By Trent Bouts
Ruminating on the passage from summer’s swelter to the cooling relief of fall, Henry Thoreau once wrote: "In the hues of October sunsets, we see the portals to other mansions than those which we occupy." Now, great writer and naturalist that he was, Thoreau was no golfer. In fact, few Americans were back then. When Thoreau scribbled out his wonderment at those windows to a world beyond, the United States Golf Association was still the best part of 50 years from inception. And let’s face it, even if he were alive now, the best use Thoreau might conceive for a five-iron would be in whacking golfers over the head. He preferred his terrain untrampled.
But a century and a half on, the world is a different place and life a different pace. For a significant part of the population, a golf course is as close as we get to nature these days. Our "portals" are computer screens at which we labor to pay for the mansions we do occupy. And even Thoreau would have to concede, no matter how grudgingly, that at least a golfer recreates outdoors, not prone on the couch with a remote control. The golf course is our Walden Pond, our sanctuary of sorts – if we could just cure that slice.
In South Carolina, there may be no better time to make that escape than the fall. From the mountains of the Upstate to the marshlands of the Lowcountry, golf offers a chance to follow Thoreau’s advice and "breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences" of the season. Golden October sunsets reflect a richness to be thankful for. At Hickory Knob State Resort Park you can even go Thoreau, bunking in a lakeside cabin between rounds.
Indeed, Hickory Knob was among specific recommendations from members of the South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel. The panel was asked to identify ideal fall golf getaways in each of four regions. The response was enthusiastic.
Panelist Mike Calkins describes the golf course at Hickory Knob State Park, 90 miles west of Columbia, as a "hidden treasure." Set aside Lake Thurmond, with the water in play or in view from every hole, it provides the kind of experience that would be out of reach for many if it were under private rather than state ownership. Accommodations range from camp sites to cabins and The Barack, with room for a dozen or so. As Calkins, a multiple senior club champion at Coldstream Golf Club, points out, "This is a low cost getaway that can be enjoyed by anyone."
Savannah Lakes Village with two championship courses, Monticello and Tara, is another highlight of the area. These award-wining golf courses, carved from the rolling landscape wrapping Lake Thurmond, offer unique challenges and breathtaking vistas. Lakefront acommodations are available at nearby Savannah Lakes Resort. Mount Vintage Plantation Golf Club is also an easy drive. With respect to affordability and access, the state park sets up wonderfully as a home base for an extended golfing jaunt.
McCormick County is hardly the first to roll off the tongue when people cite great golfing destinations in South Carolina. But for golf lovers who must carry more than their clubs on vacation, there are few places so accommodating. Kids can be kids in the old style here and are welcome in the family-style restaurant in the park. And while Calkins warns against expecting "a fine dining experience," nothing makes food taste better than a genuine appetite. And that is something the entire family has ample opportunity to work up in this 1,000-acre park.
If you can’t have a good time in this coastal pocket south of Myrtle Beach, you’re probably the kind of golfer who can’t smile even when a birdie putt drops. Panelist Tim Pope says stringing together courses like True Blue, Caledonia and any of several others in the area makes for the "perfect fall getaway." "Breakfast at Eggs Up Grill, lunch at the course and dinner in Murrell’s Inlet every night," he says. "Any three or four-day stretch between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, it’s one just for the guys."
Some beg to differ. John Rusher points out that Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort hosts the annual Carolina Couples Classic early October. And Ellen Miller notes that Willbrook Plantation is regularly cited as one of the state’s best courses for women golfers. There are probably a dozen high-caliber courses within a handful of miles and various packages available through individual facilities and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.
Just as variety on the golfing menu is extensive, so is the dining. Frank’s Restaurant and Bar and Frank’s Out Back offer a contrast between fine dining and a more relaxed atmosphere. Bill Copeland says the "food and the spirits" at both are "outstanding." For the golfer on the go, Copeland says Sam’s Corner has "the best hot dogs on the entire Grand Strand."
For golfers and non-golfers alike, Pawleys Island also offers proximity to the array of nightlife and shows on offer a short drive away in Myrtle Beach. For a daytime alternative to golf, Brookgreen Gardens is a spectacular if serene venue. With some 9,000 acres, the gardens are a haven away from the lights of the beachfront life and offer rich historical and cultural exhibits and insights.
To date, our getaways have all been decidedly public access, the kind that require little more than the will, some clubs and a credit card. In the Upstate however, the panel changes its tack a full 180 degrees and effectively suggests golfers consider ownership instead of mere visiting rights. The palette of courses offered by The Cliffs Communities is so broad – soon there will be a seventh – and so beautiful, particularly in the fall, that the panel could not deny its preeminence, despite its strictly private nature.
To play a Cliffs course, you must be a member, an invited guest, a prospective buyer with a genuine interest, or one of the hopefuls on the Nationwide Tour, which visits every April. To be blunt, it takes some game or some money to enjoy what developer Jim Anthony has created. An absence of crowds and a preponderance of time is what each of The Cliffs courses offers. The Cliffs at Glassy is among the most scenic in the nation. The Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards cannot be far behind. The irony of our harried urban lives is that we have made serenity and natural beauty so hard to come by. Thoreau might not have approved of the golf, but he would have admired Anthony’s eye for land on which to play it.
One Cliffs venue you can enjoy as a visitor is La Bastide Country Inn, north of Travelers Rest. Featured in this magazine in December, 2004, La Bastide evokes images of French wine country and is an excellent introduction to the standards of The Cliffs operation. The setting, the accommodations and the cuisine are all the kind you hope for when you think of spoiling yourself.
There can be no disputing the quality of the golf at Wild Dunes Resort on the Isle of Palms about 20 minutes from downtown Charleston. The Links course and the Harbor course helped confirm Tom Fazio’s reputation as one of the game’s preeminent designers. The differing nature of the two courses combines with the shifting sea breezes to create a myriad of shot challenges from day to day. The Links course is fairly open, as its name suggests, and the views of the Atlantic Ocean from holes 17 and 18 are good for the soul no matter your score. Breathe in on the Harbor course where a narrower game is required between the marshes.
At night, breathe out in an atmosphere panelist Lanny Gunter says is "filled with history, culture and even romance." "I would be willing to bet that per capita, Charleston has as many great restaurants as any city in the USA," he says. Don Shelley suggests some of the best are to be found right inside the resort, including the Sea Island Grill and Bar at the Boardwalk Inn. Shelly adds that he is partial to breakfast and lunch at the Links course clubhouse, while off the island he favors the Old Post House in Old Mt. Pleasant. Edgar’s Italian eatery inside the resort also impresses a number of panelists who have stayed at the resort.
Robbie Cowsert is an avowed fan of Wild Dunes and never more so than in the fall. "While it can still be hot in September, the rates come down after Labor Day, and the resort is usually less crowded due to school starting back," he says. "It’s not quite as hot as summer, but the ocean water is still comfortable for swimming." For all Cowsert’s zeal, we should leave the last words on Wild Dunes to fellow panelist, Fran Dunn, whose experience as a publicist shows when she says the resort offers "the best golf and best dining at your fingertips."
