Pawleys Plantation, Long Bay Celebrate 25 Years of Great Jack Nicklaus Golf

Jack Nicklaus made his mark on the Myrtle Beach golf scene in 1989, opening a pair of courses that remain among the area’s most popular and significant tests of golf.

Pawleys Plantation and Long Bay, both Golden Bear designs, are celebrating their silver anniversary in 2013.

Both courses are as good as they have ever been, and golfers have recognized the quality of each layout from the beginning.

Pawleys Planation has enjoyed a slightly higher profile, due primarily to a back nine that is among the most scenic in the area. Five of the final nine holes at Pawleys feature the marshy waters of the inlet. The par 3 13th hole and the exacting 16th share a large double green and are two of the course’s most memorable challenges.

While the beauty of the finishing holes attracts the majority of the attention, the opening nine is every bit as good architecturally. Pawleys Plantation is, unquestionably, one of the area’s most memorable rounds.

Long Bay is an inland design, featuring rolling fairways and expansive waste bunkers. The course allowed Nicklaus and his design team to use their imagination, and the result was a layout that is visually stimulating and challenging.

Long Bay’s signature hole is the short par 4 10th (352 yards), featuring a fairway surrounded by waste bunkers on both sides and an elevated green that you don’t want to miss. It’s a great short par 4.

The island green 13th hole, a par 3, is equally memorable, though definitely easier if the sight of water doesn’t intimidate you. Long Bay closes with the 445-yard 18th, a muscular par 4 that doglegs to the right around a lake. It’s a tremendous finishing hole.

In the 25 years since Nicklaus opened his two courses in Myrtle Beach, much has changed but the unrelenting quality of both layouts has been a constant.

The gifts the Golden Bear left Myrtle Beach golf continue to get better with age.