If a player can tame The Long Bay Club, they
may feel confident enough to take on the Golden Bear. The
Jack Nicklaus designed course is considered one of the most
difficult on the Grand Strand. Rightfully so. Long Bay's formidable
features include: A demanding 137 slope from the championship
tees to a difficult 127 for the ladies. Countless large man-made
mounds. They're particularly lethal near the green, creating
a new approach (so to speak) to your wedge game. Handsome
but deadly par-3s, especially No. 13, a mid-iron test to an
island green. Many bottomless bunkers surrounding Long Bay's
small Bermuda landing surfaces. And a striking horseshoe waste
bunker on the courses signature hole, the 353-yard (championship
tees) No. 10 has become one of the most recognized in golf.
Long Bay's par-3s are attractive, but they can be cruel to
the scorecard. The best of the four is No. 13 and it's wide
island green. Not a long test, this par-3 teases players with
various pin placements. The hole plays a club less if the
pin is on the left. Ten yards too much and players likely
will visit the drop area. Golfers likely will remember Nos.
4 and 18 (par-4s) and Nos. 11 and 15 (par 5s). No. 4 is rated
the courses most difficult hole. At 472 yards from the back
tees, it features a narrow fairway guarded by waste areas
on both sides. The homeward bound hole demands a left-to-right
tee shot to trim off the distance to the green. Both par-5s
on the back nine-547 yards and 492 yards- provide different
looks. No.11 is a dogleg left design to a small green protected
by a horseshoe bunker. No. 15 veers to the right. Players
must carry a meandering creek on their second shot and avoid
a water hazard that runs by the right side of the green. "Most
of the time when players walk off the course," Roger Batton
said, "they're not frustrated but they're coming back because
of the challenge of it."