My Quest to Check Off Golf's Best Experiences

I'm copying below a number of scenic pictures from around the course.  Just a beautiful experience around Caledonia.  It certainly belongs in the Top 100 among public courses, if not for the golf course (which is solid), but for the unique setting and feel of the old South.

Finally, #18 is a demanding finishing hold that requires accurate placement off the tee (driver isn't necessary) and then another accurate second shot over water that also guards the green to the right.  To make matters even more stressful, the clubhouse porch fronts this green, so you're being watched by friendly onlookers enjoying their post-round cocktails!

#16 is the second of a tough 4-hole finishing stretch.  The drive is pretty tight, and leaves a long approach carrying a pond the entire way to a tricky green.  A par here is a great score.

#17 is another par three with sand all over the place.  A word to the wise here:  long is not the place to miss.

#10 is a mid-length par 5 that plays on the opposite side of the entrance drive from #1.  A large bunker area guards the right side of the second shot and makes you think about whether you want to have a go at the green or play it safe to the wide landing area left of the bunker.

Next is #11, a shortish par three with a winding creek running the length of the hole which turns into a small pond that flanks the green to the left.  Another pretty big green that is 45 yards from front-to-back.

#13 is a sharp dogleg left that requires an iron or fairway wood off the tee to avoid going through the fairway before an approach to a green, surrounded on all sides by steep bunkers.

#3 is a sharp looking par 3 with lots of sand surrounding most of the long narrow green.  The hole location here is critical, as the green is 56 yards deep!  I wish I had some pictures of it, but I don't.

​#4 is a nice looking shortish par 4 with sand all down the right side and a large bunker protecting the left side of the green after a slight dogleg right. 

#7 presents a carry of water then sand, though neither should come into play.

#9 is just odd.  Can't really think of another explanation for it.  The routing of it is out of place, and the hole itself suggests that Strantz designed 17 great holes and didn't have enough real estate for an 18th, so he threw in #9, a par 3 that plays only 118 yards from all the way back to a wide by shallow green.  It's almost like some of the courses that throw in a 19th hole par three to settle bets....feels like that.

#1 and #2 are pretty straight-forward holes with trees and bunkers...not terribly difficult if you can keep the ball in play.  #1 from the tee is shown below.  It's a short par 4 with OB down the right side.  Driver can probably clear the traps on the left or you can lay back and still have a short shot in.

There isn't a lot to #2.  Just a medium length par 5.

So, now to the course.  As I said, Caledonia is a pretty cramped property, and the course is no different.  From all the way back, this course is a par 70 and plays only 6,526 yards, but with ample trees, sand, and water, its demanding enough from a shot-making perspective to still play to a rating/slope of 72.1/140.  The tees all have duck themes, so the tips are actually the "Pintail" tees.  I played from the "Mallard" tees from 6,121, which still play to a respectable 69.9/134 rating/slope for a par 70.  The tee markers are decoy ducks!

My trip around Caledonia was as part of the Golf Channel Amateur Tour, hence the signage in some of the pictures.  This was a great weekend from me, as I actually won the tournament with a final round 78 after posting an 81 at nearby True Blue.Back to the golf course though.  The last thing I'll point out before showing some of the course is some of the wildlife.  More accurately, the alligators.  I've played many courses in the Carolina's and Florida and I've never played a course with not only the number of Alligators, but HUGE ones.

Next, when you go around Caledonia, you can't help but notice the fantastic gardening and landscaping throughout the course.  Trees, flowers, shrubs, bushes....beauty everywhere.  I played the course twice in the middle of March in 2012, and flowers were in bloom everywhere I looked!

Once you arrive at the clubhouse, you'll note a few things.  First, there is no driving range at Caledonia, because simply, there is not enough land.  This course is stuffed into a very small property and the cozy nature of the course is part of its charm.  There is a nice short-game area and putting green, but if you want to hit balls before the round, you need to go elsewhere....sister club True Blue is a couple miles down the road.


Another thing you'll notice as you drive up to the first tee is that you'll pass an old shack.  This shack is famous for a gentleman who occupies it during some of the year to offer players complementary fish chowder....a must try!

Caledonia is the work of the late Mike Strantz, designer of courses like Tobacco Road, Tot Hill Farm, and nearby True Blue.  I've been fortunate enough to have played all three of these tracks, after which I can say how sad it is that Mr. Strantz passed away at the young age of 50 in 2005.


Caledonia was opened for play in 1994, but I would have believed that it had opened in 1904.  The course is a natural fit for the land, and the feel is go cozy and comfortable that you feel like you're in a different world.  While Pawley's Island is so close to Myrtle Beach, the feel is of a classy old plantation of the South.  In fact, Caledonia was built on an old rice plantation that produced more than 700,000 pounds of rice annually during its peak production in the mid-1800's.  After transitioning to new owners in 1971, this land was used more recently as a hunting and fishing club.  To this day, this group gets together each Thursday at the Fish Club to continue their tradition.  Upon entrance to the club, you're greeted by century-old live oaks with Spanish moss draped from their age-old limbs.

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club

Pawley's Island, South Carolina




Checked off the Bucket List March 16, 2012



Golf Magazine:

#27, Top 100 Courses You Can Play(2012)

#3, Best Public Golf Courses in South Carolina (2012)


Golf Digest:

#97, America's 100 Greatest Public Courses (2013-2014)

#22, Best in the State of South Carolina (2013-2014)