True Blue Golf Plantation

[italianstallion]

south of Myrtle Beach

Design
While planning my trip to Myrtle Beach I considered driving through Pinehurst, NC to play the world famous No. 2 course as well as Tobacco Road, another Mike Strantz design. Due to time (and monetary restrictions) I had to cut the Pinehurst leg out of my trip. However, after learning there was another Mike Strantz design outside the Myrtle Beach area, I quickly booked a tee time at True Blue and greatly anticipated teeing it up on this Strantz design.

True Blue is part of Caledonia Golf and Fish Club. Caledonia, the other course on the property, was the first course Strantz ever designed, and while it carries great reviews and pedigree, some say it lacks the wild design of True Blue. Because time dictated I could only play one of these gems, I chose True Blue this go around.

To say that True Blue is wild is a spot on description. When I stood on the tee of the 624 yard par five first hole, it was instantly apparent that I was not in Kansas anymore. There are three places a player can hit their tee shot off this first tee, and the following 17: in the fairway, in the waste areas framing the fairway, or in the woods.

While this opening tee shot, and every tee shot after it, looks intimidating, Strantz offers enough fairway to work with. This key to the Strantz school of thought: make the player think that a particular shot is impossible. The point of the massive bunkers, huge waste areas, and water hazards is to force golfers to actually think about what needs to be done to advance the ball. As Strantz said, "when a golf course does not force players to think, the game becomes dull and monotonous - a walk in a well landscaped park." But while many shots on True Blue appear intimidating at first glance, no single shot is impossible. The fairways are generous by design, as are the greens. There is virtually no rough on the course, just massive bunkers, waste areas, and water hazards that are designed to test the mental fortitude of every golfer that challenges True Blue. This is how a Strantz design makes the game of golf fun: make a shot appear impossible so that when the player pulls it off they feel like they accomplished the impossible.

On the scorecard True Blue stretches to 7,126 yards from the championship tees. Much of this yardage can be attributed to the three par fives between 599 and 624 yards in length. There are no 500 yard par fours on this course, but fair par fours in the 430 to 450 yard range that play difficult with intimidating tee shots and intimidating approaches over water to the greens. The five par threes on the course vary in yardage, from 158 to 208, and each par three will require a different club and shot shape.

Unlike most courses found in this region of South Carolina True Blue showcases dramatic elevation changes from elevated tees and approach shots to elevated greens. What Mike Strantz does not demand in accuracy off the tee he makes up for in demanding approach shots. Trouble surrounds all 18 greens at True Blue. Whether it is the intimidating waste areas surrounding the very narrow green on the par four second hole, or the massive lake fronting the par three 16th hole, Mike Strantz makes the player think about what could go wrong with each iron shot. Even shots that appear fairly easy and straightforward will require thought. For example, the extreme back to front slope of the green on the par four eight hole forces the golfer to control the spin on their wedge shot to stay close to the hole. And while working the ball left to right or right to left is not a requirement to successfully navigate True Blue, it certainly allows a player more options and ways to access the tight pin locations on the course.

Condition
Playing Myrtle Beach courses in August has its advantages and disadvantages. Advantage: bargain greens fees. Disadvantage: 50/50 shot that the greens will be aerated. Unfortunately I lost the aeration coin toss at True Blue: the greens were aerated four days prior to the day I played. Therefore it is difficult for me to adequately comment on the conditioning of True Blue. I can say that the square tee boxes are very plush and level, as are the fairways. Because the waste areas off the fairways double as cart paths, they very hard-packed. The hard-packed waste areas gave favorable lies, even if I found myself in a cart track or a footprint. At first inspection the greenside bunkers felt hardpacked and tough to play out of, but they ended up being extremely playable and could be played as any normal bunker shot. Because waste areas feed into greenside bunkers, local rules at True Blue stipulate that all sanded areas be played "through the green" and not as a bunker. The punched and sanded greens cost me a fair share of 3-5 footers, but aside from the slight damage to my overall score they did not detract from the overall experience.

The Verdict
True Blue offers an amazing combination of easy holes and impossible holes. With a course rating of 74.3 and a slope of 145, it is important to know that big scores can rack up easy on True Blue. Strantz challeneges players right of the gate on the first four holes. And there is no rest for the weary; the last four holes are the hardest stretch on the course.

Before I walked the fairways of True Blue, I always considered A.W. Tillinghast to be my favorite course architect through my experience at Bethpage Black and various spectating at tour events on his courses. However, after playing True Blue I feel I have a new idea of what a great course and architect are. Mike Strantz took this piece of South Carolina land and did not transform it into his opinion of what it could be. Rather Strantz let the land dictate how True Blue should look, how it should rout itself through the Carolina Pines and around the various bodies of water. I have never played a course that felt apart of the land, like it was supposed to be there all along. True Blue and the designs of Mike Strantz are why I play golf. I want to stand on a tee box and say "wow" everytime. I want to take a picture of every hole I play because of its beauty and not because I want it for this site. I want to feel like I am in my own universe, where I am surrounded by nature and I with the golf course are part of it. True Blue did all of this for me, and I will be back.


