Coming down in 2 weeks and we’re all about a 20-25 handicap. Concerned we have all difficult courses lined up. World Tour, Caledonia, Thistle, TPC, Arrowhead. I know we can play the forward tee’s but any suggestions for nice courses that are relatively open for high handicap players.
Widest Fairways I ever played.. PARKLAND at the Legends.
Keep World Tour .
The other 4 need to go up for debate.
A couple of them may be a lil tough/tight.
"King Of The Mid-tiers"
I think we want to keep Caledonia for the experience and Thistle. Not attached to TPC or arrowhead . We’re staying by Myrtlewood so thought that could be a good option. Also thinking the west course at Myrtle beach National.
Did you add high handicappers after booking?
World Tour is forgiving, so keep it.
Caledonia has plenty of room. Just don't let the short total yardage, due
to par 70, trick you into longer tees. If you think the white is short, do
not play longer. Thistle has room to play.
Arrowhead is very nice and well maintained, but it does have plenty of
tight holes. TPC is challenging.
MBN West is ideal for forgiveness, trees are cleaned out and almost
no water hazards.
Crow Creek, Farmstead, Wizard are some other good choices.
Myrtlewood also fits your criteria.
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If you play at Myrtlewood, I'd recommend the PineHills course. I think it has more room/less OB than the Palmetto course, because the Palmetto has a lot of holes with houses and the PineHills doesn't.
I also think the PineHills course is a significantly better golf course even though they charge less for it.
I'll concur with what everyone else has said - World Tour is very forgiving. Caledonia is not, but it's worth the experience, just make sure you play the more forward tees. TPC will beat you up pretty good as a high capper. Arrowhead might be a bit of a stretch, but given the value you get (top-tier conditions at mid-tier pricing), it might also be worth the stretch.
Wild Wing and Meadowlands are also very open and forgiving, along with those mentioned by others. If you're planning on doubling down one day, some combination of Farmstead/Meadowlands/Crow Creek would be a good choice.
You can also consider Wild Wing as a nice option!
Have a great time!
Denis Gilbert
Quebec City, Canada
Crow Creek is a fairly easy course and is in excellent condition. Farmstead is always good. MB West is probably your best option. Good holes but not difficult.
Golf is just an excuse to drink whiskey and smoke cigars
I suggest to play the Parkland at the Legends. Have fun!
''It's just golf, let's have fun''
Add Parkland and MBN West.
Keep Cali and World Tour.
"King Of The Mid-tiers"
IMHO - I don't consider any of the Legends courses as push overs. They play long from the senior tees.
Golf is just an excuse to drink whiskey and smoke cigars
Thanks everyone. We’re going to replace TPC with Wild Wing based on location, reviews and course design. I’ll provide a full recap after we get back!
@rjtrillium I like that you're taking this approach given the handicap levels of your group. Too often, golfers think they need to play those "trophy" courses because that's what they've read about in the golf magazines. There's no doubt about the quality of those courses, but one of MB's advantages is the ability to choose from a group of courses that will be fun, interesting, and different from what you're used to back home. If you limit yourself to the toughest tracks, golf can become a slog with everyone shooting way above their handicaps and memories only of miserable shots.
A lot of groups, not just high handicappers, would benefit from a more reasonable selection of courses. Find a good, easy opening track, especially if some in your group haven't played regularly for awhile and need a warmup. Mix in some great courses, but keep slipping in some courses that might allow your players to regain a little confidence--just in time to hit the next venue that might prove to be a little more challenging.
Many years ago, I took my best friend to Scotland. He would have been glad to be a 25-handicap as I don't think he had ever broken 100. We visited St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Dornoch, and a lot of other places, but we played secondary courses at each of those first three locations, and a lot of lesser and even unknown courses. And he had a blast. Because of the course selections I made, he was never on a course where it was real busy, and he could take his time hacking his way around. He loved it, and never complained that I didn't put him on the Old Course or Muirfield or Kingsbarns or fifteen other courses that would have killed his game while charging him hundreds of dollars per round to do it.
As you get better, you'll naturally gravitate to the better courses eventually. I didn't play the Dunes in Myrtle Beach until two years ago. I'm not sure if I had played it twenty years ago that I would have appreciated just how great a course it is.
What i was doing with my group, whenever I booked our trip, I would always leave a scenic tougher layout for our last day & play a scramble so that the high handicappers could enjoy playing the course without playing from their misses(most of the time ???? ???? ) & everyone playing from one of the sets of forward tees.
Seemed to be a good idea, always asked by attendees what is the Scramble course this year.....
