The Aquaman Trail: 40 Courses, 40 Water Holes to Remember (or Forget!) – Nos. 40-31

By Jim Maggio

I’ve been living and working in “The Golf Capital of the World” for most of the past two decades now, and have played or filmed at virtually every Play Golf Myrtle Beach member course along the way. Between the imagery I’ve gathered and the wayward shots I’ve attempted to hit, water has come into play much more often than not.

In that spirit I’ve compiled my own ranking of courses that comprise “The Aquaman Trail” – a personal top 40 list, if you will, of Myrtle Beach golf courses and their one water hole that stands out in my mind for reasons either scenic, or for where my golf ball has made one or more splash landings.

We’ll kick off the countdown this week with a collection of par-3 beauties that come in at Nos. 40 through 31:

40. Arcadian Shores, No. 2 – Check out that huge American flag in the background of this par 3. Hitting 3 from the drop zone never felt so patriotic!

39. Eagle Nest, No. 18 – Most of us can count on one hand the number of courses we’ve played with a par-3 finishing hole. This one’s on my list, with a cool fountain you have to hit over to complete your round.

38. Lockwood Folly, No. 2 – This one’s played from multiple angles, and all of them with that expansive marsh as the defining element.

37. Myrtlewood-PineHills, No. 11 – Just a pretty hole, and a nice way to ease into your back nine on this Arthur Hills design.

36. Prestwick, No. 13 – Pete and P.B. Dye drew up no shortage of water challenges here, and No. 13 stands out among many.

35. River Club, No. 14 – One of the Grand Strand’s iconic island greens.

34. Sea Trail-Jones, No. 5 – Find the green here, or your tee shot is either wet or still bouncing down the road to the left.

33. Tiger’s Eye, No. 11 – Love the coquina boulders ringing this green. Almost makes me forget the surrounding lake.

32. Tradition Club, No. 15 – One of two memorable island greens along the South Strand, right next door to:

31. Willbrook, No. 6 – A hole that pairs beautifully with its preceding par 4 as one of this Dan Maples design’s defining views.

Tune in next week, when a slew of par 4s and 5s make their debut in the “Aquaman Trail” rankings!