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\nAfter a few swipes at balls on the practice range we embarked upon the day’s golf journey, which if it had a movie trailer might have been narrated thus: “Jack Nicklaus’s Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club– where you’ll see at least a few of your favorite golf balls for the last time. \u00a0This piece of golf artwork from the creator of such beloved courses as Dove Mountain and Punta Mita will take you and your compadres on a golf journey you’ll always remember. You’ll laugh. \u00a0You’ll cry. \u00a0You’ll hit three Titleists into the marsh.”<\/p>\n
And hit into the marsh we did– and into bunkers, forests, lakes, and other areas dangerous to golf balls. \u00a0And loved it.<\/p>\n
We were amply forewarned that we’d face one of our toughest tests on the Grand Strand yet somehow still insisted on playing from the blue tees. \u00a0At first. \u00a0And now we are the middle-aged poster children for the Tee it Forward program, which we signed up for the nano-second we arrived on the tenth tee. \u00a0But that was later . . .<\/p>\n
From the outset, the meticulously crafted and lovingly maintained golf holes demanded attention and precision. \u00a0Although Jack writes in the yardage book “I like to start my courses with a hole that’s not to intimidating and allows the golfer to begin with a good feeling,” he’s only half right if he is really talking about Pawleys. \u00a0Because the opening drive must be hit hard and with precision over a large marsh and then land between a tree loitering in the fairway on the left side and a whole mob of \u00a0other trees to the right. \u00a0About 150 yards from the green of this 511-yard par five a gigundo waste area runs along the entire right side to a green half tucked behind it. \u00a0On the l o n g second hole (441 from the blues) the second shot seems impossibly narrow, with both water and sand guarding the green. \u00a0My third and fourth shots to this putting surface were no less difficult.!<\/p>\n
Trees and lakes make strategic cameos through the golf round and dictate much of the shotmaking. \u00a0Greens are often shallow and protected by bunkers in front, requiring high shots that drop faster than the NASDAQ on a bad day. \u00a0The putting surfaces themselves are in most cases an oasis of respite and you may find yourself running up to them with all the glee of children playing tag and grabbing onto home base.<\/p>\n
I in no way blame Jack for my poor performance on the front nine but I knew I needed to make a change and shake up my game so I challenged fellow warrior Bob Fagan to a nine-hole match, possibly the dumbest decision I made all day, although there are plenty of other candidates. \u00a0Fagan claims a 10 handicap, though he managed to scramble his way to a 75 yesterday. \u00a0At least I guilted him into giving me a stroke.<\/p>\n
And as I knew would happen, even with a mere dollar on the line I made my first par of the day and then four more in a row, including one on one of the toughest par threes I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. \u00a0But more on that in a moment. \u00a0On the par-five eleventh hole, a tree in the middle of the fairway on the second \u00a0determines most of what happens afterward– anything hit to the right requires an airlift over the tree. \u00a0I ripped two down the left side and thought I might have gained an edge on Fagan, but he hit a high floater to about three feet. \u00a0I punched a wedge to about twelve feet but missed the putt and he drained his for a birdie.<\/p>\n
On number twelve the excitement began building, not just because I won the hole with a crisp shot from the fairway bunker snaking for about fifteen miles on the right side, followed by an up-and-down for par. \u00a0It’s because we finally reached the marshland holes that define Pawleys Plantation and offer one of the most unique playing fields in golf. \u00a0We’d been told by many people that the chances of hitting the green on the 168-yard thirteenth were about as good as winning the Nigerian lottery (no wait, I already won that six different times this month!). \u00a0The green appeared to float out on the marshlands surrounded by rippling grasses– rippling because a two-club wind was blowing sideways across the hole. \u00a0And yet I somehow made the correct club selection, chose the right ball flight, aimed at the correct part of the green and drew it into the wind to slow the momentum of the extra club I’d taken, and landed it seven feet from the pin. \u00a0I made par but at least won the hole from Fagan. The next hole also played across the marshlands– a par five that was certainly dramatic but almost overly difficult, with a solid carry required off the tee and a far more burly carry needed to reach the green 525 yards from the starting blocks. \u00a0The draw I called up \u00a0to bring the ball back in from the marsh failed to fully materialize on my second shot and I made double and lost the hole.<\/p>\n Fifteen surprised us by moving back into the forest, which disappointed us a little until we realized we were \u00a0headed for the marsh again coming into the sixteenth green. \u00a0Seventeen presented another testing par three over the wetlands with a shallow green that I somehow managed to hit, while Fagan launched one over and left of the putting surface but landed just far enough from a tree to have a shot. \u00a0I three-putted but after hitting a pitch to close-in Bob three putted for what may have been the first time in his life, leaving me one up going into eighteen, where he managed a workmanlike par to push the match. \u00a0No money changed hands today. \u00a0But once I get my three or four lost golf balls back from Jack Nicklaus I’ll be ready to take on another warrior tomorrow.<\/p>\n What I should have done after golf was book a little personal time with Mel Sole, the well-known South African golf instructor (and former partner with Phil Ritson) who operates the Phil Ritson-Mel Sole\u00a0Golf School<\/a>\u00a0at the far end of the Pawleys Plantation driving range. \u00a0Sole has worked with TOUR pros such as Gary Player, David Frost, and Curtis Strange, and was also mentor to a guy named Leadbetter. \u00a0The winner of countless awards and accolades, Sole is a charming, hands-on, approachable instructor who may help you win your next match against Bob Fagan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/jeffwallach\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2012\/09\/pawleyspar3-970x1024.jpg\")
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