Prestwick Country Club is Poised to Go Fully Public

But 2016 is going to be a breakout year for the P.B. Dye design, and here is what you have to look forward to at the 4.5-star layout.

Prestwick is Public!

The course has always allowed public play, but membership received preferred morning tee times on the front nine. That will end on January 1, 2016, when Prestwick becomes a fully public facility 

The conversion will allow Prestwick the opportunity to more creatively purse golf package play and showcase a layout that is one of the area’s finest. 

What’s All the Fuss About?

Prestwick was once ranked one of the “5 Best Kept Secret Courses in America” by Golf Digest, and it’s a course you need to discover (or rediscover) in 2016. 

The layout is a nice blend of holes, featuring everything from short par 4s (the 319-yard fourth), and long par 3s (the 211-yard 11th) to everything in between. While the front nine is outstanding, for my money, Prestwick stands out from the crowd on the back nine, which manages to offer beauty, sometimes harrowing challenges, and fun. 

For many, the par 4 14th is the course’s signature hole, playing across water off the tee before demanding an uphill approach, but Prestwick’s three finishing holes are what stay with me. The 16th is a downhill par 3, the 17th a monster par 5 that requires a nerve-jangling approach over water, and the 18th is a beautiful par 4 that plays alongside a lake and into the shadow of the clubhouse. It’s a wonderful finish to an outstanding round of golf.

How Good are Those Greens?

Prestwick installed TifEagle Ultradwarf Bermudagrass greens in 2012 and to say the conversion has gone well would be an understatement. When John Deere brought its bermudagrass guru to Myrtle Beach last summer for a session with local superintendents to spotlight best practices, the company selected Prestwick as its host site. The greens won’t be overseeded during the winter and Prestwick has covers for those unseasonably cool winter nights, helping guarantee smooth fast putting surfaces and a prime conditions in the spring.