Charlie Rymer Takes the Risk at Blackmoor’s No. 8

PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com’s Charlie Rymer paid a recent visit to the Gary Player-designed Blackmoor Golf Club and played its most unique hole: the par-4 8th that features two distinctly different options for getting to the green. Head Pro Trent Fleming took the conventional route, while Charlie gambled on the shortcut. See how it plays out!

Charlie Rymer:
Beautiful fall day here in Myrtle Beach, and I’m out at Blackmoor Golf Club, and I go right to the top. I’m dealing with Trent Fleming, the golf professional here. Trent, I know you’re really proud of Blackmoor and looking at it, boy, it looks like it’s in great shape right now.

Trent Fleming:
It is. And it’s a fun little golf course for anybody that hasn’t come out. It’s got a lot of cool little holes, a lot of doglegs, and a shorter … kind of more accuracy. Accuracy is key on this course.

Charlie Rymer:
And you guys have made a decision to overseed wall-to-wall-

Trent Fleming:
Yes, sir.

Charlie Rymer:
… this year for the first time in quite some time. I get the feeling you’re excited about that.

Trent Fleming:
We are. From everybody here at Blackmoor, we are excited. We haven’t overseeded in about 10 years. Yeah, we are going wall-to-wall. For those that don’t know wall-to-wall, we’re going all the way from treeline to treeline.

Charlie Rymer:
Yeah. What made that decision come about?

Trent Fleming:
I think visually, and the playability of it. (From) the visual aspect of it, people like to see a green golf course, and the playability of it is going to be a little bit better than the Bermuda in the cooler months down here. So, I think overall it’s going to be a great thing for everybody.

Charlie Rymer:
Yeah. That overseed knowledge, it’ll look pretty, but the few days we do get a little bit of rain here in the wintertime, that rye grass sort of absorbs that moisture and makes the playing surface a little drier.

Trent Fleming:
Absolutely.

Charlie Rymer:
So for folks coming out here to play golf for the first time, what do you want their takeaway about Blackmoor to be?

Trent Fleming:
Mostly our friendly vibe. We’ve got a great, friendly staff, from our baggers to our starters, rangers, pro shop guys, and our food and beverage. I think overall our staff is one of the best on the Grand Strand, and I hope they take away that as well as the golf course. The golf course is always in great shape. So, it’s a fun little golf course with a very friendly staff.

Charlie Rymer:
Oh, cool. Well, I know one of the holes that you really like is No. 8. We’re standing on No. 8 tee right now.

Trent Fleming:
We are.

Charlie Rymer:
Talk to me about this hole.

Trent Fleming:
So hole No. 8 is kind of a risk/reward hole. You can choose to go left or right. Left is kind of your less intimidating-

Charlie Rymer:
Conservative route.

Trent Fleming:
Conservative route. Yeah, that’s probably the better word. So you can go off to the left-hand side, or if you’re feeling good, then go down the right-hand side. It’s a little bit tighter down the right-hand side, but it knocks off about 70, 80 yards from the hole, so you can-

Charlie Rymer:
Well, how do you normally approach that?

Trent Fleming:
I typically play it down the left-hand side. It opens it up a little bit more and just kind of leaves a pretty straightforward shot into the green there.

Charlie Rymer:
Well, we’re going to tackle No. 8. You go safe and conservative left.

Trent Fleming:
Sounds good. Sounds good.

Charlie Rymer:
I’m going to go right. I’m going to go for it, because I don’t know any better!

Trent Fleming:
We’ve got options!

Charlie Rymer:
Let’s get after it.

Trent Fleming:
All right.

Charlie Rymer:
I’m just going to grab my putter now.

Trent Fleming:
Hey, Charlie. I took the conservative route over here. I left myself just over 110 yards to a front flag there. I’m going to hit just a little pitching wedge up there, try to get it on the green and go from there.

Charlie Rymer:
Hey Trent, watch this. Now I need my putter. No! So I guess that conservative line did pay off.

Trent Fleming:
Hey, absolutely. See? More options there, right or left.

Charlie Rymer:
Next time I’m going to lay up.

Trent Fleming:
Par’s a par, right?

Charlie Rymer:
You got it. Trent, appreciate you having us out here at Blackmoor. You guys got a great place.

Trent Fleming:
Thank you, sir.

Charlie Rymer:
All right. Hey, nice birdie!

Trent Fleming:
Thank you.

Charlie Rymer:
Let me get that for you.