10 Things You Need To Know About Blackmoor

Before striking your first shot at Blackmoor Golf Club, here are 10 things to know about the 20-year-old course. Some will help you with course management while others provide a little background on a layout that is full of character.

1. Hold On Tight: Don’t try to be a hero off the first tee. Blackmoor’s opening six holes represent the course’s most difficult stretch. The fairways are relatively narrow over the first third of the day, so play it safe and save your aggression.

2. If You Can Only Do One Thing: Make sure you get the ball in the fairway. If you hit a driver straight, great, but don’t be afraid to hit a 3-wood or hybrid off the tee. This isn’t a course where you can afford to spray the ball. Players that find the short grass have a chance to score.

3. Prepare: There are no elephants buried under the Blackmoor greens. If you are rolling the ball well, long putts are there to be made. If you spend a few extra minutes on the practice putting green, it should pay dividends.

4. If You Are Going to Make a Birdie: Blackmoor’s most vulnerable hole is the scenic but short 11th. The hole plays just 332 yards from the tips and there is no sand or water. Find the fairway off the tee and you’ve got a good shot at par or better.

5.  You Won’t Take Advantage of …:  The fifth or sixth hole can make a claim to being the course’s toughest, but it says here No. 5 is slightly more daunting. It’s the first dogleg and players inevitably want to cut the corner, which leads to trouble. Play to the elbow of the dogleg and hope you can hit the narrow green on your approach.

6. The Hole You Will Tell Your Friends About: The eighth at Blackmoor is one of the most unique Myrtle Beach golf holes. The dogleg right plays 370 yards but Player carved a 30-yard wide swath through the woods, providing a straight shot to the green. Do you try to drive a green that is reachable from every set of tees or play it safe? It’s a decision everyone must confront and one you won’t forget.

7. It Makes Your Palms Sweaty and Your Knees Weak: The most anxiety producing shot on the course? The aforementioned tee shot on No. 8, of course. If you decide to cut the corner, and I’d highly recommend it, you’re margin for error isn’t great. Succeed and possible glory awaits; fail and it could turn into the longest 270 yards of the day.

8. It’s One of a Kind: Gary Player won 164 tournaments across the globe, securing his place among the game’s all-time greats. Blackmoor is his lone contribution to the Myrtle Beach golf scene and it’s a good one.

9. I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost: There is a pre-Civil War cemetery that sits alongside the 13th hole. The cemetery, which is fenced off, is part of the national historic registry. Players are provided free relief from the cemetery.

10. That Hole Used To Be: Blackmoor is built upon land that used to house the old Longwood Plantation, which was once a thriving rice plantation.