Litchfield Country Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and a mixture of old-school characteristics and Lowcountry charms gives the course a definitive place in the Myrtle Beach golf market.
The Willard Byrd design opened in 1966 as one of the first five 18-hole layouts on the Grand Strand.
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Its traditional Lowcountry look and feel is accentuated by live oaks, small ponds and well-kept flower and plant beds that are predominant throughout the property.
Each tree-lined hole is isolated and out-of-bounds stakes make the course fairly tight “but houses aren’t on top of the course. The homes aren’t obtrusive,” said Mike Keiser of Myrtle Beach, who took part in a review of the course in late April. “I like the atmosphere here. The setting is unlike any other on the beach. The woods and trees give you the feeling that you’re on a really nice course.”
Joining me and Mike, an Absolute golf shuttle driver and 18 handicap, in the review foursome were Gregg Juster of Longs, a retired PGA club pro and scratch golfer, and Barb Azzaretti of Pawleys Island, a retired pharmaceutical executive and 31 handicap.
“It’s a very fun course to play,” Mike said. “It’s not too long and pars and birdies should be attainable.”
For our group’s visit, the layout had fully recovered from a wet winter and was playing dry and fast.
The course’s 6,692-yard length reflects an earlier era of golf equipment technology, but the length is made more formidable by holes that generally dogleg left or right and long par-3s that measure between 184 and 219 yards.
“It’s a good, solid old-style course,” Gregg said. “I like the old-style courses with a lot of trees and turns because I hit it straight and it suits my game. Great creativity is required especially on the tee shots. I think the key here is driving the ball. You need to know where it’s going off the tee. The second shots aren’t that difficult. There aren’t that many difficult pin position options.”
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