain.  The wet stuff stuck around for another two days.  Today was the first day that the greens were dry enough to play one and that we had clear skies.   Bruce woke up to sunshine,  and  promptly grabbed a phone to  check on  start times.  He came back with a big smile on his face,  and  announced that he had booked us a 9:20 am game to play the back nine on our home course,  Pawley's Plantation.

His smile got even wider when  we  tee'd off  on the  tenth fairway.  

 And then Bruce broke into an out-right grin when landed his ball on the signature course's 13th  hole which is surrounded by 3000 degrees of marsh.  For someone who has only been able to  play golf  one or twice in the past year, he was playing really well today.

Two of the nine holes we were playing have sand hazards.  Seven of the nine holes  have serious water hazards (they are bordered by marshes and /or have large retaining ponds).   Some have both, and almost all of them have enormous heritage oaks that have to be played around.  

The Pro-Shop had  paired us with a young, lone-player from upstate SC.

On our first tee-off, it was obvious this young man would  out-drive us septuagenarians,

no matter how skillfully  we played. 

Initially,  we were not happy, but since our new partner was walking the course, we set him up to tee off first,   then had him start walking on the cart toward his next ball. 

By the time he had walked to his ball,  we  had finished our second shots to catch up.

As the game progressed we learned that  our new golf partner had a technical background similar to our  own.   After that ,we found that common-ground, the differences in our skill level seemed a lot less intimidating.

Bruce was exhausted but was so happy that
 he made it to the 18th hole in good form.

It's been months since  either of us have played, so  neither Bruce nor I kept score. 

My impression is that neither of us have lost muscle memory for  how and where to drive the ball,

 but both  of us have lost muscle strength,

and that we need to spend more time at the driving range to rebuild our muscles.

Now that the weather has finally turned a bit warmer, 

the driving range may prove an ideal way to get a bit of 

safe-distancing exercise. 

Nine Holes at Willbrook Plantation: 11 '19

 Bruce and I had a great time today playing a round of nine holes at Willbrook Plantation.

Its one of our favorite courses,  with lots of 

water hazards

and sand traps everywhere.

There's also a lot of wildlife
hiding in plain sight

like this little garter snake  we found sunning itself on the fairway

or this very large alligator pretending to be a log at the edge of a water hazard.

Today was especially fun .
Not only was the weather was near perfect
but the fall color was at it's peak.

Everywhere we looked was a a picture perfect scene just waiting to be photographed.

Bruce was able to maintain his focus on the game amidst all this beauty,
while I ( CC) completely lost it.

And spent most of my time  taking pictures.
Either way, we both really enjoyed the morning.

9 Holes at Indian Wells: 9 '19

We had beautiful weather all day today. It was warm ( 80 F) and sunny, but with a light cooling breeze. It doesn't get much better than this here in the deep South, so when Bruce asked if I would like to play a round of 9 hole golf with him at any local course of my choice, I said "Sure". And asked him to book a Tee-off time in the mid-afternoon at the Indian Wells Course( in Myrtle Beach).

We've played this course many times before, and it is one of my favorites. The greens are tight and technically challenging which means this course favors those who use their brains over their brawn in the game. The fairways are not extremely long, and there are frequent water obstacles and changes of direction in the middle of the fairways. To keep a low score here you have to spend a lot of time calculating where to lay up, so you can drive a second shot over the water, and in a different direction than your first shot. Bruce and I both enjoy this kind of mental and physical challenge. Neither of us were playing at par, but we came home happy (and very tired.)

The great thing about senior golf games: 8 '19

Bruce played a solo round of 18 holes on our home course today! 

 He was pretty well wiped out for the rest of the day after completing the game.

But the main take-away is that he had the endurance to play the entire course on a hot and muggy day. He even par-ed several of the harder holes on the course.

So It's National Golfers Day. Get out there a cuss at a small inanimate object.

Golf Game at Tupelo Bay, 7 '19

The heatwave that has been gripping the Southeastern United States, gave way to a few light ocean breezes today.  Bruce was anxious to take advantage of the cooler weather and promptly packed our golf gear in the car and whisked us off 9 holes of golf at our favorite Par 3 Executive course.  We were both a little disappointed to see that it was cart path only as Bruce has been having difficulty walking on uneven terrain.  But hey... since we were there.. why not give it a try.  We were glad we did. 

Tupelo Bay is  a well-maintained and relatively flat course'

But it has lots of serious water hazards to keep the game challenging.

