Wescott Plantation
The Golf Club at Wescott Plantation in North Charleston, just minutes from downtown Charleston, offers 27 holes of fabulous golf.
Michael Hurdzan of Hurdzan/Fry Golf Course Design, the 2007 recipient of the Donald Ross Award from the American Society of Golf Course Architects and one of the most respected course designers in the world, put his masterful touches on the three nines at Wescott Plantation. The result was 27 holes of fun, challenging and eminently approachable golf.
The course, which opened for play in 2000, is sited on and somewhat unique for the Lowcountry in that all 27 holes are tree lined, resulting in excellent definition of the entire layout. The routing of the golf course, combined with the abundant trees, provides a sense of isolation because you rarely ever see another golf hole. Each of the three nines stretches to over 3,550 yards from the back tees, so any combination of nines will result in a back tee length of over 7,100 yards. But with at least five tees on each hole, golfers can choose to play anywhere from 5,120 yards up to 7,100 yards, depending on their ability.
The designer’s intent was to capture the flavor of low flowing earthworks, classic bunkering, and each hole separated and framed by the vegetation. To this were tied wide landing areas, strategic and offset angles of play from various tees and fairway landing areas. The course will reward intelligent shot selection as much as skillful shot making. In keeping with the traditional flavor of the course the name of the three nines, Oak Forest, Burn Kill and Black Robin, all are derived from the history of the site.
The fairways are planted with the newest generation super grass called “Tifsport” that offers superb playing conditions, while being the most environmentally adapted. Any ball in the fairway is rewarded with a fine lie. Naturally, there are a profusion of natural elements on the courses, such as streams, ponds, wetlands, sentinel trees, and holes play in various directions and lengths around these features. The average size green is 6,000 square feet and feature “Tifeagle” grass, with the putting surface s having soft contours, although when “shaved down,” they can be fast and tricky to read.
There are not an excessive number of bunkers on the course, but each one is well thought out and demands careful shot selection and execution. The bunkers have nearly flat sandy bottoms, but steep grass faces. There are some forced carries at Wescott Plantation, but few and none that will overwhelm the average golfer.
Westcott’s best hole may be the eighth hole on the Burn Kill Nine, a beautiful par-three that can play anywhere from 115 to 200 yards. With a lake running all the way down the left side to the green, hitting it fat, chunky or left is not an option.
The fourth on the Oak Forest Nine, a 528-yard par-five, may be the best long hole on the course. It’s a slight dogleg to the left that is reachable in two for the big hitters, but if you get too greedy a lake on the right side of the green comes into play.
The second on the Black Robin Nine is a short par-four that plays 355 yards for the tips. At 250 yards the fairway bends 90 degrees, with water protecting the right side of the green on the approach shot.
Wescott Plantation also offers a large driving range/learning center, practice putting green, full service clubhouse, on-course shelters and restrooms, and easy access to and from the clubhouse.
