The par 3 17th at Pawleys Plantation plays from the dike over the marsh to a green that is only about 40 feet deep. It is tough enough when the wind doesn't blow.
The quality of the turf at Pawleys Plantation, my vacation course in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, has been somewhat inconsistent in the nine years since we bought our home there. But after hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations, things are looking much better.
In late June, during my last visit, the practice range was closed for an expansion of about 25%, from 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. The tees on the unique dike, which once served to control water flow to the rice plantation that preceded the golf community, had been built up and re-sodded. Two great par 3s, the all-carry #13 and #17, play from the dike over the marsh to greens not very deep (and much less so when the wind blows, which is just about always). And the fairways were in about the finest condition I recall. Even the Tif-Bermuda greens, usually a little thin, seemed to have sprouted some extra green.
In recent months, owners of the Jack Nicklaus Signature course, which caters both to members and resort guests, have also brought in a boatload of sod to smooth out areas alongside the fairways and cart paths. The course is really being spiffed up, and I can't wait to get down there in the coming months to give it another go.
As for golf real estate in the community, prices have eroded a little, but much less than 40 miles north in Myrtle Beach with its higher inventory. Vacation condos in Pawleys Plantation that were selling for around $225,000 and up a couple of years ago have settled back about 10%. More houses are on the market in Pawleys Plantation than at any time we have owned over the last nine years, but prices for single family homes seem to be holding up as well.
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