Review: Legends Golf Resort - Heathland (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine at Legends - Heathland, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a fairly long par 4, playing nearly 440 yards. The fairway doglegs pretty significantly from right to left, and is narrowed in the landing zone by a cluster of three bunkers left and tall grass right. Obviously, you can play short of that into the wider part of the fairway, but you'll be left with a 200-yard second shot, which is less than ideal. The second shot is pretty wide open though, with just one small bunker front left, and the green itself is on the larger and flatter side.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a mid-length par 4 that features a bit of visual deception on the tee shot. If you look at the right side, it appears the three fairway bunkers are extremely close together and that there's not much room to hit your drive. In reality, however, the first bunker is separated from the other two by more than a hundred yards, and in actuality none of them come into play. Not by much, anyway. The fairway is actually pretty wide open. A solid driver will leave just a wedge or short iron into a long, narrow green that's surrounded by fairway. So, despite the drive that looks quite difficult, the eleventh is really an excellent birdie opportunity.  

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a fun little, not quite short par 3, playing 160 yards over a creek. The water, happily, isn't in play unless you do something really bad off the tee, but the two bunkers (which look very good carved into the fairway) left of the green are. The green also slopes significantly from back right to front left, so if you can, it's best to be below the hole. It's nothing revolutionary, but the hole looks really good, and I like it quite a lot.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is the only par 5 on the back nine, and thankfully, it's a good one. Certainly miles ahead of the seventh. The tee shot isn't too hard, as the fairway gets very wide once you get past the fairway bunker, but technically there is O.B. left and water right. Things get much more interesting on the second shot, as the stream from the previous hole cuts across the fairway here at a diagonal, ensuring that no matter how good or bad your drive was, you'll have a decision to make on the second. Do you take the risk and carry as much water as you can to give yourself a short third? Do you play safely out right and leave a full wedge for the third? Or do you play even safer and stay short of the creek, leaving a long iron into the green? The decision is made a bit less portentous by the green being basically unguarded, so even if you do have 200 yards left into the green, you do still have a decent chance of hitting it. Still, this is a good hole and a fine example of how to use water in a strategic, nonpunitive manner.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 and a bit incongruous on a golf course that otherwise pretty solidly embraces strategic design. This is essentially target golf; hit the fairway, then hit the green. It is a little more nuanced than that, as you do get a slightly better angle if you head down the left side on the drive, which is closer to the O.B. line. However, this green's pretty big, so you're not exactly punished if you hit the drive down the right. Sure, that front bunker is big and intimidating, but there is space to work with and this is not a very long hole. Even if you use a 3 wood, you should have a short iron second at most.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is 345 yards, making it a solidly short but not driveable par 4. The decision to be made on the tee shot is pretty clear: Either challenge the bunkers and sandy waste in the corner of the dogleg, leaving just a pitch into a huge, undulating green, or bail out right, giving yourself a full, potentially blind wedge for the second. It's not the most subtle hole in the world, but the thrill of hitting a big drive over all that sand is intense. It's no less dramatic than the equivalent carry over a pond or lake, but without the all-or-nothing prospect of losing your golf ball. You can absolutely recover from a failed attempt to clear the sand; I did just that and still made par. If it was water, I'd be staring double bogey in the face. In fact, the golfer is more likely to attempt something unwise on this hole precisely because they have the ability to recover, and that's what makes this hole so fun.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth is a 460-yard par 4, and is Heathland's most memorable and probably best hole. Alternate fairways don't always work; it's very easy to have one of the options be clearly superior, making the other fairway mostly a waste of space. And while that seems to be the case here, as the left-hand fairway is pretty clearly the inferior option, it's not so clear cut. The right-hand fairways narrows as it goes along, bringing the water more into play the longer you want to hit your drive. And while the left fairway offers an inferior angle, you can still hit driver down the left side and leave a short iron into the green. You'll just have to carry a large bunker framed by railroad ties (Tom Doak did work for Pete Dye, so it's not as odd a reference as you might think) on the second shot, which you won't have to do if you hit your drive down the more dangerous right side. 

