3 Best Holes At Glen Dornoch
Glen Dornoch has provided some of Myrtle Beach golf’s best visuals since it opened in 1996. Five holes play along the Intracoastal Waterway and designer Clyde Johnston maximized the available land, creating a layout that is near the top of many play lists.
We consulted with Glen Dornoch’s marketing director, Jason Himmelsbach, who has played the course hundreds of times, for one man’s opinion on the course’s three best holes. Himmelsbach happily obliged.
No. 8 – 570-yard, par 5: From an elevated tee box, the long par 5 is in front of players and the Intracoastal Waterway, running behind the green, comes into full view. The hole presents a risk-reward choice; the safest play is the left side of the fairway, but the right offers the best angle into a green with six nearby bunkers.
The eighth has considerable elevation change, enhancing the view of the Intracoastal, and it helps gives long hitters the opportunity to go for the green in two. It’s not difficult to figure why it’s the best hole on the course, in Himmelsbach’s opinion.
No. 16 – 431-yard, par 4: The 16th doesn’t play as long as the yardage suggests because it’s all downhill. The hole’s second shot is one of the most dramatic on the Myrtle Beach golf scene, overlooking native wetlands and the Intracoastal with a green that offers little room for error off in the distance.
Note of caution: pay special attention to distance control on the downhill tee shot. The crest of the fairway is approximately 250 yards from the tee boxes. Players that fly the crest will likely see their tee shots tumble into a bunker, leaving an extraordinarily difficult second shot, or end up in the wetlands.
The 16th isn’t easy, but it’s a hole no one forgets.
No. 17 – 212-yard, par 3: Again, the Intracoastal provides a memorable backdrop and the passing boats can, temporarily, take your mind off a challenging tee shot. The green is enveloped on three sides by wetlands, and a huge mound, sprinkled with bunkers, is on the right.
What do you need to know before hitting your tee shot?
“Take an extra club, no matter what the wind is doing, because the trees block the tee box,” Himmelsbach says. “When you get up (above the trees), it’s more open (and the wind can be blowing).”
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