According to recent news, Sunday Ultradwarf Bermudagrass has replaced Seashore Paspalum on the greens of Pine Lakes. The greens were also enlarged back to their size in 2008-09. The sand in Pine Lakes’ 25 bunkers was upgraded and the drainage was improved. Some deep bunkers were made more shallow and more playable. I think that all these changes will make Pine Lakes very enjoyable to play. I added Pine Lakes to my list for this fall.
''It's just golf, let's have fun''
Sunday Bermuda greens have become popular around MB now,
like at Arcadian Shores, Shaft, MW, RE, DB.....
When Pine Lakes was rebuilt in 2009, they tried to keep the course
with a older traditional look. The greenside bunkers were deep and
plain oval shaped. The new bunkers look more modern and the
grassed in faces mean we golfers can hit it heavy and be chipping
from that grass, instead of having our ball roll back to our feet.
*** Please Show Your Appreciation For MB Advice/Info In MBGT With Your Course or Trip Report! ***
*** Please Show Your Appreciation For MB Advice/Info In MBGT With Your Course or Trip Report! ***
''It's just golf, let's have fun''
They butchered the bunkers. They were great before and gave the course an old look you don't really get in Myrtle Beach; now it looks more like any number of random MB courses and some of them look like generic muni bunkers.
I'm sure I'll still enjoy Pine Lakes, but those new bunkers knock the course down a peg or two for me. The old bunkers were among the best in the whole area.
On first blush, I agree with unc and Pole. The photos aren't great. Looks like some random Florida golf course. Blah.
I'll go play it in the next month for a better feel.
Question for the group: When did Pine Lakes start having an "identity problem?" Used to be the place SI was birthed. Used to be the Grandaddy. Used to have the best chowder at the turn. Used to be a place I would bring friends to.
Does anyone on this board think the current golf experience is better than it was in 2000...1990...1970?
@say8pet I think it probably started when they sold property (I think) and had to build the two new holes, in 2009 maybe?
Those holes are completely out of character with the rest of the course and it's very obvious when you've crossed over to play them. It feels like you took a wrong turn and ended up on a different golf course. They're not bad holes in a vacuum, they just were not designed properly to fit in with the rest of course.
Of course, the bunker changes may actually help those holes because they may not feel so incongruous now.
Question for the group: When did Pine Lakes start having an "identity problem?" Used to be the place SI was birthed. Used to be the Grandaddy. Used to have the best chowder at the turn. Used to be a place I would bring friends to.
Does anyone on this board think the current golf experience is better than it was in 2000...1990...1970?
I think those who played the original Pine Lakes and still play MB today,
probably will like the original PL better, mainly because back in the
70's and early 80's, there weren't many MB courses to rank higher.
Even if PL still had the original design, we would like a lot of other
courses better.
*** Please Show Your Appreciation For MB Advice/Info In MBGT With Your Course or Trip Report! ***
@artmbgolf That isn't true for me personally -- even with the downgrade of the two new holes, I still thought Pine Lakes was one of the 10-15 best courses in Myrtle Beach. I'm not sure it will be after these bunker changes, though.
Off the top of my head, the only public courses I'd have definitely ranked higher are Caledonia, Heritage Club, True Blue, Rivers Edge, and Tidewater. Possibly Legends Heathland, King's North, and the Dye Club at Barefoot too -- wouldn't be surprised if I'm forgetting somewhere. If we were counting privates (or mostly privates) then I'd say the Dunes Club, the Reserve, and Wachesaw Plantation were also better. Maybe the Surf Club, but it's been so long since I played there that I don't remember it very well.
Thanks for the update!
Let the Big Dawg Bark!!!