After all that, the green itself seems almost like an afterthought, and while it doesn't offer anything that Heathland hasn't already presented, it is a challenging and undulating green, and it nicely caps off a very interesting hole.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is the longest of Heathland's par 3s, playing nearly 220 yards. The green is very large, especially when it comes to width. It's also very undulating, with multiple distinct sections to it. There are three bunkers around the green, one on each side and a larger one in the middle, positioned about 15 yards short of the green. All this combines to make a hole that surely plays very differently day to day, depending on where the hole is cut. The central bunker is likely always a factor, but it becomes much more so when the flag is in the center of the green, like it was for our round. The two bunkers on each side were a peripheral hazard for us, but when the flag is out left, suddenly the left bunker becomes the main threat while the right bunker is completely irrelevant, and vice versa. So, despite having minimal trouble and being incredibly wide, this is actually a pretty clever hole. 

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is not the longest par 4 in the world at 430 yards, but what it lacks in relative distance it more than makes up for in bunkering. This is by far the most well-bunkered hole on the course, with seven lining the landing area. You can, of course, lay up short, but you'll have 200 yards on the second shot. That's not ideal in the best of situations, but even more so here as the final green is both slightly elevated and surrounded by seven more bunkers. Theoretically, you could hit it with a long iron, but practically ... good luck. Oh, and this is also a tricky green to putt, with multiple ridges running through it. If you want to close out the round well, you need to challenge the bunkers on the drive, and if you can pull it off, the green is fairly receptive to short irons and wedges. 

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

If there's one thing about the Heathland course I can say with absolute certainty, it's that it's a whole lot better than Moorland next door. Okay, that's hardly fair. Heathland is a very good golf course, with the closing stretch from 15 onward in particular being particularly strong. And while I'm not sure it really captures the essence of British heathland golf, it does feel distinct from typical Myrtle Beach fare. There's minimal presence of the classic Lowcountry hazards: swamp, water, and housing; if you make a big number, it's because you took that number of shots, not because you took three penalty strokes. 

Of course, you probably won't be making many big numbers, because Heathland is, quite frankly, a pretty easy golf course. Sure, golf is golf, and golf is never easy, but it does feel like Heathland is fighting with one hand tied behind its back. Look at holes like 4, 7, 10, and 11; they all feel like they're missing something. Four and seven? Missing strategy on the tee shot. Ten and eleven? Greens that are super easy to hit. This relative lack of difficulty is good for pace of play; our round here took nearly an hour less than it did at Moorland – and rest assured, both courses were equally packed – but it's less good for making Heathland feel special. Tom Doak absolutely could have built a better, tougher, and more interesting golf course, but that wasn't what he was told to build. He was told to build a good course, not a great one. And that's what he did.  

In the end, Legends - Heathland is a solid option for the average Myrtle Beach golfer, relatively flattering on the ego, and not horrendously overpriced. Yeah, $120 is a lot, but people pay that same price to play Moorland, which is worse, and it's significantly less than Myrtle Beach's other heavy hitters. Just don't come into the round expecting something along the lines of Pacific Dunes, Ballyneal, or Tara Iti, and you won't be disappointed.

Review: Legends Golf Resort - Heathland (Part 1)

Back in my review of the Dye course at Barefoot, I mentioned that we had a fourth round planned at the Heathland course at Legends, but that it got "rained out" – it was supposed to rain, but never did, so our round got canceled for nothing. Obviously, this was quite annoying, and while playing this course wasn't the primary reason for choosing to return to Myrtle Beach, it was certainly a factor. And joy of joys, the weather cooperated.

The main reason I wanted to see Heathland is simple: It was designed by Tom Doak, arguably the best architect out there today. I've never played a Doak design before – the closest I've gotten is Atlantic City, which he restored/redesigned – so quite obviously, I was quite excited to see what he did with essentially featureless South Carolina land. Of course, we need to temper expectations. This is no Pacific Dunes or Tara Iti. It's Myrtle Beach, and Heathland was built in Mr. Doak's early days as a solo architect, back before his name had any cachet or relevance. It's not going to set the world on fire. But can it stand out among the crowd at Myrtle Beach? Let's find out.

