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.