Pros: Challenging design, Legendary architect, "Wow" factor on every hole, good value if you play at the right time.

Cons: Could do without the condos on a few of the holes.

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Pictures


Scorecard


First Tee, 625 yard par 5


First Green approach


Second tee, gap is only 10-15 feet wide


Second Green


Second Hole, greenside. Details what surrounds just about every green


Par 3 third hole


Par 5 fourth hole teebox


Fourth hole


Par 4 fifth hole


Fifth Hole


Par 4 sixth hole


Sixth Green


Seventh hole. Crazy looking par three


View from the tee on the Par 4 eighth hole


Eighth hole approach


Par 5 ninth hole tee


Ninth hole approach


10th hole tee box. Another 600 yard par 5


10th hole view from the landing area. Green is far in the distance


Par 3 eleventh hole


12th hole approach


Another chute to hit through on the par four 13th hole


Detail of the mounding and bunkering on the 13th hole, very typical of this course


the approach into 13


The green complex at 14. Lots of different tee boxes at this amphitheater hole


The approach at the 15th hole. Another par five in excess of 600 yards


Par three 16th hole. 200 yards, all over water


Tee shot at 17. There's water everywhere, but nearly 100 yards of fairway to work with.


the approach at 17


The very challenging but very fair par four 18th hole

[Fore_Man]

Could you please go out, play and review more Myrtle Beach courses??? PLEASE!!! This is one of the most thorough and complete course reviews I've seen to date. Well done.

Would be interested to hear you review Grande Dunes, which i played a few weeks ago.

[sabram]

[quote name='Fore_Man' timestamp='1315497510' post='3550993']
Could you please go out, play and review more Myrtle Beach courses??? PLEASE!!! This is one of the most thorough and complete course reviews I've seen to date. Well done.

Would be interested to hear you review Grande Dunes, which i played a few weeks ago.
[/quote]


Here's a link to more photos of True Blue and a link to photos of Grande Dunes:

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/579927639Swarmy"]True Blue Pix[/url]

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/576993989KVzOhh"]Grande Dunes Pix[/url]

[golfgoob]

Good review. I played True Blue not long after it opened. I remember it being very challenging. I know they made some changes a few years ago to soften it up. I haven't played it since but I think they took out some of Strantz's magic out of it. It still looks amazing.

[italianstallion]

[quote name='golfgoob' timestamp='1315602204' post='3553773']
Good review. I played True Blue not long after it opened. I remember it being very challenging. I know they made some changes a few years ago to soften it up. I haven't played it since but I think they took out some of Strantz's magic out of it. It still looks amazing.
[/quote]

Thats what I hear. But playing it sent Tobacco Road and Tot Hill Farm to the front of my "must play" list, from the looks of things those courses haven't been softened.

[golfgoob]

True about Tobacco and Tot Hill. Played both a few years ago and both were a blast. Very demanding looking but very fair. The greens are wild at both courses. Can't wait to read your reviews, itialianstallion, if you get to play both courses.

[BkgolferNH]

Brings back great memories of Myrtle Beach this summer. The week was a blast too bad I spent 7 of my 8 days being a typical 18 year old chasing tail rather than playing golf. But I played one round at True Blue and all I can say is YOU SHOT A 73 THERE? YOU ARE LIKE A GOD! I shot 9 over my average and it felt like I was playing the best round of my life. I also played one tee up from you (600 yard first hole rather than 624) That course is no joke.But it is a tough test of golf and I think if I had played a course like that prior it would have been better. I also played in July at noon so it was easily 105 the whole time and theres no wind and not a whole lot of shade. The price was pretty steep but we were staying at a campground and got a great deal ($55 for 18 holes and a cart)


I couldn't get over the lips on some of the bunkers. I think it was either 14 or 17, one of the par 3s on the back; had a lip on the bunker that was probably like 15 feet high. The bunker ran right into the water so it was almost like a small beach. I dropped a ball on the lip of that and tried to flop it over the bunker and couldn't hit it high enough and when I did I couldn't hold the green. I think that's the toughest course Ihave ever played. Especially since New England golf is NOTHING like that place. Overall the course was beautiful though, great layout and it was really cool how it was build around the land not like some of the other courses where they just clear everything on the property and lay it out the way they want. You could really tell this guy walked out there and tried to build holes around the contours of the greens and and fairways.

EDIT: I didn't mean to say "too bad I spent 7 of the 8 days chasing tail." I just meant it that I wanted to see and play a few more courses down there but I had other priorities.