The first hole is 450 yards, which sounds fairly intimidating for an opening hole. And while this is certainly a long par 4, it's not a difficult one. The fairway is very wide – particularly if you're not a long hitter – and there's not an abundance of trouble. Yes, there are dense woods on both sides, but there's plenty of space between the trees, and the fairway bunker visible from the tee is more directional than an actual hazard. And the second shot is also fairly straightforward, being a short or mid iron to a large, bunkerless green. Now, the green is far from flat, and there's some noticeable bumps that you don't want to be on the wrong side of, but it definitely feels a bit less spicy and extreme than it could have been, considering the absence of any real trouble on this hole. A nod toward reality, I think; a true Tom Doak green would have the average Myrtle Beach golfer three and four putting the majority of the time, and you don't want golfers backing up on the first hole.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is 100 yards shorter than the previous hole, but it's a lot more interesting. The fairway is initially very wide open, but beyond 250 yards it gets squeezed between trees jutting in from the left and a cluster of mounding and bunkers right. The initial reaction is to play conservatively with a long iron or wood. And while this will leave you a full wedge into the green (so you can stop the ball quickly), the second shot will be at least partially blind, if not fully. Using driver gives you a different challenge; the angle of approach is much better, as the green is oriented nearly perpendicular to the fairway, but you'll have a more awkward partial wedge to a green surrounded by several bunkers, and the undulations of the green itself demand precision if you want a decent chance at making birdie. In the end, both the conservative and aggressive tee shot options have their merits and drawbacks, and I don't think either is superior to the other. And that's a sign of a well-made short par 4.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is a fairly long, uphill par 3, playing 210 yards to a semiblind green that looks like it's tucked behind a deep, intimidating bunker. And it is ... sort of. We've got a bit of visual deception here, as that bunker is actually 10-15 yards short of the green. I won't say it's not an obstacle at all, but there's more room to miss this green than it looks. Actually, this green is pretty open and quite large, so while it's easy to hit, two putting is a different story. Definitely not one of the course's better holes though.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole feels a little weird, like it's missing something. At 385 yards, it's not a long hole, and the tee shot presents very little challenge. The fairway is wide, with just a few patches of tall grass to provide any strategic interest. In fact, the best way to play this hole is to ignore the fairway entirely, playing over those grassy patches directly toward the green. There's a large area between this hole and the seventh that's maintained as rough, and if you can find this spot, you're actually rewarded with the best angle into the green. If you play out right onto the fourth's actual fairway, the green is angled about 45 degrees left to right, and as it's slightly elevated, that means wedge shots need to be pretty precise. It really does feel like the direct route was meant to be some sort of alternate fairway, perhaps with some additional bunkering thrown in to make that route less appealing. I don't know the history, that's just my gut feeling. But as it stands now, you get both a better angle and shorter second shot if you purposely miss the fairway left, and that doesn't seem right to me.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is the first par 5 at Heathland, playing 540 yards down an ever-narrowing fairway. Initially, the playing corridor is enormous, but by the time you reach the green? Less so. To provide some challenge on the drive, there's an interior fairway bunker, and while you'd expect that going left of that bunker is the better option to go for the green in two, the reality is that overhanging trees prevent you from getting a clear look. So while you do get a much shorter shot, you'll either have to accept a lay-up or play a big draw/hook around the trees. Playing right of the internal fairway bunker leaves the green basically out of range, but you don't have to do anything fancy on the second shot. Just keep it in the fairway, and the third is pretty straightforward. The green has some back-to-front slope, but lacks any significant undulations, so it's just kind of there. The tee shot is promising, but the last 200 yards of this hole are less than inspiring.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a long 460-yard par 4 that feels very out of place. Every other hole, save for the last half of the previous hole, is extremely wide open, with very few trees in play. Even the first hole, which is generally tree lined, has a large amount of space to work with. This hole does not. Dense, unplayable woods hem in the fairway on both sides, and the fairway itself is not particularly generous. Also, you can't even really see the fairway, thanks to some overgrown shrubbery in the marshy area in front of the tee. Hit a solid drive, and you'll have a mid or long iron into the green, which is mercifully at ground level, so it's easy to run lower shots in. I do like the green, it really does feel like part of the fairway, and it's got plenty of subtle, interesting undulation to it. And it's not like the hole's really that narrow. I've played far worse. Like I said, the sixth only feels awkward when compared with the rest of the course. In isolation, it's not terrible.

