True Blue

Written by: Matt

I was recently invited to play a round at True Blue golf course in Pawley's Island, about 45-50 minutes from The Caravelle, and I jumped at the opportunity to play.  True Blue is a Mike Strantz design, who is also the late designer of Caledonia Golf and Fish Club.  While Strantz was clearly a talented course architect who designed these awesome layouts that were both ranked as top 100 public courses in America by Golf Digest, the two designs couldn't be more different.  Caledonia has a real plantation style feel to it, with the entrance lined with beautiful centuries old live oaks leading to the stately clubhouse and the 18th hole of the golf course actually ending adjacent to a former rice field.  True Blue  on the other hand has a more modern design feel to it with a lot of sand and a very challenging layout.

True Blue opened in 1998 and immediately picked up the nickname "Heaven and Hell".  "Heaven" because of the sheer beauty of the golf course and the 18 wonderfully laid out holes, and "Hell" because of the difficulty of the course and the 18 not so wonderfully laid out holes.  Despite winning numerous awards for being a great golf course, it was determined that True Blue might be TOO difficult of a course and it underwent a renovation to lighten the blow of some of the more ferocious holes.  Some of the changes made included reducing the carry on approach shots and tee shots and enlarging a couple greens, while the greens were also completely overhauled, giving True Blue some of the finest greens on the Grand Strand.

What you will find with True Blue is many holes with wide fairways, yet strategically placed hazards that don't let you bite off more than you can chew on the tee box.  The greens are generally fairly large, though very undulating which leaves even the four foot testers with some twists and turns.  If your irons are not sharp during your round, then you can expect to be left in some interesting places along side the greens, with situations where keeping the ball on the green at all is your only objective.  All told while the course is very challenging, there is opportunity to post a decent number at the end of the round.  As an 8-ish handicap, I have posted anywhere from an 80 to a 95 out there, and last week shot 84 after falling apart on the last three holes.

Both True Blue and Caledonia are two of the finest courses in the Myrtle Beach area.  While Caledonia is a stunning piece of property with a gorgeous golf course, I would recommend True Blue to golfers who want a more challenging round at a top notch layout.  The bottom line is that you can't lose with either course.