Kingston Plantation Myrtle Beach (Homeowner Rental)

Some of today's golf course architects seemed overly infatuated with their novel designs, and the result is a mushroom of courses filled with gimmicks. Not so with Arcadian Shores, a fine "old fashioned" course in the heart of Myrtle Beach designed by Rees Jones.

 The course opened in 1974 as part of the Myrtle Beach Hilton Resort, making it one of the older courses on the Strand. After 26 years, it still deserves to be ranked among the best on the Strand. Wyndham, which took over the Hilton in '98, recognizes it has a great asset in a course that meets the acid test of all successful layouts: It is scenic, it is challenging but very fair for golfers of all levels, and each hole is distinctive.

Ross and MacKenzie would have been proud of Jones. Arcadian Shores bears witness to the fact that a challenging golf course doesn't have to torture you with impossibly steep bunkers, multiple blind shots, 10-foot high mounds, hidden fairways and other assorted artificial elements. On this classical-style layout, what you see is what you get.

The course, which lies about a half mile inland from the Wyndham Myrtle Beach Resort, is set in thick woods and features narrow fairways, 64 bunkers, and water on eight holes. The course stretches from 5,636 to a modest 6,857 yards from the tips where it plays to a slope of 137. The slope is that high because the course puts a lot of pressure on accuracy, particularly off the tee. Every hole is tree-lined and fairly narrow. Here you may want to hit 3- or 4-wood or long iron some tees.

 Arcadian Shores is generally flat except for a corner of the course that includes holes 13 and 14. The 13th is on the all-Strand's 18. The no. 1 handicap hole, it is 408 beautiful and difficult yards, requiring an accurate tee shot through a chute of trees to a crest of a hill. From there the hole veers downhill over a lake to a severely sloped green with a large bunker behind. The 398-yard 14th requires a drive over the same lake to an uphill fairway with a cluster of bunkers in the fairway on the left. Like all of the holes, there is plenty of trouble in the trees if you veer off line. The green has two large bunkers left and right.

The par 3's are all outstanding, beginning with No. 2, also on the all-Strand list. It measures between 114 and 201 yards and the tee shot must carry water to a green perched right on the lake right. A large bunker guards the left side of the green on a hole that has no bailout. Set in the woods, it is a gem of a hole and one you will want to save your best swing for. The 17th is 169 yards over another lake to a well trapped green that slopes severely back to front.

From the back, the course has only five holes over 400 yards including the straight 425-yard 11th, which requires a 210-yard carry over a lake to reach the fairway. From the landing area the hole runs slightly uphill through the trees. The 18th is a slight dogleg right 447 yarder. There are two reachable par 5's, including the 508-yard 3rd and the 502-yard 10th, which is heavily bunkered at the landing area and around the green. The longest par 5 is the awesome 16th. It measures 557 yards. It is slightly downhill off the tee through the woods to a green at the end of a rising fairway from the landing area. Three very large bunkers are situated in front of the green and come out about 30 yards from it.

Generally speaking, the bunkers are not overly penal. The slope of the moderate to large-sized greens varies from gentle to moderately severe. For a wooded course with heavy shade, the condition of the Bermuda fairways and Bermuda Tifdwarf greens is acceptable. Some of the greens are excellent, but a few were a bit shaky during my visit in July of 2000. The shaded clubhouse is small but very attractive and comfortable, and the golf school is right outside the door.

Arcadian Shores is a fine test of golf that should be particularly appealing to golfers who like traditional designs. Don't leave home without your "A" game. The course is open to the public.

Arcadian Shores Golf Club in Myrtle Beach: Sprucing up a Rees Jones classic

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Head Professional Jason Mitchell and Superintendent Steve Martin tackled the quick fixes first: tidying up the landscaping, replacing signage, painting bathrooms and patching turf where needed.

 
 
"We're working on the maintenance priorities," Mitchell said. The firm bought new maintenance equipment, updated the golf cart fleet and planted plenty of vegetation to spruce up Arcadian Shore's signature holes, numbers 13 and 14, which also are the most visible to passing traffic.

New merchandise and displays have brought the Arcadian Shores pro shop up to date as well. Personnel is another asset - from the bag and cart staff to the lunch bar, the people here are friendly and efficient (and the bar serves great burgers, by the way).

There's no question this golf course is going to get better and better, especially once all of the turf work is done and takes hold. The elements of a great course are all there, thanks to Rees Jones, and it's just a matter of a lot of nurturing and a little time.

Arcadian Shores Golf Club: First impressions
The most striking feature of the golf course is the amount of sand - a lot. Also memorable are the fairways, narrowed by mature trees and large, undulating greens. It pays to pause on the tee box and assess the situation. Everything is visible, but the distances are sometimes deceiving. A bunker that appears to be in mid-fairway might be right by the green. Those at the green might begin 15 yards in front and extend like fingers up the side of the fairway.

Length is likewise there if you want it. Five tees divvy up distances from the 6,857-yard Champions tees to the 5,113-yard Kingston tees - or, if you're more color inclined, from the black to the reds. In spite of its name, there isn't very much water at Arcadian Shores Golf Club, with the exception of the seventh and 13th holes, which put water right in front of the green.

On a couple of holes, a hump on the front of the green, right in the center, can send a bump-and-run shot squirting left or right, adding an element of chance. It pays to take those features into consideration when choosing your approach.

Holes of note at Arcadian Shores
The second hole is a great par 3, with a pond ringed by tee boxes, all with a substantial water carry in front, and, depending on the angle, either sand or more water as a backdrop. It isn't a simple short iron either, with lengths from 201 to 114 yards.

The 10th hole has a military march of bunkers, left for your drive, right for your second shot, and left and right crater bunkers at the green that form a horsehoe around the putting surface. The green has a double break for most longer putts. Given the undulation, there is no nice, easy place to put the pin on this surface, and a long putt might create a three-stroke result.

The highlights of Arcadian Shores Golf Club are the 13th and 14th holes, which feature the same large pond with a wooden bridge across it. On the 13th, the goal is to launch a drive to the edge of a downhill slope and hope it doesn't trickle into the water. Then, it's an iron shot over the pond to a large green. On the next hole, the pond stands between you and a rising fairway with a mess of bunkers on the left and trees on the right. Coming or going, the two holes offer some fun shots.

"I like number 13," said Joe Lacy, a 15-handicap player from Virginia. He has finished the course several times. "It's a nice course ... it's pretty, it's challenging in some places, and you've got a lot of sand.

"It's kind of open. Any average player would enjoy this course."

Arcadian Shores draws a lot of play, about 40,000 rounds, thanks in part to its proximity to Kingston Plantation, Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, Embassy Suites Hotel and a campground.

Arcadian Shores Golf Club: The verdict
Even though I had never played the course, it's familiar; like Golf 101, without the theatrics of some other courses. If you spray your shot, you might ping-pong through the trees, land in sand or nestle into some gnarly bermuda rough. The greens aren't too fast, too slow, too big or too small. In short, Arcadian Shores Golf Club is just right.