[italianstallion]

[quote name='BkgolferNH' timestamp='1315721603' post='3556424']
Brings back great memories of Myrtle Beach this summer. The week was a blast too bad I spent 7 of my 8 days being a typical 18 year old chasing tail rather than playing golf. But I played one round at True Blue and all I can say is YOU SHOT A 73 THERE? YOU ARE LIKE A GOD! I shot 9 over my average and it felt like I was playing the best round of my life. I also played one tee up from you (600 yard first hole rather than 624) That course is no joke.But it is a tough test of golf and I think if I had played a course like that prior it would have been better. I also played in July at noon so it was easily 105 the whole time and theres no wind and not a whole lot of shade. The price was pretty steep but we were staying at a campground and got a great deal ($55 for 18 holes and a cart)


I couldn't get over the lips on some of the bunkers. I think it was either 14 or 17, one of the par 3s on the back; had a lip on the bunker that was probably like 15 feet high. The bunker ran right into the water so it was almost like a small beach. I dropped a ball on the lip of that and tried to flop it over the bunker and couldn't hit it high enough and when I did I couldn't hold the green. I think that's the toughest course Ihave ever played. Especially since New England golf is NOTHING like that place. Overall the course was beautiful though, great layout and it was really cool how it was build around the land not like some of the other courses where they just clear everything on the property and lay it out the way they want. You could really tell this guy walked out there and tried to build holes around the contours of the greens and and fairways.

EDIT: I didn't mean to say "too bad I spent 7 of the 8 days chasing tail." I just meant it that I wanted to see and play a few more courses down there but I had other priorities.
[/quote]

17 is the hole with that massive bunker that drops off into the water, very intimidating to look at.

And yeah I shot 73 there, haha. I've shot a slew of 68's and 69's but the day I played True Blue was probably the best ballstriking day I've ever had in my life (minus a shanked wedge on the 15th hole, whoops!) The fairways are massive but the course demands so much on your approach shots that I think I was just in a different zone of concentration than I usually am otherwise.

[sheppy335]

Great Report! I played Caledonia this year and loved it. Stranz got it when designing courses. He was a genius and was taken to early from us.

[MyBluC4]

Just loved this course and agree about Strantz...a genuine design artist who left us too soon. Some of my memories:

Awakened to pouring rain. Was so depressed I wanted to cry because these were my two must play courses on the trip. Went to [color="blue"]True Blue[/color] for breakfast. Luckily the rain lightened up so we played. Got caught in rain and wind on about 4 holes and then the sun sort of broke through. True Blue is a Mike Strantz masterpiece. Blues played 6812 with 72.8/141 slope rating. Easy to understand why this course has won so many awards and accolades. A fantastic track and the most challenging of the trip. The conditions were terrific. Difficult to the max with the weather this day, but as good as you’re going to find in Myrtle or anywhere. Beautiful from every direction with no homes in sight. Great par 3’s with incredibly dramatic par 5’s, especially the 9th & 10th back to back. Great clubhouse. A must play for anyone even thinking about putting together a Myrtle Beach trip.
The afternoon’s weather turned bright and sunny as we headed to True Blue’s sister course, another Strantz stunner, [color="blue"]Caledonia Golf & Fish Club[/color]. Visually magnificent in every way. No condos to ruin the vistas. Fantastic conditions on the greens and fairways. From the Blues it measures only 6121 yards with a 69.9/134 slope, but don’t let this fool you into thinking it’s a cakewalk. It’s not. One of the most visually beautiful courses I ever played. If Mike Strantz is up in architect’s heaven reading this, thank you with all my heart Mike.

[GatorNate11]

I should have played it while I was down there in June. I was going to play it on Friday before I left Saturday, but was unable to. Course looks awesome.

[roll - gybe]

Looks cool, thanks for the pictures. I have played Caledonia, TR, and THF. This looks neat.

[MarkCPA]

Big Stantz fan here, but you probably figured that out easily enough from the avatar. I've never been to Myrtle, but have made numerous Pinehurst runs over the years. For me, any trip to Pinehurst has a 36 hole mandate at Tobacco Road. When I finally do make it to Myrtle, True Blue and Caledonia will be must plays.

[is76550]

One of my favorite courses down there. It rained on us but we waited it out and it was absolutely worth it.

[ajgoodal.704]

Mike Strantz is my absolute favorite golf course architect for the sure fact that his courses are fun to play. I've played Caledonia several times and True Blue and Tot Hill Farm once. Loved all three of them and I'd say True Blue is probably my all time favorite golf course that I've played. Tobacco Road is on my list for this fall and I'd love to get up to Virginia to play Royal New Kent and Stonehouse one of these days. Bulls Bay looks incredible but I don't see being able to get on it. I've often thought of trying to start a golf tour company that included a package/tour of all Strantz's public east coast designs. A week long trip that includes rounds at each of the courses, lodging and van service.