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<p><em>Story by Ian Guerin</em></p>
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<p>The internal debate between courses when making a selection tends to focus on subjects such as designer, distances, location and even affordability.</p>
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<p>What is rarely an open part of the conversation, though, is if the course is, well, open.</p>
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<p>As architects and grounds crews worked to make their products stand out, the view from the tee boxes often tells a bigger story. Is there a chance the ball doinks off a tree or gets lost in the woods? Or does it feel a little more safe?</p>
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<p>Up and down South Carolina’s Grand Strand golfing Mecca, the approach to landscaping was often already written in the cards prior to the course taking shape. And that’s because of the different pockets of the Myrtle Beach area course owners had to work with.</p>
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<p>It’s led us to two different types of design within the design. We’re going to give you good examples of each of them, allowing you a more informed choice for your own upcoming internal debate.</p>
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<p><strong><em>Cut From The Forest</em></strong><br><strong><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/river-hills-golf-club">River Hills Golf &amp; Country Club</a></strong><br>The abundance of water at River Hills takes some of the focus off just how thick some of the tree lines are at Tom Jackson’s layout in Little River. This heavily wooden terrain makes the entire approach the course appear much more difficult than it really is. In part, those tree lines eliminate some of the visual distractions that present from accompanying holes. <em>(River Hills 13th Top Photo)</em></p>
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<p><strong><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/blackmoor-golf-club">Blackmoor Golf Club</a></strong><br>Gary Player’s sensation was once all forest land stemming from the aquifers off the Waccamaw River. And while there are also some home sites affiliated with the grounds, the bigger impact here is that every hole, save for the Par 3s where it shouldn’t matter, present at least some risk of finding a tree with an even somewhat errant shot.</p>
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<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willbrook-5-Behind-Green-ND-050824-1-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-12836" style="width:325px" srcset="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willbrook-5-Behind-Green-ND-050824-1-1024x576.png 1024w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willbrook-5-Behind-Green-ND-050824-1-300x169.png 300w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willbrook-5-Behind-Green-ND-050824-1-768x432.png 768w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willbrook-5-Behind-Green-ND-050824-1-1536x864.png 1536w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willbrook-5-Behind-Green-ND-050824-1-2048x1152.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>

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<p><strong><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/willbrook-plantation">Willbrook Plantation Golf Club</a></strong><br>If you didn’t know any better, there are bends at Willbrook where you would swear you were standing in someone’s back yard. Not because you actually crossed onto private property, but rather, how secluded you might feel. The live oaks aren’t so much scattered as they are a focal point for the entire course. The only caveat to that is the large pond in the middle of the property. <em>(Willbrook 5th pictured right)</em></p>
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<p><strong><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/myrtle-beach-national-southcreek">SouthCreek at Myrtle Beach National</a></strong><br>First-time visitors to SouthCreek are going to feel the chute-like effect brought about by the tree lines, especially off the tees. And while those suckers do affect shot selection, there’s also relatively forgiving in how thin they are and how open the ground-level terrain is. Barring one of those doinks kicking you even further from the fairway, the rebound attempt is typically harmless.</p>
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<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/River-Club-18th-Green-Clubhouse-and-Putting-Green-ND-052924-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-12838" style="width:325px" srcset="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/River-Club-18th-Green-Clubhouse-and-Putting-Green-ND-052924-1024x576.png 1024w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/River-Club-18th-Green-Clubhouse-and-Putting-Green-ND-052924-300x169.png 300w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/River-Club-18th-Green-Clubhouse-and-Putting-Green-ND-052924-768x432.png 768w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/River-Club-18th-Green-Clubhouse-and-Putting-Green-ND-052924-1536x864.png 1536w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/River-Club-18th-Green-Clubhouse-and-Putting-Green-ND-052924-2048x1152.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>

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<p><em>Wide-Open Spaces</em><br><strong><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/river-club">River Club</a></strong><br>While some would argue that River Club doesn’t belong in this half of the list, the openness of the majority of the course leaves most players not even flirting with tree-induced danger. In fact, the biggest impacts of most of the tree lines are some early morning shadows that make the holes appear slightly more boxed in. In reality, free swingers find this joint pretty forgiving. <em>(River Club 18th pictured right)</em></p>
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<p><strong><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/world-tour-golf-links">World Tour Golf Links</a></strong><br>With three holes pattered off St. Andrews, and several more trying to keep the aesthetic design goals, the tree lines at World Tour are definitely there, but they’re also set back from most of the fairways. In fact, No. 1 and 9 on the Open frequently have players from the two holes crisscrossing each other on their opposite directions to their respective greens.</p>
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<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Grande-Dunes-18th-Back-MC-ND-061324-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-12839" style="width:325px" srcset="https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Grande-Dunes-18th-Back-MC-ND-061324-1024x576.png 1024w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Grande-Dunes-18th-Back-MC-ND-061324-300x169.png 300w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Grande-Dunes-18th-Back-MC-ND-061324-768x432.png 768w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Grande-Dunes-18th-Back-MC-ND-061324-1536x864.png 1536w, https://admin.mbn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Grande-Dunes-18th-Back-MC-ND-061324-2048x1152.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>

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<p><strong><a href="https://www.mbn.com/course/grande-dunes">Grande Dunes Resort Course</a></strong><br>With so many holes crafted by the pre-existing Intracoastal Waterway, the Roger Rulewich Group knew that tree-lined fairways would have not only taken away from the visuals, but also made this track too difficult. It’s a long course where players are all but forced to muscle up from the tee box. The landing areas, then, are about as wide as any course in the area and tree impact is next to minimal. <em>(Grande Dunes 18th pictured right)</em></p>
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<p><em>Photos for this feature from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/myrtlebeachgolftrips/">@MyrtleBeachGolfTrips</a> Instagram Account</em></p>
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Myrtle Beach Golf Two Ways: Tree-Lined vs. Wide Open?

Courses in this Article

Blackmoor Golf Club

Grande Dunes - Resort Golf Club

River Hills Golf and Country Club

River Club

South Creek at Myrtle Beach National

World Tour Golf Links

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Founders Collection 2-Round Special

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