Jack Nicklaus Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach

Everyone’s favorite golf tournament is here and it’s been 25 years since Jack Nicklaus’ unforgettable charge to his record sixth green jacket. So what better time to look at the Jack Nicklaus golf courses in Myrtle Beach?

The Golden Bear isn’t a prolific as fellow Masters champion Arnold Palmer when it comes to Myrtle Beach golf course designs, but he has a pair of popular layouts to his credit.
 

Long Bay Club – If a round of golf is analogous to a series of tests, the 18th hole at Long Bay is a fitting final exam. With water a threat throughout, the 445-yard par 4 requires courage off the tee and precision on the approach.

Golfers, by nature, are a competitive bunch and Long Bay provides players an honest reckoning of where their game stands, punctuated by the nerve-jangling 18th hole.

A player that slays the par 72 layout will leave with a sense of well-deserved satisfaction. Those who don’t play to their handicap typically come back, hoping to exact a little revenge on a course that has emerged as an area favorite.

Nicklaus used ample bunkering and fairway mounding at Long Bay to create a course that is as visually appealing as it is challenging.

Pawleys Plantation – Pawleys is home to the type of natural beauty all the money in Dubai can’t buy, but the course offers much more than visuals. Nicklaus earned a reputation as one of golf’s best architects by creating courses that are equal parts challenging and fair.

Playing 7,026 yards from the appropriately named Golden Bear tees, the course can offer as stiff a challenge as any in Myrtle Beach. True to Nicklaus’ design philosophy, Pawleys Plantation rewards intelligence and precision far more than raw power. The fairways are open but the pine forest and marsh demand accuracy.

Speaking of the marsh, it provides some of the Grand Strand’s most stunning scenery. The marsh is visible on six of Pawleys Plantation’s last seven holes, elevating a very good course to the level of truly memorable. The par 3 13th hole is one of Myrtle Beach’s most recognizable.