Review: Charleston Municipal Golf Course (Part 2)

It's time to look at the back nine at Charleston Municipal, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a short par 5 that quite a few people can actually reach in two, since it's only 465 yards. However, there are some external factors that may give you pause. If you thought the parking lot on the last hole was close, then get ready for the major four-lane road lurking about 20 yards left of the fairway's edge. It's about as nerve-wracking as that tee shot on 18 at Leatherstocking, since anything more than the slightest hook could easily bring the traffic into and out of southern Charleston to a standstill. Oh, and there's another smaller road and houses right, and they're also within range of a big slice. I won't say the fairway is narrow in between, but it's not the widest corridor in the world either. A pair of bunkers that cut into the fairway means there's even less room to work with. If you manage to get through all of that, you'll have a mid or long iron into a narrow two-tiered green flanked by sand. I wouldn't blame anyone though for going long iron, long iron, then wedge to avoid the road. I can't believe the only obstacle keeping balls away from the road is a few trees; speaking of Leatherstocking, I thought the third hole was too close to a road, but that's tiny little Cooperstown, New York, and this is a city of some significance. It may not look good, but a big net would be really nice.

The tenth hole. The major road is just to the left of those trees.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole kicks off a stretch of holes that plays close to the Stono River and is much more open in nature. It's also the beginning of a five-hole stretch of templates. This is a Redan, and while it's shorter than most at 175 yards, it makes up for that in other ways. The right side of the green is incredibly built up over the left side, to the tune of 4-5 feet, and this isn't a particularly big green to start with. If you miss left, it's fine; you can throw a chip or bunker shot past the hole and it'll roll back down nicely. But if you miss right (there's more room between the green and the pond then it looks from the tee) you are completely and utterly screwed. Beyond sheer dumb luck, there is no way to get a chip to stop on that green from the right side. You'll either end up in the bunker left or, if you don't want a bunker shot, you'll chip toward the front of the green and leave a relatively straightforward bump-and-run from the fairway short. I understand that golf doesn't always have to be fair, and that fairness as a concept is overrated. Still, it should be even a little bit possible to get up and down, and it just isn't if you go right here. You might as well just take an unplayable and drop it on the green; you'll save everyone a lot of time and you'll save yourself from a massive headache.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is a mid-length par 4 that swings left around a pond (which is a new feature, added in to improve drainage to the surrounding holes) in a Cape manner. The concept is simple: the more of the pond you carry on the tee shot, the shorter your second shot will be. It's especially challenging when the hole plays into a brisk sea breeze, which effectively adds 30 or so yards to what the scorecard says. Just don't play too conservatively, or you'll bring a big tree in the middle of the fairway into play. If you avoid the water, you'll have a wedge or short iron into the green, which has deep bunkers on each side and fall away into marshland behind.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that's technically a Road hole, but that Road bunker isn't really the primary feature here. While a lot of the back nine has a very seaside look, this is the only hole that really brings the Stono River and the marshland into play. You have two big options off of the tee: Stay left of the interior fairway bunkers, which gives the river a wide berth but leaves you with a terrible angle over the deep Road bunker, or challenge the bunkers and the marsh, which will leave you with a much easier second shot. I think this is the best hole at Charleston Muni, not only because of the setting and the strategy but also because the green is appropriately sized. There's undulation and certainly plenty of trouble around it, but it's also a reasonably comfortable target.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

Looking out over the river.

The fourteenth hole, sadly, is a return to a green that's too small. It's a shame, because I like short par 3s, especially when it's a Short hole. The Short at Keney Park was good, but it didn't really follow the template. This one is closer, with the outer edge of the green being significantly higher than the center, and with sand, water, and a road surrounding the green. But just try to purposely get your approach onto the right level. We're talking about 20, maybe 30 feet of width here, and even a professional golfer would have trouble doing that, especially when you factor in the omnipresent sea breezes. It's not the worst offender, but this one would be great if the green was 50% bigger. 

The fourteenth hole.

The fifteenth hole is a short par 5 that's within reach of quite a few people, but that pond right is definitely a threat, especially since there's a wide tree taking up a big chunk of the left side. Play too safely and you could end up right behind that. However, having to lay up may be a blessing in disguise, since it makes approaching some hole locations at least mildly possible. We have our final template hole here, and it's one you don't see often: the Maiden. It's a similar green complex to the Double Plateau, but the plateaus are small and separate, and when those hole locations are on those little plateaus, well, good luck getting a long iron or fairway wood onto the right level. Frankly, good luck even getting a wedge on them. Yes, once again, the green is just a bit too small, the swamp lurks right right, and the bunkers are not good places to be. It's almost a really good hole, but not quite, like so many other holes here.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green. Yes, that is a virtually impossible hole location.

The sixteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that's nowhere near as complicated as some of the holes here. The tee shot is fairly simple, with a pair of fairway bunkers right and a wide overhanging tree left providing a bit of challenge on the tee shot. The green is protected by a bunker and a pond right, and while it's not a particularly big green, at the very least it's not a very undulating green. 

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green. The hole is unfortunately placed perilously close to a sloping edge.

The seventeenth hole is a short, almost driveable par 4 that actually has a bit of elevation change. Yeah, it's only 10-15 feet, but it feels like a minor mountain after 16 holes of basically nothing. Two bunkers narrow the fairway where most people would aim their drives, so to avoid that you'll either need to blast over, a shot many people don't have, or stay short, which will leave quite a long second. You'll also want to favor the right side side, flirting with the bunkers even more, since a bunker protects the left side of the green. While you can fire away with driver, this hole is similar to 10 in that there are roads both left and right, with the one left being the four-lane road. Now, I swear this is the last time I'll say this, but the green is once again too small for the undulation it contains. This one's pretty bad too, the hole placement we saw was almost impossible to reasonably get at no matter where you approached from; you'd just end up in a little hollow that took up the middle portion of the green. It may only be 315 yards, but this isn't as realistic a birdie chance as you might think.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is 400 yards, and compared with quite a few of the holes that came before, it's pretty mundane. The roads from the previous hole are still around, but there's a bit more width this time, and otherwise there isn't a huge amount of trouble on the tee shot. The green has bunkers around it, but it's pretty big and the contours aren't as extreme as some others. If the hole isn't all the way in the back like it was for us, I'd even say this is a good opportunity to finish with a birdie.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

You may have picked up on the fact that I have quite a few thoughts about Charleston Muni. And before I get into them, let me just say this: I like the course. I did, it's got a lot of good things going for it. It's never boring and it's a muni, so that means everyone can play it. It's completely walkable and while I was out I was thrilled to see that the vast majority of people out on the course were doing just that. Outside of the brief time when carts weren't allowed last year, I've never seen so many people walking. Plus, if you live in Charleston and you do walk, the most you'll pay for a round here is $25. That's very good value. Golf needs more courses closely connected with their communities, and I think Charleston Muni does a great job of that.

I do have some concerns, however. A big one is the greens. Those big slopes are fine, but you need space to accommodate them, and several greens just don't have them. It's a bit unfortunate, because the course has six sets of tees that range from 6,565 yards all the way down to 2,735 yards. That's an extremely beginner-friendly length; I've seen courses have their front tees at 2,700 yards for 9 holes. But once you get to the greens, it becomes extremely beginner unfriendly. To compare them to what I've seen before, the greens at Charleston Muni are sort of a blend between Keney Park and Copake. They have the size of Copake's green but the undulation of Keney Park's. However, that combination doesn't really work. Copake had some really tough greens; they were small and firm, and it was a tough task chipping onto them. But when I couldn't pull a shot off there, it always felt it was because I hadn't hit a good enough shot. The greens there are tough, but they're fairly simple. There are no complex 3-foot ridges or tiers there. Then there's Keney Park, which had greens with just as much slope, but it made sure the greens were sized appropriately to fit those undulations. The Redan at Keney Park wasn't completely impossible if you missed right, for example, whereas Charleston Muni's is.

My other major concern isn't a design choice, but a logistical one. The course was absolutely 100% full when my brother and I were there, and it was a Tuesday. Tee times open up at 7 a.m. a week in advance; when I got onto the system to make our tee time, it was about 7:02, and half the tee times were already gone. Obviously, a full golf course isn't a problem per se, but the effect it has on the conditions is. This place reopened at the end of 2020, and we played it about 3 months later. It did not look like a golf course that had just reopened. The conditions weren't bad, but they were a long way from pristine. It may be warm enough for golf year-round down there, but the bermuda grass still goes dormant in the winter, and it's taking constant damage. I think it was a mistake for them to reopen when they did. They should have waited for spring and the grass to start growing again. I don't know what it's like now, but I fear conditions have only gone downhill, and in a few years Charleston Muni will be right back at square one.

