Hitting the Linc’s - Willbrook Plantation

Hitting the Linc's - Willbrook Plantation

Having played the Tradition and the Reserve, I had the opportunity to play the third course off Willbrook Road near Litchfield. And Willbrook Plantation is my favorite of the three.

The golf course is built on the grounds of an old plantation, and as you play through the course, historical markers tell you all about what used to stand at the tee boxes that you're now driving off of. There's a markers pointing out an archaeological dig, a slave cemetary, and an old chimney that still stands from one of the outlying buildings to the plantation. For a history buff like me, all this stuff was way cool. As is an interesting group of South Strand animals - assorted alligators, basketball-sized turtles, ibises and other waterfowl and pterodactylesque vultures. If you're someone who enjoys absolute silence when you're standing over a putt, you may be perturbed at the constant din of a animal-produced orchestra. But for me? I dug it.

Meanwhile, the course is challenging, yet extraordinarily fair. Like many Dan Maples courses, water hazards do not just hug the greens - they can be found in front of tee boxes and lining fairways often. There is not a large amount of bunkers, but the few they have are smartly arranged. The course was in very good shape, but the greens had been aerated in the past week.

Like many of the better courses, there were five tee's to choose from, and for someone with a handicap like mine, playing from the second-farthest tee was perfect.

Overall, many of the holes are quite memorable, and I did not feel as if there were any wasted holes or areas.

Willbrook does not get much of the pub a some of the other courses on the South Strand. But I must say it is truly one of the most underrated courses in the area. I would even say, after playing it only once, it would crack my top 10.

For more of my golf rants, listen to The Golf Guys, on ESPN Radio "The Team" Saturday mornings from 8am to 10am in Myrtle Beach.

What course would you like me to critique?

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