The Witch Golf Links could be redeveloped with proposed zoning change. Here are the plans
A redevelopment proposal has been submitted to Horry County that will pave the way for the future redevelopment of The Witch Golf Links in Conway.
The plan submitted to the Horry County Planning and Zoning Dept. by G3 Engineering & Surveying of Pawleys Island calls for a 330-home residential development — 119 townhomes and 211 single family homes — as well as a commercial element.
The 6,800-yard par-71 Dan Maples design opened in 1989 and is owned and operated by D.G. Golf Management.
Company president Claude Pardue said Tuesday that he expects the course to remain open through at least 2021 regardless of the outcome of the rezoning request.
“We intend to be open this year and next year,” Pardue said. “It’s way too early (to know the future of the property). I have not seen a dime yet.”
The proposal deals with about 120 acres that includes the back nine of the course, which is the portion that is closest to S.C. 544 and includes the clubhouse and driving range.
Pardue said he has a homebuilder ready to buy the proposed residential portion of the property pending the zoning change, but added the sale will only work if a buyer of the proposed commercial property along 544 can be found.
“You have to [change the zoning] in order to see what the possibilities are,” Pardue said. “There has to be a plan for both for it to work. We have no buyer for any of that commercial property, but we have to know if it can be done as commercial property, so we are in the middle of an exploration to see what can be done in the future.”
The parcel subject to rezoning is currently zoned SF10 for single family housing with minimum 10,000-square-foot lots and highway commercial, according to Horry County Planning and Zoning Director David Schwerd.
The requested rezoning of MRD3 and RE4 would reduce lot sizes and setbacks, allow for multifamily housing, move lots away from 38 acres of wetlands and floodplains on the property, and reduce the amount of commercial area along 544 to about 6 acres, Schwerd said.
The front nine of The Witch is farther inland from 544 and stretches over more than 400 acres of property, Pardue said, and building on it is not feasible because it runs through a swamp that is susceptible to flooding.
“You can’t do anything with the front [nine] of the property,” Pardue said. “It’s beautiful, you just can’t build anything.”
The submitted proposal includes recreational open space and a community garden. The main access would be aligned with Myrtle Ridge Drive and Schwerd said developers will be working with the S.C. Dept. of Transportation on traffic signal adjustments at the intersection of Myrtle Ridge and 544.
D.G. Golf Management, which operates as Mystical Golf, has three courses including The Wizard and Man O’War, which are adjacent courses off U.S. 501 in Carolina Forest.
Mystical Golf has attempted to have the zoning of The Wizard changed on a couple occasions over the past 15 years, including last year, but it has encountered opposition from area residents and neither attempt was approved.
So the owners have turned their focus on trying to sell The Witch to developers instead.
The Horry County Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the proposed zoning change and project during a virtual workshop set for 3 p.m. Thursday, which will be broadcast at horrycounty.org. It will then consider it during its Sept. 3 meeting at the Horry County Government & Justice Center in Conway, when public comments will be welcomed.
The commission will make a recommendation to Horry County Council, which must approve it in three readings, with public comment permitted on the second reading.
FGI full strength
Founders Group International reopened Founders Club at Pawleys Island on Wednesday, which brings the company back to full strength after closures due to the impacts of the coronavirus.
The largest course owner and operator on the Grand Strand now has all of its 21 courses open.
There were as many as 11 courses closed in late March because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including eight FGI courses as the company consolidated to save money.
It had closed Founders Club, Burning Ridge Golf Club, Colonial Charters Golf Club, International World Tour Golf Links, River Club, Wild Wing Plantation’s Avocet Course, Willbrook Plantation and Aberdeen Country Club. Most reopened in May.
In addition, the Hackler Course at Coastal Carolina, Arcadian Shores Golf Club and the semi-private Members Club at Grande Dunes, which is currently closed for renovations, were also closed in March but reopened by May.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 11:07 AM.