At this point, I think it's pretty clear how I stand on Charleston Muni in relation to its older cousin up in Hartford. I think Keney Park is the superior Raynor-style renovation in basically every way. It's more fun for the average player, it's in better shape, it's less beholden to the templates while still respecting them, it's got much better land despite not having a seaside location, and it's much more park-like and separate from Hartford. There's no hooking drives onto a four-lane road at Keney Park. Also, it's cheaper if you're from out of town. It may be $25 at most for Charleston residents, but if you don't live in the general urban area, it's $60, and that's kind of a lot for what you get. All in all, I don't regret making the drive down to see the place, but I don't think it's worth it for anyone else to do it if you're in Myrtle Beach, and I have no particular interest in playing there again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Maple Coffee Cream

Brewed by: Edmund's Oast Brewing Company, Charleston, South Carolina

Description (from the website): "Our 5% brown ale made with maple syrup, coffee, and lactose." (Not a very flowery description there.)

Would I buy it again?: Since I'm reviewing a golf course from Charleston, why not review a beer from Charleston at the same time? This was a very good beer, I've become a fan of brown ales that sort of masquerade as stouts. You get all the fun flavors, but it's a lot less filling that some stouts can be. The maple is there, but it doesn't overwhelm the beer. It's too bad I'll never find this up in Maryland.

Review: Charleston Municipal Golf Course (Part 1)

You would think that, with there being so many golf courses in Myrtle Beach, my brother and I could keep ourselves in Myrtle Beach over the course of a few days. But no, we just had to make the 2-plus-hour trip down to Charleston. Though to be fair, it was raining in Myrtle Beach the day we went down, but not in Charleston, so it worked out well enough. Though, to be fair, I wanted to play this course anyway, and there's a good reason for that.

Charleston Muni is an old golf course, built in 1929 by ... some guy. No one special in this case, and the golf course sort of reflected this. It wasn't bad, but it was a bit bland, and there were always big drainage problems with it. It was entering the classic public golf death spiral of losing money and deteriorating conditions when the city of Charleston stepped up and footed the bill for a full-scale renovation. The architect they got for the job, Troy Miller, decided to redo the course in the style of Seth Raynor. Now, while Raynor is much more known for his work up north, two of his best courses – Yeamans Hall and the Country Club of Charleston – are located in this neck of the woods. So the idea of giving the average Charleston golfer access to a Raynor-style design made a lot of sense. 

The new and improved course opened at the very end of 2020, and reviews seemed to be pretty good. I couldn't resist going down to see it while we were in the general vicinity, since I really wanted to make a comparison with the other Raynor-ized old municipal golf course that I've played: Keney Park. Which would be better? Let's find out. 

The first hole does an excellent job of setting the tone for the round. It's a mid-length par 4 with almost no elevation change at all, except for at the green, which we'll get to in a second. This is the Lowcountry, and unlike the courses at Myrtle Beach, which disguise their flat land with blatantly artificial humps and mounds, Charleston Muni makes no attempt to hide the landscape. This is a flat golf course, with the disadvantages and potential advantages that come with it. And so the tee shot on this first hole is pretty easy. Just don't go into the driving range left or the houses right (and there's plenty of space) and you'll be fine. The second shot is more interesting, thanks to the green. We get our first template hole right off the bat in the form of a Double Plateau. The back and front left sections of the green are significantly higher than the front right and middle section, and if you're not on the right level, or if you have to chip from the left side, you won't be in for a fun time.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green. Now, the elevation change is extreme within the green, but the flags are shorter than usual, so it's not quite as extreme as it looks.

The second hole is a mid-length par 5 at 520 yards, and something to notice when you step onto the tee is that there's actually a small pond just right of the fairway that definitely comes into play on the drive. It's not blind, but it's also not the most obvious hazard in the world. But you don't want to go down the right side anyway, because you'll be partially blocked out by trees. So you'll need two strong shots to get to the green in under regulation since you'll have to go the long way around the hole. But it's not an easy second shot, since the green is small and surrounded by sand. It's a tricky green to approach, since it's elevated as well, but it's definitely easier the closer you are.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a shortish par 4 where you need to make a decision off of the tee. A narrow ditch cuts across the fairway at the dogleg right where you might want to land a long iron or fairway wood. The hole sort of invites a nonaggressive play because of the big dogleg and the trees left. But because of the ditch, you either need to lay back further than you might want or go for a big draw around the trees. Do that you'll just have a little wedge left; otherwise it'll be a longer wedge or short iron to a fairly large green that falls away on most sides.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is the first par 3, and Charleston Muni's next template hole. If you know Raynor, you probably know the par 3s by heart: Redan, Biarritz, Eden, Short. This course does not disappoint in that regard, and first up is the Eden. It's 180 yards, and everything you want is here. The deep bunkers left and right, the steeply sloped green from back to front, the incredible difficulty of recovering from past the green. I don't know if other Edens have noticeable false fronts, but this one does. And let me tell you, when the hole is cut about a foot from the top of that false front, it's very difficult hitting putts hard enough from past the flag. It was honestly a little too extreme for my taste. A few more feet of space would have been nice.

