3 Favorite Holes – Long Bay Club

Long Bay is one of the most challenging Myrtle Beach golf courses, an architectural gem that tests every part of a player’s game. The layout is very good from the first tee to the final putt, but we tasked head pro Jim Fellner with identifying his three favorite holes on the North Strand course.

After careful deliberation, here is Fellner’s list:

No. 3 – 401-yard, par 4 – The short par 4, given the pin placement, can offer all the challenge a golfer wants. If the hole is between two bunkers, players are required to place the ball in a narrow window.

“I usually have a 9-iron or a pitching wedge (coming in), but it’s always a challenge,” Fellner says. “If you make a mistake, it’s difficult to get up and down. Hit it long and it’s almost impossible to get up and down. Short, you can do it but you have to hit an excellent shot.”

No. 14, 432-yard, par 4 – There are no fairway bunkers and the challenge is straight-forward, but Fellner loves the hole. Pot bunkers and a green with nearly as much movement as a roller coaster at Hard Rock Park give No. 14 its teeth.

“It’s one of those holes you can see the pin right in the middle of green,” Fellner says. “It can look so innocent, so inviting from the middle of the fairway. But you get there and it’s just 10 feet long but it’s straight down hill, and I’m thinking about two putting, not making it.”

No. 18, 445-yard, par 4 – The final hole at Long Bay is a beauty. With the clubhouse serving as a backdrop and a lake threatening on the right side, the hole requires as much moxy as it does skill.

“It gets your attention every time you step on the tee,” Fellner says. “It’s a dogleg right with water the entire length of the hole and a bunker in the front. It just seems like you always want to bail-out to the left; then you’ve got a 20-yard longer shot to the green. I always look forward to stepping onto No. 18 – you have to have a lot of nerve to play that hole.”

The final hole is Long Bay in a nutshell – beautiful, sweat-inducing and an outstanding test of golf.

What are your three favorite holes at Long Bay, and what do you think of Fellner’s choices?