Myrtle Beach is home to a broad spectrum of golf courses, the classic to the modern, low-end to ritzy, with no-name and celebrity designers. Blackmoor is the Grand Strand’s lone Gary Player design. The nine-time major champion, known as the Black Knight, has become a relatively prolific golf course designer in recent decades, following in the footsteps of fellow player-turned-architect legends Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Player’s lone Myrtle Beach-area design is good, not great, and appeals more to golfers who love to work the ball from left to right than just about any golf course on the planet.
The Course
Doglegs are great on any course, but super-sharp ones can be boring if not done right, and an overabundance of those can be grating on a golfer. Not all of Blackmoor’s doglegs are of the restricting, rather than thought-provoking kind, but it can be tedious to play a number of holes where it makes little sense to hit more than a long iron or hybrid off the tee due to a near-90-degree turn of the hole. I’m looking at you, hole 5, hole 12 and hole 14! All of you zip dead to the right at right-angles and cutting the corner is no fun due to the demands placed on such a shot.
All in all, Blackmoor Golf Club has six holes that dogleg severely—seven if you count the 8th…more on that hole in a sec. And all but one of them (the red-headed dogleg-left stepchild par 4 10th) heads hard to the right. It is strange.
For its handful of holes that could be a little better, Blackmoor does feature one of the best and most interesting holes on the entire Grand Strand: the par-4 8th. If you play the hole conventionally—out to the left—it is another of Blackmoor’s many prize doglegs. But, there is a 20 yard wide alley cut through the forest that dominates the hole, such that a tee shot that carries some 250 yards stands a chance of leaving the tiger golfer with a routine chip shot or even putt for eagle on the relatively flat green. Opportunities to gamble are all too rare in golf, but Blackmoor’s 8th presents an awesome one.
The Experience
As with all courses owned and operated by Myrtle Beach-based National Golf Management, Blackmoor is an example of excellent, welcoming customer service. The staff, from those who work in the pro shop to the grille to the rangers on the course, are friendly and helpful. The golf course is always in very good shape as well, especially the smooth Bermuda greens.
The Verdict
Blackmoor is not perfect, but it is a solid option for middle-end golf in Myrtle Beach, especially if you are planning a trip focused on golf courses on the southern end of the Grand Strand.
(posted 3/21/14)