The Witch Golf Links has a closing date. When and why the course is shutting down
It appears golfers have less than four months remaining to play The Witch Golf Links.
The course is under contract with homebuilder R.S. Parker Homes based in Greensboro, N.C., according to course partner Claude Pardue, who said the course is scheduled to close on Nov. 21 after the fall golf season if the sale is consummated.
A housing and commercial development that has been approved by Horry County covers 120 acres of The Witch that is closest to S.C. 544 and includes the back nine, clubhouse and driving range.
The plan submitted by G3 Engineering & Surveying of Pawleys Island and approved by the county calls for a 326-home residential development consisting of 115 townhomes and 211 single-family homes and 6 acres of commercial development along S.C. 544.
Flooding has plagued the golf course over the past several years, particularly the front nine that runs through swamps and wetlands off the Waccamaw River.
“We wouldn’t sell this golf course if we didn’t have the problem with floods,” Pardue said. “It’s been impossible to operate it properly and successfully. We’ve had eight floods in the past five years and three of them have closed us down for an entire fall season.
“. . . The floods have made it impossible and it’s gotten to a point where we know it’s going to be a regular thing.”
Some area residents voiced displeasure to the Horry County Council and planning commission late last year of a proposal to rezone and redevelop the course, but it moved forward.
The property was already zoned for housing and a commercial element — SF10 for single family housing with minimum 10,000-square-foot lots and highway commercial.
It was rezoned to MRD3 and RE4, which reduces lot sizes and setbacks, allows for multifamily housing, moves lots away from 38 acres of wetlands and floodplains on the property, and reduces the amount of commercial area. It also includes recreational open space and a community garden.
The front nine of The Witch, a course designed by Dan Maples, consists of approximately 400 acres in the midst of swamps and wetlands and is not proposed for redevelopment.
“I hate it because that is a wonderful golf course,” Pardue said. “You get to the front side and it’s peaceful and quiet back there and you have all that wildlife back there. It’s fun, and Dan did a great job with the layout. It’s a real shame.”
The Witch abuts the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge to its south, and the nature of the front nine property makes it a candidate to become an expanded part of the protected land.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they donated it to somebody once they get their operations going,” Pardue said.
The 6,800-yard, par-71 course opened in 1989 and is owned and operated by D.G. Golf Management, of which Pardue is the president.
D.G. Golf Management also owns and operates Carolina Forest neighboring courses Man O’War Golf Links and The Wizard Golf Links.
“We’re going to keep it as perfectly maintained as we possibly can because our packagers and our customers are very important to us because we’re keeping Man O’War and The Wizard open,” Pardue said.
Shirts and caps are flying off the shelves since they’ll soon become a novelty. “Everybody wants a shirt or cap from The Witch before we close,” Pardue said.
Pardue cautioned that the sale isn’t complete just yet.
“It’s a little bit more sure, but I’m not 100 percent sure until I see the money,” Pardue said. “I’m experienced enough to know it’s not 100 percent until [the sale] actually closes.”
