It’s been a long time since I published and I’m not really sure why. I actually completed my 50 state quest last fall (2018), wrapping up in Ohio. I have now played golf in every state and have decided that I will informally attempt to do it all over again. Well at least the lower 48 states. I also have this wild and crazy notion to attempt to play 48 states in 48 days. But I think I’ll save that for retirement, when I have a bit more time to kill. So in the meantime, I’m slowly going to work my way through the process again, playing various states when I have the opportunity.So here we go in 2019, starting once again in the Carolinas.
I have just returned back to my home outside of Ottawa (Canada) after a 5500 km (3400 mile) road trip that really began as a way to reunite with some old hockey buddies. Way back (40 years ago) I met a couple of guys (Marty and Doug) when we played junior hockey together for my hometown team. We became good friends and ended up attending the same University in Ontario and additionally shared a house together. But over the years we had lost touch for various reasons and I reached out to both of them early in 2018 to see if they’d be interested in a golf trip. Well that has now come and gone, but the prospect of another trip in the future looks promising.
So Doug and I drove down to Myrtle Beach from Ottawa, playing a round at Cypress Links Golf Club in North Carolina en route. We would be spending three nights in North Myrtle Beach and my goal was to play at least one course in North Carolina. After an overnight along I-95 in Smithfield NC, we utilized googleMaps to scout some potential courses en route to our North MB destination. Cypress Links turned out to be a very pleasant, good value for the money golf course. It is definitely always a bonus when there are very few others on the course the same time you are playing, as it allows for you to play at your own pace. And while it was early in the year and some of the fairways were still in dormancy, we enjoyed the layout to the point where I would seek out playing there again the next time through, if it was later in the year. At under $30 for the round, it was money well spent for my first round of 2019.
We then spent 3 nights in North Myrtle Beach and played rounds at Aberdeen Country Club and the Wizard Golf Course. Both courses were in good shape but unfortunately we were subjected to foul weather for our round at the Wizard. Too bad because it is a wonderful course with the open layout concept that I really enjoy playing. The open layout doesn’t mean a course is any easier, especially the way my game is these days. It just means that for me personally, I’d rather play out of bunkers or fescue, than trying to find errant shots under trees.
At the Wizard we ended up having a 2 hour rain delay, then headed out into very windy and cool conditions. The wind was gusting between 35 to 40 mph with the temperature around 8 degrees Celsius, so definitely not ideal conditions. It’s always “fun” when you boom a tee shot with your driver and it only goes about 125 yards! But the weather cleared up by the back 9 and the wind dissipated for the most part, to the point where we actually considered heading back out for another 9 when we completed our original 18. And if I had one complaint about the Wizard it is that they don’t have a “reasonable” replay rate. I can’t remember what it was exactly but was expensive enough to rule out any desire to go back out and play again. I had never played the Wizard before but aside from the disappointing weather and replay rate, I will definitely seek it out the next time I’m in Myrtle Beach.
When we played Aberdeen the following day, the weather was much nicer; sunny skies and 10 degrees Celcius at our 10 am tee time and it warmed up a number of degrees as the day progressed. We were paired up with single player, a very pleasant semi-retired gent from the Pittsburgh area and had a wonderful outing. The only downside for the day was that the course was busy and play was backed up in a few places, which does not feed into the way either myself or Doug like to play. But all in all Aberdeen was in really good shape and played well. Apparently the course was sold and totally revamped within the last couple of years. It’s a 27 hole facility and we played the Highlands and Meadows courses. I had played Aberdeen about 7 years ago and I do feel it has improved over time.
So after a couple of rounds in Myrtle Beach proper, we headed out toward Orlando to meet up with Marty, who was flying in from Ottawa. With a desire to play somewhere in Georgia on the way, we stopped over in Savannah for some lunch and found the Southbridge Golf Club only a couple of miles off of I-95. The course itself was not in the best of shape. We found the fairways in rough shape with weeds, grass not cut properly in some areas and the bunkers in pretty rough shape as well. BUT, we both really liked the layout of the course and could see that it had a lot of potential to be a really nice course. It could be that it was early in the year and course maintenance was behind a bit, but all in all for $25 it was a decent outing.
From Southbridge, we continued our way to Orlando, picking up Marty at the airport the following day. We would then spend the next week at Orange Lake Resort in Kissimmee, playing multiple rounds at their two onsite championship courses, the Reserve and the Legends. I’ll do a separate post on the resort, but we definitely liked the Legends course better. We stayed in a 3 bedroom condo in the East Village, with a direct view of the 18th green of the Legends course. With the pro shop directly across the street from our condo building, you couldn’t have asked for a better location.
So after a week in Florida, I dropped the guys off at the Orlando airport and I made my way back north. I headed up I-75 with the main purpose of paying a short visit with my cousins in Northern Kentucky on the way (which I did). I had hoped to play at least one round of golf somewhere along the way en route, but weather and time played a factor and I never ended up doing that. Next time!
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