Golf course review: Oak Island Golf Club

CASWELL BEACH, N.C.

Opportunities to see and hear the ocean along the Grand Strand with a golf club in your hand are limited.

Oak Island Golf Club at the northern end of the Strand golf market offers one of them, with a serene entrance along the Atlantic.

“The course is in a beautiful location with very scenic views and an occasional view of the ocean,” said Mike Brown of Murrells Inlet, the owner of eKinetic Solutions who took part in a review of the course in late December. “It’s a pretty course.”

The 6,717-yard 50-year-old George Cobb design features wind-shaped yaupon and live oak trees throughout a layout with few straight holes, as nearly every par-4 and par-5 has a slight if not a sharp turn.

Joining me and Mike, an 18 handicap, in the review foursome were Buck Sanders of Raleigh, N.C., the owner and writer of InsideCarolina.com with a 15 handicap, and Tom Perrone of Longs, a retired 30-year Marine veteran who served during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Tom carries a 20 handicap.

Though the course is adjacent to the ocean, it plays away from it so you don’t see much of it after the first tee. The practice putting green that splits the parking lot is the closest you get to the crashing waves.

“The only time I felt like I was at the ocean was at the clubhouse,” Buck said. “The palms and the old water oaks all twisted gave you the feel you were at a beach [town] but not necessarily the ocean.

“It would be a great place to work because everything faces the ocean – the pub, bag drop, starter, canteen and pro shop. You almost have to envy the people who work here.”

The course was in good shape with striped fairways and 37 quality bunkers. “The bunkers were good, well-placed and easy to get out of,” Tom said.

The course is tree-lined, but fairways are generous and one side always has no worse than sparse trees. There is also a minimal amount of out-of-bounds stakes and housing to avoid. “These are some open fairways,” Mike said.

Oak Island’s greens are its primary defense. They are very undulating and often have multiple levels. “The hole always seems to be on a slant,” Tom said. “It’s hard to guess breaks. There’s always something to read.”

The TifEagle Bermudagrass putting surfaces were fast – “It has some of the fastest greens I have played to date,” Mike said – and in excellent shape. “For all the slopes they putted true,” Buck said. “Once you picked your line the ball went where you thought it would go.”

Greens are generally accessible in the front, and water hazards and wetlands are usually on the side of fairways, so there aren’t many forced carries.

“Except for a couple par-5s there isn’t much water in play,” Buck said. “You could pretty much use a putter to go from tee to green on most holes, and I like that. You don’t have to worry about chunking it or hitting it fat.”

Of course, from Myrtle Beach a round comes with a long commute of an hour and 15 minutes or so. “If you’re going to make a trip north from Myrtle Beach you should definitely make this one of your stops,” Buck said. “It’s a well-maintained, good value golf course. The old water oaks make it a scenic course, and the holes have a lot of variety.”

Likes

Mike enjoyed the spacious landing areas off the tee. “I really like the more than generous landing area in the fairways, although I could not seem to hit them on this day,” he said.

Duffers Pub & Grille on the second floor of the clubhouse has a gorgeous view of the ocean, solid menu and numerous draft beers to choose from.

Buck found the staff friendly and helpful, and appreciates that the layout is walkable for members. “It’s an old-style course with holes close together so it could be walked easily, which is rare for the Myrtle Beach area,” Buck said.

Dislikes

Mike thought the greens were possibly too fast for many amateurs considering the undulations. “I feel the greens were too fast for the average golfer,” he said. “We all want to putt like the pros when we are watching on television, but when we actually have to face very difficult putts, in reality it isn’t that entertaining.”

Because of the slopes, you have to play the course a few times to know where to hit approach shots. “The way the greens are you never know [the contours] until you get up to them if you’ve never played here before,” Mike said.

Tom found it difficult to hold approach shots on greens, partially because of the multitude of breaks on putting surfaces, and didn’t like the carries over water on the back nine’s par-5s. “It bugs me because I’m not sure I’m going to hit it clean,” he said.

Buck thought the course could be marked better. “Bring a GPS because the course isn’t always well-marked for distance,” Buck said.

There was no beverage cart on the day we played despite a pretty full golf course.

Par-3s

The 189-yard third hole measures 165 from the black tee – the next up from the back – and requires a tee shot over a small pond 20 yards in front of a green with bunkers front right and a ridge separating its right and left sides. The ridge is more pronounced at the green front.