  Bruce did really well.  He had no trouble walking, and had no discomfort with his swing 

.....  other than that Cece (pink ball) was consistently outdriving him. 

Overall it was a good day.

Couples Golf game at Tupelo Bay 5 '19

It's been a long time since Bruce and I have play a golf together. The weather was perfect today so we decided to take advantage of the extra energy we both feel in the morning play a round of nine holes at one of our local par three courses. We booked the earliest opening available at Tupelo Bay (9 am). It's a fun little course, that we both like to play, because it has lots of challenging holes, and the starters never crowd the course, so we never feel rushed between holes.  The weather was perfect, warm ( 85 F) with a light breeze, and not a lot of players on the back nine. Bruce did great. My drives have been better, but they weren't out of control. And best of all we both had fun, so we will probably be doing this again.

New Hazards on the PP Course: 8 '18

There's a whole new set of hazards on the course this month.

Hawaiian Rumble MiniGolf:5'18

  

To kick off the Mothers Day Weekend festivities, Bruce treated me to a round of miniature golf  at Hawaiian Rumble in North Myrtle Beach.

It is the #1 rated mini golf course in the WORLD, and  host the World Masters miniature golf tournament playoff every October.

 This 18 hole mini course is centered around a tropical Hawaiian garden,

complete with  tropical  lagoons and waterfalls

and a massive 40 foot volcano  in the middle with the relaxing melodies from the best Hawaiian musicians.

But don't let that serene setting lull you into complacency. Every twenty minutes that volcano starts shooting off steam and erupt into a massive fireball that can really throw you off your game.

The course is in pristine condition.    While the grounds are set up  for large tournaments, each hole is largely isolated from the rest, so in spite of the presence of bleachers for tournament fans,  you do feel like you have the place to yourself.  Even though each hole is very  short, several of the holes are quite challenging. For Bruce and I that made it all the more fun to play. We will definitely be returning to this course again.

Miniature Golf at Shipwreck Island: 3 '18

We finally got some really nice weather, and Bruce's back has healed enough for him to chip and putt , so we decided to play a round of miniature golf at one of the 50 miniature golf courses spread out along Highway 17.

We chose to play 18 holes at the Shiprwreck Island Course in Myrtle Beach.

It has two different courses. One flat and simple. And the other hilly and difficult. We chose the latter.  It was challenging and fun.

For more about this course see:

http://myrtlebeachfamilygolf.com/shipwreck-island-adventure-golf/

Tee time availablility: 1 '18

 Twelfth fairway looking east toward the  green near the marsh

Better hurry up and book your tee time. 

The rush is on at Pawleys Plantation.

 Twelfth fairway looking NW toward the tee off

Irma's Impact on Pawleys Plantation: 9 '17

 Irma's impact on Pawleys Plantation was minimal. No residential structural damage, minimal horticultural damage, and light facilities damage.

Eighteenth Fairway: no change all three days

I (CC) took photos documenting the condition of portions of Pawleys Plantation early on  Monday morning,  Sept 10th before Irma could be felt, and again on  Tuesday morning September 12th right after she had passed; then the third set on September 13th  (Wednesday morning) after the cleanup crews had gone through. They say a photo is worth a thousand words so, here are the pictures.

Clubhouse pool fence is blown down: Sept 12

Seventeenth Fairway, Sept. 10

Seventeenth Fairway: Sept 12 am

Seventeenth Fairway, and Hunt House: Sept 12 am

Minor Damage to Hunt  House Chairs: Sept 12 am

Seventeenth Fairway: 13 am 

Thirteenth Fairway Causeway: Sept 10 am

Thirteenth Fairway Causeway.. lots  debris, no damage: Sept. 12

Thirteenth Fairway Causeway.. back to normal: Sept. 13th am

Twelfth Fairway, Sept. 10

Twelfth Fairway, Sept. 12

Twelfth Fairway, Sept, 13

 The worst structural damage was to the dyke which holds back the PI tidal creek.  It was entirely washed loose of its moorings and deposited on the cart path at the eastern end of the twelfth fairway.

Dyke damage at edge of 17th blue tee:  Sept. 12 am

Twelfth Fairway cart path blocked by broken dyke: Sept  12

 12th Fairway cart path was cleared of  debris: Sept. 13 am

 The broken pieces of the dyke were moved to the edge  of the creek, 
all other debris removed entirely.