In the Grand Strand’s Lowcountry town of Pawleys Island, some 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the late golf architect Mike Strantz fashioned two memorable, though different, golf courses within earshot of each other.
With the sublime Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and True Blue Golf Club, Strantz, who succumbed to cancer in 2005 at age 50, cemented a legacy in golf architecture that ended way too soon.
Play Caledonia and True Blue on the same day if you can and you’ll learn first-hand about the beauty of Strantz’s hallmarks: undulating greens, well-positioned and diabolical bunkers, and forced carries that reward or punish risk-takers. Then play them again and revel in his subtle touch and keen eye for detail.
One can think of Strantz courses as almost Pete Dye-esque in terms of the challenges they pose. But, for my money anyway, Caledonia and True Blue enchant with more aesthetically pleasing lines. A natural artist, Strantz had the uncommon ability to sketch hole renderings on his first visit to an undeveloped site.
Caledonia and True Blue are individually distinctive. When considered together, however, the courses are a perfect complement. Caledonia is tight, a bit claustrophobic at times and picture-perfect pretty at every turn; True Blue is long and difficult and unforgiving, with more Strantzian quirks.
Caledonia like a living work of art
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club opened in 1994. Built upon the site of a former working Southern rice plantation, it’s been described as having “18 signature holes,” with routings around majestic oaks, meandering streams and ever-invigorating flora and fauna.
From the drive to the clubhouse through a virtual tunnel of Live Oak and Spanish moss, to the views out over the salt marsh bordering the course, to the rolling design of the holes themselves, Caledonia is simply beautiful.
The Caledonia Plantation once consisted of 2,500 acres stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Waccamaw River.
Over the years the estate was whittled down to just 152 acres. The plantation’s current owners bought it in 1971 and used the lush property as club for hunting and fishing club and built several small lodges.
Then, in the early 1990s, they decided to build a golf course while continuing to cater to outdoorsmen, which is why the course uses duck decoys as tee markers. Caledonia’s grounds are perfectly manicured; every shrub, flower petal and stairway of tabby, brick or railroad tie is precise.
When Strantz earned the commission to craft the course, the instructions were to preserve as much natural beauty as possible and move very little dirt. Given the architect’s “maverick” reputation, someone who didn’t always adhere to the traditional principles of golf course design, it was a tall task. But he repositioned less than 100,000 cubic yards of soil that, as a result, Caledonia became one of Strantz’s finest and least “controversial” courses.
There are just a few forced carries, and the mounding, while present, is generally subdued as Strantz allowed the trees and sand to determine the way golfers must play the course. There’s a gentle sculpting of the terrain, with an occasional accentuation to lend the setting flair.
As a par 70 and 6,526 yards from its back (Pintail) set of tees, Caledonia will not overwhelm you with length. But from the tips the layout can be very tough, while offering risk-reward opportunities in spades. High-handicappers love the landscaping and four sets of tees, which provide versatility in play. But demanding pin placements mandate that the best golfers mind their Ps and Qs.
Caledonia Golf & Fish Club is a work of art, both in design and execution, laid upon a parcel with a rich history, Deep South accents, and visual cues of its former life. The place exudes personality from every pore. A round at Caledonia is truly a magnificent experience.
Experience ‘Golf Heaven and Hell’ at True Blue
True Blue GC opened right down the road in 1998 to a barrage of hype, and has, to its credit, managed to vindicate all the attention since being unveiled. Built on the site of an old indigo and rice plantation, the course features uncommon elevations and naturally rugged terrain.
The rough, sandy areas were retained (all of them are waste bunkers by local rule) to provide striking contrast to the verdant greens, tees and fairways.
More exuberant in design than Caledonia, True Blue is representative of Strantz’s knack for crafting strong landforms. Mounds grow to impressive heights, bunkers abound and carries over water are everywhere. At True Blue everything is big, with expansive fairways and huge greens, some of whose pin placements can result in a three-club difference. It plays to a par 72 (37-35) and 7,126 yards from its back set of four tees.
The course’s par-3s tend to be extreme, with sprawling but narrow and topsy-turvy greens ringed by water and sand. The 190-yard third boasts an island green and a 58-yard-deep putting surface, and the 176-yard No. 7 features a two-tiered green where the upper level is about five feet higher than the lower.
On the 184-yard 11th your shot is all carry over a waste bunker to a sloping 40-yard-deep target. The 158-yard 14th has a tee box nearly 50 feet above a green that is placed artfully between a perilous waste area and round-inflating “pot” bunker.
Strantz’s uncanny ability to create individual experiences is revealed here. Despite the tough greens complexes at True Blue, the late designer gives players an opening if you have trouble keeping the ball in the air.
His creative use of water and waste bunkers means this captivating layout stands out amid the other courses on the Grand Strand.
True Blue has been described as “Caledonia on steroids.” Soon after it opened, it earned another moniker — “Golf Heaven and Hell” — due to its toughness. Eventually, the course was revamped and slightly modulated by eliminating some of the blind shots.
True Blue is a very scenic track, with its back nine weaving through woodlands. You have to hit the ball straight — and long is better than short, but it’s still very playable and interesting.
There is hardly a weak hole anywhere. It’s been said that golfers have strong feelings one way or the other about True Blue, but all seem to agree that it will never be forgotten.
Both tracks are part of the Waccamaw Golf Trail, a collection of a dozen of the finest golf courses along the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand’s Hammock Coast.
Repeat visitors to Myrtle Beach say they always take the time to tee it up at Caledonia and True Blue, then fill out the rest of their schedule. That’s how good these two courses are.