The fourth hole.

The fifth hole is a mid-length par 4 with a fairway bunker on the right side of the fairway, right where you'd want a drive to end up. The green has a bunker left, meaning that it's better approached from the right. This is also the first time that one of Charleston Muni's shortcomings comes into play: Some of the greens are just too small. This one in particular has a big chunk of the right-hand side at a much lower level than the rest, with the higher portion forming a sort of C around the lower section. That's fine in theory, but the problem is that the green is barely 20 yards wide, and that C narrows down to barely more than 5 yards in the middle. When the hole is cut in the middle and you're unfortunate enough to end up in that bunker, it is essentially impossible to stop the golf ball on the upper level, and so it runs off the green on the other side. Then you've got an incredibly difficult chip where your only real play is to leave on the lower level and try to two putt from down below. An aggressive chip runs the very high risk of going back in the bunker, and then you get to repeat the process all over again. It's fine for a recovery to be difficult, but this goes too far in my opinion.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green. Don't miss left.

The sixth hole is another template, and it's a fun one. The drive is pretty simple, but the second shot is where things get interesting. It's a Punchbowl, and quite an extreme one at that. The edges of the green are several feet above the middle of the green, and as such golf balls will funnel in toward the flag. Even those deep bunkers are relatively easy to get out of, since all you have to do is get out and the slope will do the rest. If you really want to have some fun, you can use those big slopes on putts as well. Go ahead, aim in basically a 90 degree angle away from the hole, it'll come right back. I just wish the green was a little bit bigger; it would make things even more fun.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a mildly reachable par 5 at 515 yards, but I wouldn't recommend going for it. The fairway is cut in two by a pond at around 325 yards from the tee, so that's not a huge problem for most (unless you catch one of those trees and can't make the carry on the second shot), but it is something to keep in mind if it's playing downwind. The second shot, if you want to go for the green, is to an elevated green fronted by three deep bunkers. That's why I recommend laying up. Going for the green in two is just asking for trouble, since the green is once again not incredibly large. It's much easier coming at this one with a wedge.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green (sort of).

The eighth hole is a long 220 yard par 3, and you might know what that means. This is a Biarritz, though sadly the signature swale is both not as extreme as I would have liked (one of the few times this course takes it easy with its design features) and isn't part of the green either. Honestly, it really doesn't come into play, so which makes the real trouble on this hole the narrow green and the bunkers that line it. Plus there's a pond lurking left, and I got very lucky not to go in that. The green has a bit of a left to right tilt, so that makes chips from the left tougher as well. This is a tough hole, but as we'll see next week, it's not the toughest par 3 Charleston Muni has to offer.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green. Sadly, the Biarritz swale isn't part of the green.

The ninth hole is the longest par 4 on the course by a considerable margin (and actually the same length as the next hole, which is a par 5), and the biggest hazard on the drive is the parking lot over to the left. It can absolutely be reached, as I found out when I hooked a driver and found my golf ball sitting underneath a pickup truck. So yeah, if you park close the ninth fairway, don't be surprised if you end up with a suspiciously golf ball–sized dent in your car. But if you do things correctly and hit the fairway, you'll have a mid or long iron into a fairly large square green with a fair amount of undulation protected by a couple of bunkers.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.

Beer of the Week

The beer: The PastryArchy Banana Bread Pudding

Brewed by: DuClaw Brewing Company, Rosedale, Maryland

Description (from the website): "Sip this banana-forward banana bread pudding delight & your senses will be enveloped in aromas of banana, chocolate, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg & confection. Delivered on a backdrop of a classic spiced Hefeweizen, it’s light-to medium-bodied & slightly sweet. Enjoy in traditional Hefeweizen vase, glassware of your choice, or straight from the can!"

Would I buy it again?: I was really intrigued by the combination of things going on with this beer, and that overcame my hesitation with DuClaw beers, which tend to lack subtlety. I was prepared to not like this, but actually, it's pretty good. The banana bread strikes a good balance with the hefeweizen, and while I wouldn't exactly call it easy to drink, it's not heavy either. I would definitely buy it again.

