YertleTurtle

Other recent reviews are generally spot on. Challenging and enjoyable layout with very good greens surrounded by areas of significant neglect. Most tees are workable. Fairways do not appear to get any water - very firm and occasionally sparse. It looks like there is some activity to get sprinklers working, so there might be hope. Rough is rocks and weeds. Paths are in surprisingly good condition. Can't say the same about the carts. Not an easy walk.

Clubhouse is a modular unit with almost no amenities - BYO everything. Range has nice turf, but balls and targets are third world.

This place could really be something If ownership could get the sprinklers working by fall and perform a major turf renovation. It's a $20-$25 track as is.

Pinehurst #1 was first opened in 1898. Yep, it's almost 120 years old - just a few years younger than Chicago Golf Club, argued to be the oldest 18-hole course in the United States.

#1 is generally straightforward and just 6,100 yeards from the tips, but it's a fun course to play. Lots of room off the tee, but there are several holes where driver doesn't make sense. Greens aren't tricked up, but they can be tricky to read. Par 3's are pretty solid, especially #12.

#1 is a nice way to experience Pinehurst without the investment and challenge of #2. Same clubhouse, same practice facility, same friendly people. Definitely a good choice for a first round on property or as a second, casual round on a 36-hole day.

First group out, 8:00 am on a beautiful day for golf. Bag drop staff must not have had their morning coffee - generally grumpy and marginally helpful. Pro shop staff and everyone else was great.

$5 for a range token - range was a bit shaggy, but the TM range balls were reasonably new. Putting green in great shape - speed was true to greens on course.

Course was in excellent shape throughout. Only shortcoming was depth and consistently of sand in greenside bunkers - several looked like they had not been groomed for a few days. Not too challenging off the tee, but approach shots were made difficult by bunkers, smallish greens with multiple levels, and lack of hold. Appproaches not coming in high will not hold. Typical Nicklaus? Approaches made even more difficult by lack of reflectors on flagsticks. What course doesn't have reflectors in 2017?

Greens might not have held well, but they rolled consistent, smooth and true.

Interesting that the #10 hole (pictured) looks strangley ordinary from the tee - the waste areas down both sides are barely visible from the tee.

Lots of houses and associated OB, but you only feel cramped on a couple of holes.

I've driven by Long Bay at least 30 times on previous visits to Myrtle Beach. Glad I got to catch it in premium condition on a perfect day - and at a great rate. Just needs some new flagsticks.

Played as a single, mid-week senior rate. Course conditions notably improved since fall. Greens are in much better shape, though a few (especially #4) are still spotty. Some work done to improve bunkers, though several hadn't been groomed in some time. It's a really nice track - just wish ownership had the resources to keep it up.

Played Saguaro Thursday and Saturday on the 36-hole package.

Saguaro has a lot more grass than Cholla, making you think it will be easier - but there several long par 4s (18 was 490!) and some seriously uphill approach shots. A very interesting layout, much different from Cholla. Great fun to play. The only negative regarding the course is the bunkers, which were firm to the point of being packed dirt. Note that the bunker at the practice area has the very different sand from Cholla. There is no way to prepare for the bunkers on Saguaro.

Two notes for management:

1 - Get a ranger out on weekends. An 8:00 am Saturday round should not take 5 hours on Saguaro. We later quit our afternoon round on Cholla after 3 hours, 10 holes, and views of the drunks in front of us driving across #9 green and hitting wedges off #10 green. Kudos to the staff for issuing a credit for that round.

2 - Get some training for staff or hire some friendlier people. Staff does their job OK, but few seem to enjoy being there or try to make your feel welcome.
The beverage cart ladies were a notable exception.

Late morning tee time. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Excellent locker room with showers and towels. Range is very good, but short game area is small. Very nice putting green. Starter was very helpful and personable, got us off to a good start.

Pinnacle is a very interesting course. A tough challenge from the gold tees. We were somewhat disappointed in the conditions. Some of the tees were chopped up. Several fairways had some bare areas. Fair amount of poa on numerous greens. We expected late summer conditions, but we deserved better for a $140 midday round.

The only service complaint came after the round. We tried to get a beverage after we cleaned up, but the bartender wouldn't even recognize our presence. Kind of a negative ending to a positive experience.

Good to check it off the list, but We Ko Pa is a better value without the housing.

Played Cholla Thursday morning and Saturday afternoon on the 36-hole package.

The new greens seem to be coming in well, but they are quite fast and won''t hold even well-struck approach shots. Had to play every approach to the front edge and hope for the best.

Tees and fairways were uniformly excellent.

The changes to #8 make the hole much more playable.

The course does take some getting used to. Given the absence of GPS on the carts, a more robust yardage book would be a great help.

Range has no distance markers. A board with distances would make warm-up better.

Clubhouse staff on Thursday was professional to the point of coldness.

First time. Walkup weekday senior rate of $30 includes cart. Went off as a single around 9:00 a.m. Flew around the front, bogged down the entire back.

This is a very nice design that seems to be suffering from a string of bad storms and minimal maintenance staffing. Traps were either washed out or full of water, but nothing was being done. Most tees were in good shape, as were the fairways. Several greens - especially #4 - were in danger of complete loss.

The course has a very good mix of hole designs and green complexes. Not a boring hole to be found. Would love to play again in cooler weather with better conditions. Owner/operator needs to get some people working!

Three of us played around 4:00 PM Friday on our way to Kohler. Booked for $75 each via GolfNow. Very nice layout, good mix of interesting holes. A few blind shots, but nothing too penal. Perhaps it's intentional, but a few bunkers could use some maintenance. Wet day, so carts had to stay on paths. We weren't told at check-in that the halfway house would be closed when we made the turn around 6:00 PM. Good value for what we paid. Rack rate seems high