Top 5 Reasons to Play Litchfield Country Club This Fall
Litchfield Country Club c
elebrated its 50th birthday in 2016, commemorating a half-century of great golf. The primary reason the course continues to thrive (channeling my inner Yogi Berra) is its ability to age without getting old, and that’s a tribute to architect Willard Byrd.
As you begin making plans for your fall Myrtle Beach golf trip, here are five reasons you should play Litchfield Country Club.
➽ Pawleys Island’s first course, Litchfield is home to an outstanding layout, one that challenges players to think. When do you blast the driver? When do you pull out the 3-wood and play it safe? The round is never dull. Play opens with a 332-yard (all distances from white tees) dogleg left, a par 4 where accuracy off the tee is a must. It concludes on No. 18 with a 386-yard par 4 that allows you to swing away with the driver, but demands precision on the approach. In between, Litchfield challenges you to hit every club in the bag.
➽ Taken as a whole, Litchfield’s par 3s are the course’s best collection of holes. According to the USGA’s rating system, the par 3s are the layout’s four easiest holes. DON’T BELIEVE IT! If you can survive the one-shotters, you will be on your way to success. The 185-yard fourth, which plays over water, is particularly daunting.
➽ Southern hospitality and customer service offer the promise of hard-to-quantify value, but it’s real at Litchfield. The course’s Lowcountry canvas, which is framed by hundreds of stunning live oak trees draped in Spanish moss, provides a timeless appeal, and the commitment to hospitality is unmatched. Litchfield isn’t a high-end private club, but your enjoyment of the experience is priority No. 1, and the tone is set from the moment you arrive. The three guys who work the bag drop have combined to work at the course for more than 100 years. They set a knowledgeable and welcoming standard that carries throughout the round.
➽ Litchfield is part of two of Myrtle Beach’s best deals – the Rewards Package and the Waccamaw Golf Trail Package. The Rewards deal allows you to play Litchfield, along with your choice of Founders Group’s 21 other courses, and you will receive a $100 gift card for use at the course. The WGT package pairs Litchfield with 11 other South Strand layouts, and if you want to enjoy the many virtues of Pawleys Island, this is the trip for you.
➽ When your round ends, Litchfield enjoys a prime location, leaving you within minutes of some of the area’s premier restaurants – say hello to Chive Blossom, Bistro 217, Perrone’s and Frank’s. If you want to enjoy a couple local craft beers in a casual environment, Quigley’s is practically next door (make sure you order the fried pickles!). You can’t go wrong.
When you are putting your fall trip together, give Litchfield a long look. Good layout, good conditions and good people is a tough combination to beat.