Review: Wild Wing Golf Club - Avocet (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine at Wild Wing, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is not a particularly long par 4 at 415 yards, but it's a tough one. The fairway is narrow, and with mounding left and a massive bunker to the right, there's really not very much room to work with out there. To makes things even more difficult, the green is best approached from the right, thanks to another big bunker just left and short, which means flirting with that big bunker on the drive. The green is kind of domed, making it that much tougher to hit. Get your par and get out on this hole.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a pretty short par 5 that reachable in two for quite a few people. Unfortunately it's also pretty boring for the first 400 yards. There are no hazards save for trees on both sides, and while the fairway isn't super wide, it's not narrow either. So basically all you're doing is trying to get far enough to leave a good shot into the green. The second shot (or third if you're not a long hitter) is more interesting, as the green is long and thin, angled diagonally, and sloped in such a way that it sort of goes in waves. There's also water front left and a big bunker right. I like the green, I just wish there was more to do on the hole before that.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a tough 210 yard par 3 that plays as a sort of reverse Redan. The big slope isn't there, but the green is angled in the right way, and that big bunker certainly discourages direct play at the hole. It's not the best Redan I've ever played, but it wasn't the worst, and of the two that I played down in South Carolina, this one was my favorite. (We'll get to the second one next month.)

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4, but it's kind of an interesting one. The fairway's very wide at first, but it narrows between mounding and a big bunker right where a good drive would end up. That means you either need to hit into a pretty small space or leave yourself a long second shot. And you don't really want that, since the green is undulating and semihidden behind a ridge and cluster of bunkers. It also has a bit of a false front, and there's some massive mounding behind. Not the most natural-looking thing in the world, but it certainly stands out.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a short, drivable par 4 that I'd say is the best hole at Wild Wing. It's only 285 yards from the second set up, so it's reachable on the drive for a fair chunk of golfers. To get there, you have to carry 230 yards or so of water and then a line of bunkers. It sounds tough, but it's definitely doable. And you'll probably want to, because playing this hole the long way mean's you'll be adding a 100 yards onto the length of the hole, and you don't have a lot of space left either. The green is big, but it's undulating and there are four bunkers around the back, two of which really come into play if you go left. This is a hole where you're really encouraged to go for the green, and if you find you don't have the length for that, you're probably playing from too far back.

The fourteenth hole.

Looking back on the fourteenth hole.

The fifteenth hole is another short par 5, even shorter than the eleventh, and this one is a lot better. For one thing, there are three bunkers in play on the drive, so that makes this hole automatically superior. If you negotiate those bunkers, you can go for the green in two, but there's sand and water short and left, and the green is noticeably elevated above the fairway to the right. If you lay up out to the right, avoiding the water, you'll still have that abrupt rise to deal with, and the green is significantly shallower from that angle as well. Much like the previous hole, the golfer is definitely encouraged to go with the hero shot.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a long par 4, stretching 445 yards from the blue tees, but it's not a particularly difficult hole. The fairway itself isn't very wide, but the playing corridor in general is, and with only two small bunkers on the right side coming into play on the drive, it's a pretty simple drive. The green is small and fairly narrow, with a big bunker right, but there are definitely tougher approaches on this course, and the green itself is one of the flattest at Wild Wing.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is 180 yards, and the second half of the double green we encountered all the way back at the sixth. As such, there's quite a lot of green around, but it's long, not deep. Actually, with a marsh short and a couple of bunkers long, there's really not a lot of room to work with, making this a pretty tough mid iron. There is room to bail out right, however, if you're not comfortable going directly at the flag. Just be aware of the various ridges that run through the green, making putts from the wrong section quite tricky.

The seventeenth hole.

The eighteenth hole is a bit disappointing. It's the classic long par 4 with water in play on both the drive and second shot. It's a bit like the sixth, where the fairway is pretty narrow and the water is left, but here there's a group of bunkers right and few trees, so if anything this hole is a bit more forgiving. Should you thread the needle, you'll have a short iron into a narrow green that slopes sharply from back to front and protected by a bunker left, as well as the last bit of the pond.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

Looking back down the eighteenth.

I don't think Wild Wing is going to win any awards for being the best golf course ever. Nor will it fool anyone into thinking the big mounds are natural. Of course it won't, this is Myrtle Beach. There's nothing natural about any of these courses. This is the home of generic, cookie-cutter golf, but Wild Wing is definitely not generic. This is a good golf course, full stop. Not my personal favorite, not even close, and not in my top 10 or 20, but it's a solid course nonetheless. It's a good sort of filler course, something you play before or after you play something you're looking forward to. It's not difficult, the water is fairly minimal (for Myrtle Beach), and it's also relatively cheap by Myrtle Beach standards. It also wouldn't be too difficult a walk, though my brother and I just took the cart. I'll also say this: If I lived in Myrtle Beach, I would strongly consider this as my home course. It's a golf course I could play every day and be fairly happy doing so.