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.