The sixth hole. Yeah, the bushes in front of the tee could use a trim.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is also a bit awkward, but for very different reasons than the previous hole. At 475 yards, this is a very short par 5 (just 15 yards longer than the previous hole, which is a par 4). As such, you might expect the seventh to feature some sort of significant hazard. A risk to balance out the potential for an eagle. But no, this fairway is as wide open as a fairway could possibly be. There aren't even any bunkers that really come into play. Just a hundred yards of grass. The green is a bit more interesting, there's a deep bunker left and the green is split down the middle by a massive tier, but it's just not enough to give the seventh any meaningful challenge. Especially when the flag's cut in the front and you can technically play the hole without having to deal with the tier at all. Really, the only pressure this hole applies is psychological: You feel very silly if you don't make birdie, because really, it doesn't get much simpler than this.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a short par 3 and a welcome return to form after a few shaky holes. The green is partially blind, tucked behind a small hill and a bunker that looks more threatening than it actually is. There's plenty of green that you can't see, but because it's invisible, the golfer's eye is drawn out right. And while there's nothing wrong with playing out right, you're leaving yourself an unnecessarily long putt. This hole actually reminds me pretty strongly of the 17th hole at Atlantic City, which makes a lot of sense; that hole is a Doak original and his redesign occurred just a few years after he did Heathland. I think that hole is a little better, but this hole's pretty solid too.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is 440 yards and plays to an awkwardly offset fairway that also doglegs from right to left around a grassy native area. The ideal line off the tee flirts with this tall grass; bailing out further left leaves you a longer, more uphill shot from a worse angle. Stay right, and while you'll have to go over a group of bunkers, you will be working more directly along the axis of the green, rather than diagonal to it. The green itself is quite large, but it's full of undulation, and the bunker short left is very deep as well. Not a place you want to be. Then again, the bunker might be preferable to the alternative fate should you miss left, as the fairway slopes away pretty hard. A shot that only misses the green by a few feet could easily find itself 15-20 yards away.

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.

Review: Schoolhouse Nine

Two-thirds of the way through 2023 and I'm finally review a golf course that I played in 2023. Incredible. Though today's review is a little interesting, because Schoolhouse Nine isn't just a nine-hole course, it's also a par 3 course. Located in Sperryville, Virginia, along the Blue Ridge just outside Shenandoah National Park, Schoolhouse is in a very scenic spot. It's also an hour and 45 minute drive from home. I've taken some long drives to play golf courses, but over 100 minutes to play a nine-hole par 3 course? That's pretty silly.

Hold on, though, because there's a reason for my madness. Schoolhouse was designed by two former employees of Tom Doak; he's also played the course and reviewed it favorably. In fact, everything I've heard about Schoolhouse Nine has been enthusiastic, so on a warm spring day, I made the drive down to see what the course is like.

The first hole is pretty nondescript from the tee. No bunkers, 150 yards, almost dead-flat terrain. But as you approach, you'll see the green has a noticeable tier running through the middle. It's not a big green either, so you will absolutely have to reckon with that tier at some point as you play the hole. Chips from behind the green are particularly dicey when the flag is on top. Still, this isn't the spiciest hole in the world.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is much more of a standout. It's 140 yards and has two bunkers right and front left. The back portion of the green is on a plateau 2-3 feet above the front portion, similar to a tier but a bit different, practically speaking, since the slope between the two levels takes up a lot of real estate on the green. It's not a difficult green to hit, but you'll need a very precise iron/wedge to set up a decent birdie opportunity. End up at the bottom with the hole cut on top and you'll have to work to ensure a two putt. And let's not even get started on the precision required to get up and down if you miss the green.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is fairly long, playing 165 over level ground. However, this hole does have a Principal's Nose bunker complex about 15 yards short of the green. Obviously, they're not playing the same role as they do on a more traditional par 4, but they do serve a purpose. From the tee, it looks like they're guarding the green, and they make the hole look shorter than it actually is. If you're not paying attention to the scorecard, you could easily end up not taking enough club. The green is the quietest at Schoolhouse nine, playing gently front to back. 

