Testing a Bender at Arrowhead: “Breaking Par with Charlie Rymer” Episode 61

This dogleg right gives you an excellent chance to finish on a high note. The fairway is fairly generous to the left side, so take aim at the middle of the large mounds. The green is slightly elevated, and the tendency is to come up short. Play it smart here, and par should be no problem. But we’re after birdie, so let’s kick it into high gear!

So today we’re at Arrowhead Country Club, just west of the Intracoastal Waterway, right smack dab in the middle of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This is a 27-hole facility designed by architect Tom Jackson and player consultant Raymond Floyd. And guess who my favorite player was, growing up, when I was a kid? That’s right, Raymond Floyd. He’s from not very far from here. He grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina. And with him, he’s all about the eyes. Fiercest eyes in all of sports. I just love the way he played golf. Intimidating golfer. As a kid, I wore the visor, I wore the Aria shirts, I tried to do everything I could to be like Ray Floyd.

Sometimes, I get a chance to see him, talk to him briefly. He still scares me. I wouldn’t want to go play him, I can tell you that. He’d have to give me a lot of shots. But anyway, they did a wonderful job doing this 27-hole facility. It’s a little bit of a guarded secret because this golf course is always in great shape. The locals love it, and you will, too.

Ninth hole on the Cypress nine. It’s a short par four, but you can see that big oak trees sort of squeeze you in. The tee shot’s all about placement. Placing it where it’s dry. Oh yeah, that one’s going to be just perfect there!

Man, look at how beautiful these bunkers are. I love the lines on them. That’s a pretty white sand in the bottom. Let me check out that hole location over there. 93 yards. That’s a good number for me. I got my wedges set at 48, 54, and 60. And this is perfect for my 54. See, I got a little bit of a sidehill lie here. I’m just going to make sure I maintain my knee flex all the way through. It’s easy to come out of this and go short and right. That might be a pretty good one there, boys. Did that rattle bottom? That was on line right there. That was sweet. Charlie Rymer. You might’ve heard of me. Had her dancing around the hole!

So the last time I saw Ray Floyd, I went to Seminole Golf Club down in Hobe Sound, Florida. Actually, it’s a little south of there. The one down in Florida, where all the rich people live. And he was in there, having lunch, and I went up to him and I said, “Hello.” I told him, I said, “Mr. Floyd, I was just talking about you this morning on my TV show that we did live at Golf Channel.” He said, “Oh yeah, what’d I do? Did I make you mad on something? You yelling at me? What’d I do?” I said, “Mr. Floyd, we did a segment on who our heroes were growing up, and you were mine.” And he liked that. I’m glad I got a chance to tell him.

I can’t wait to see where that divot is. Golf course is in great shape, no surprise to see chipping areas around the green. That’s what Mr. Floyd was always the best at, chipping around the greens, holing out of bunkers. Man, look at that one. Where’d that ball hit? How’d that not go in? It hit right here. No? Actually, it hit right here. I can’t believe it didn’t go in. At home, they’d give me this one. At Arrowhead Country Club, they make me putt it. But the only thing that was keeping that ball out of that hole was time.

You talk about eyes, that second shot had eyes, I’ll tell you. Love getting birdie there. We’re staying by the Intracoastal Waterway for our next stop, and you don’t want to miss it!