The 204-yard seventh is 188 from the black and has a very elevated green with trees, brush and a bunker to its left and collection areas in the rough to its right and front right.

The 170-yard 12th is 154 from the black. The green slopes to the front and slightly right, with bunkers front left and front right. The 188-yard 17th measures 174 from the black. A ridge separates the front and back of a green with mounds, grass bunkers and rough around it.

“The par-3s had the toughest greens on the course,” Buck said. “The bunkering and greens were their main defense. Several had multi-level greens, so to give yourself a chance for birdie, you have to leave it in a good spot.”

Par-4s

Par-4s measure between 336 and 426 yards, with only three of the 10 more than 400 yards. “All of the par-4s are reachable for the average golfer,” Buck said. “Be careful of the doglegs. If you are a long hitter you’ll need to use a 3-wood.”

The 412-yard second hole is a sharp dogleg left with an elevated green sloping off a back right plateau. The 386-yard fifth has a chute through trees from the back tees, turns left and has a green sloping to the right.

The 409-yard sixth is straightaway with water and a tree right of the green and a sprawling bunker left. The 426-yard ninth is open off the tee with water reachable beyond the tree line on the right and an elevated green sloping to the front.

The 336-yard 10th has room to the left of a right-side fairway trap, and a pair of traps near a fairly flat green. The 391-yard 13th is a slight dogleg right with a bunker inside the bend, and the 371-yard 15th is a benign slight dogleg left.

Par-5s

Par-5s measure between 494 and 560 yards from the back, 476 and 546 from the black, and 437 and 472 from the 5,909-yard white tees. “At least a couple can be reached in two, but it will take two great shots so most are better played as three-shot holes,” Buck said.

The 494-yard first hole has wetlands down the entire left side, and a large pond hidden from the tee on the right followed by sparse trees and pine straw. A ridge splits the higher back and lower front of the green. The 460-yard fourth has water down the left side through the second shot, and a sharp turn right around trees about 120 yards from a heart-shaped green that slopes mildly to the front.

Water crosses the fairway about 250 yards from the back tee on the 515-yard 14th and continues up the left side through a rolling green. The fairway angles to the left on the second shot and you have to decide how much you want to cut off. “You have to lay up off the tee so use some strategy there,” Buck said.

The 14th plays as a 262-yard par-4 from the red tees, with the tee box up near the water’s edge. “The 14th is enjoyable from the red tee, though there was still a challenge with the carry on the tee shot,” Tom said.

The 549-yard 18th is wide open until you have to carry a pond to a slightly elevated green that slopes to the front and back off a ridge. Bunkers are left and front right of the green.

Favorite holes

Mike enjoyed the 363-yard par-4 16th hole. It is a slight dogleg right with a wide and unprotected fairway, the green is protected by bunkers on all sides but the front and back left, and the putting surface has a back-left plateau, then funnels to the center from both sides. “I liked 16 the best not because of the hole layout, but the awesome and scenic view,” Mike said.

Tom was partial to the par-4 eighth and 11th holes, measuring 262 and 309 yards from the red tees. The eighth is a sharp dogleg right around homes with a rolling green. You can drive it through the fairway if you miss the bend with a driver, or hit a long iron or fairway wood off the tee. “It’s laid out nice from the red tees and gives an opportunity for a high handicapper,” he said. The 11th is straightaway par-4 with two fairway bunkers and bunkers flanking the front of the green. “I appreciated a straight hole and the fairway bunkers are well-placed,” he said.

Buck’s favorite hole was the third, measuring 155 yards from the white tee. “There’s water in play, which is rare at Oak Island, and the green was my favorite,” Buck said. “There’s a big ridge, and depending on the pin placement, a ball left and short of the hole may roll back and leave you farther away.”

Least favorite holes

Mike’s least favorite hole was the par-5 14th, partially because of the hole location. “Not only was it 500-plus yards from the blue tees, by the time I reached the green it was impossible to two-putt with the pin placement,” Mike said.

Tom found too many challenges in the par-5 18th, measuring 382 yards from the red tee. “It’s too tough for old-timers,” Tom said. “It’s very long when you’re tired at the end, especially to have a carry to the green.”

Buck’s least favorite hole was the par-4 dogleg-right eighth, measuring 304 yards from the white tee. “You need to hit it hard right to clear trees and homes,” Buck said, “otherwise it is a 4-iron and wedge to the green.”