The third hole.

The Principal's Nose bunkers.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 130 yards with a fairly large bunker right. The green is tilted pretty sharply from back left to front right; putts from below the hole are pretty slow. This is one of those holes where the obvious miss (left), is actually the worst place to go. Bailing out to avoid the sand means you'll have a delicate chip to a green sloping away. Meanwhile, the bunker is pretty simple to get out of.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole doesn't look like much, but trust me, you'll learn to respect this hole. It's just 115 yards, and has no bunkers, but what it does have a tiny green angled 45 degrees away and falls away along that axis. There is no chance of getting a ball to stop where you want on this green. So even though the hole is short and you'll want to attack, doing so is a sure-fire way to bounce over the back. I don't know if it's actually the toughest hole on the course, but I do know that I only made one double bogey through two circuits of the place, and it was here.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole isn't quite the shortest hole here at 90 yards, but in my opinion it is the easiest. That doesn't mean it's boring. This is the one hole where you can fairly easily lose a golf ball, with woods and native area just a few feet left of the green. While the green lacks any massive features, what it does have are a series of small, alternating bumps along the edges. Anything that isn't on the center line will have to deal with them. It's also a well-placed breather, as the hole before and after are much more difficult and dramatic.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is the shortest hole at Schoolhouse, playing just 80 yards. Don't let that distance fool you, this is no pushover. For one thing, the tee shot plays 10 feet uphill, and since you'll probably be taking a three-quarter swing, spin is not something you'll be easily achieving. And that's a problem, because the best way I can describe this green is that it's the front two-thirds of a Biarritz. The front portion of the green is level, but then the back portion falls off into a deep swale. If you land the ball hole high, you are going down. And that's a very tough putt coming back up out of the dip. Easy three-putt territory. I'm not sure which is the better play, going high and trying to land just short or a lower shot more into the slope to kill the momentum. And that's a good thing. No obvious play makes this a compelling hole.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is 165 yards, making it twice as long as the previous hole. The bunkers short obviously draw your eye, but neither is the primary obstacle. That would be the large hump in the middle of the green, dividing it into two distinct sections. End up on the wrong half, and you'll have a very tricky putt up and over. There's no avoiding it. Of course, the bunkers can't be ignored either, though they're both a bit further away from the green than you might expect.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

Also the eighth green.

The ninth hole closes things out in classic fashion. I'm not sure it counts as a true Redan copy, but it's close enough. At 170 yards, it's the longest hole at Schoolhouse, and it plays tough. Two large, intimidating bunkers guard the front left portion of the green, which is sloped fiercely from right to left. Seriously, the tilt of this green is something else; putts from below the hole are incredibly slow, putts from above are, shall we say, slippery. A gentle draw aimed at the right side of the green will serve you very well.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

The ninth green from behind. Hopefully the steep slope is more apparent from this angle.

Schoolhouse Nine is an excellent little course. Obviously, being a par 3 course where the longest hole is just 170 yards, it's not a replacement for a full-length golf course. But it's proof you can have compelling and friendly golf on a small scale. This is the sort of golf course we need more of. There's no reason every decently sized town in the country couldn't have a course like this. The footprint of Schoolhouse is tiny. I don't know how many acres the entire course takes up, but I did see that just 1.5 acres of turf are maintained. The rest is left to nature, and it's just fine.

Then there's the quality of the golf. Every hole has something interesting going on. Not every hole hits, but you'll never be bored playing Schoolhouse. The greens aren't especially quick, but they roll true, and aside from the third have lots and lots of interesting slope and undulation. The price is pretty good too: $15 for unlimited golf over the week, and $25 on weekends. And since the routing is compact, if you do run into a slow group, you can absolutely jump around to a different hole. Play until you feel like stopping. 

I suppose the big question is whether or not I'd make the long drive down to play Schoolhouse again. The answer is yes. Not on a whim, but if someone asked me to play it, I would. It's a really fun, interesting course, and I wish I had a place like it closer to home.