The tee shot on No. 1 is one of the toughest shots on the golf
course. The tee boxes are but small life rafts of green grass amidst a sea of
golden marshland. Even if you’re warmed up and ready to go, this shot is still
an intimidator. It looks like a quick double on the scorecard.
You might call the hole a dogleg, but really nothing doglegs. It
plays 90 degrees right from the landing area, but it’s all marsh carry to get to
the landing area. Once there, the putting surface is small, and even though the
shot is a parachute wedge, if you’re long or off line, your ball will run off
the back or side of the green into another wetland.
It’s a tough opening hole. But it is an appropriate metaphor for
this private club in Beaufort, South, Carolina, near Hilton Head. Early
financial problems delayed building the course for several years, and by the
time Pete Dye was contracted to design the layout in 1989, he was busy trying to
complete the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, up the coast.
So in 1990 Bruce Devlin was brought in, and the course finally
opened in fall of 1992. After that vexing 1st hole, the course softens into a
harmonious blend of golf shots. It’s not easy by any means—every shot requires
both thought and execution—but it’s harmonious. The land on which the course is
situated seems perfect for golf. And—the ultimate test of a course—each hole
presents a distinct and memorable challenge: the tee shot on No. 4 that just
begs to go into the marsh grasses on the right; your perfect drive on the 7th
and then a chute to the green; that magnetic lake to the right of No. 8.
The back is even stronger. The finishing trio of holes are truly
memorable. The 16th is the only real chance players have to hit a par 5 in two,
although the massive pot bunker and dead oak tree front-right and the river
back-left demand that the effort be precise. Until you step on the tee, the 17th
looks pretty simple: a par 3 that normally plays only 120 yards. But the
crossing winds and diminutive island green make this a tricky hole. And No. 18
is a strong Cape-style closer of 446 yards. With the match on the line, anything
can happen on these holes.
Aside from the opening tee shot, the other aspect of the club some
visitors have trouble with is the name, a nod to local history. The Articles of
Secession that led to the Civil War were drawn at Beaufort before the first
shots were fired at Charleston’s Fort Sumter, 60 miles to the north.
