COURSE REVIEWS

From Hamburger to Steak
at Patriots Point Golf Links

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

CHARLESTON, SC (June 10, 2002) - What if a group of developers gathered a panel of Sierra Club members and environmental scientists in a conference room and unveiled a plan to build a golf course right in the heart of historic Patriots Point using soil dredged from Charleston Harbor?

They'd probably be better off informing the local historic commission of their desire to spray paint graffiti on Fort Sumter and raze the Battery in favor of some new high rise condo's and a Circle K.

But 20 years ago, federal environmental regulations were only a shell of what they are today, and Patriots Point Golf Links got through the system while the getting was good. The result is a playable, well-conditioned golf course ten minutes from downtown with some jaw-dropping views of Charleston and its maritime environs.

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"You couldn't do this course today, so we feel like we have a unique setting here," says director of golf Greg Ray. "That is not to say we're not environmentally sensitive. But these are different times when it comes to wetlands and coastal regulations."

So unique is the setting that Ray believes that Patriots Point houses the best par three in the country. The 150-yard 17th hole smacks of Pebble Beach, with its green that juts out into the harbor and a prime view of Fort Sumter and dozens of sailboats in the distance. Seventeen plays to a humble 130 yards from the white tees and 95 yards from the women's tees. But its No. 12 handicap rating says this much about the hole: with its diminutive green and the swirling winds off the harbor, this one-shotter is as lethal as it is beautiful.

In fact, the same could be said of Patriots Point's final four holes, a stretch that Ray and his staff (not so) affectionately dubbed the "swerve." The swerve starts with No. 14, a rogue of a par three that plays 193 yards from the cranks and straight into the afternoon sea breeze. It ends with the toothpick wide 18th - a long, right to left bending hole that runs along the harbor and into a green protected by no less than eight bunkers. In between are two tight par fours where drivers be damned and a par three that sees as many double bogeys as it does photo ops.

"I'd put that stretch up against any around here," Rays says.

As is the case with the entire layout, success or failure on the swerve is often determined by Mother Nature.

"The course is always different depending on the wind," Rays says. "There's a lot of water, but most of it is lateral and doesn't come into play. You could come out here first thing in the morning and shoot in the low 80's, come back at noon and shoot in the mid 90's or play in the late afternoon and shoot somewhere in between."

Patriots Point is billed as a Links style course, despite the absence of pot bunkering, native grasses, and a true links style routing that minimizes parallel holes. The number of options available around the greens and the course's walkability, however, will still satisfy design purists. The Ocean Course at Kiawah, Patriots Point is not. But with the wind screaming in your ears and the bump-and-run shot in play on almost every hole, you'd be hard pressed to find a more convenient links offering around these parts.

"It is not a traditional links style course, but it is one of the closest things we have to it here in the U.S.," Ray says. "There is a parkland feel to it, with the holes running next to each other and the lack of housing along the fairways."

Conditions: 3 (out of 5) Scenery: 4 Layout: 3 Par 3's: 3.5 Par 4's: 2.5 Par 5's: 3 Service: 3 Practice Facilities: 4 Club House/Pro Shop: 3 Pace of Play: 4 Value: 2.5 Overall Rating: 3.2

And a lack of heat, if you are to believe the meteorological preaching of Patriots Point officials. Temperatures on the point are up to ten degrees cooler than the inland regions during the summer. According to Ray, locals have been quick to catch on to this geographical phenomenon: sixty-percent of Patriot Point's play comes from Charlestonians looking for a round of golf that doesn't require a change of shirts at the turn.

"You can play a comfortable round out here in the winter and summer," Rays says. "In many ways, that sets us apart from other warmer golf destinations. We market being 10 degrees cooler, but the opposite is true in the winter, when we're ten degrees warmer."

Patriots Point is also exploring other innovative ways to market itself to the local gentry and the traveling golfer. Water taxi service is now available from the downtown aquarium to the Charleston Harbor Marina, where a shuttle from the golf course picks up players and their equipment.

A ten acre lighted practice facility, which is kept in mint condition year around, is proving to be a popular spot for local business folks to visit during lunch or after work. And not to be outdone is the famous Patriots Point hotdog, marketed with all the fervor and reckless abandon that a quality dog should be marketed with.

"There are some things here that are opinion and others that are fact, "Ray says. "It is our opinion that seventeen is the best par three in the country. We have the best hotdog in town, and that is a fact. I live across from Jack's Cosmic Dog (in Mt. Pleasant), and we are better. It is a huge beef hotdog and it comes with anything you can imagine on it. I don't know if it's the salt air or if it's the chili, but it's the best."

If the water taxi, lighted practice facility and hotdogs don't do the trick, Patriots Point could always fall back on its conditioning. In 1997, the course spent $5 million on a new irrigation system, new cart paths, bunker remodeling and approximately 500 palm trees that give the Willard Byrd designed layout an unmistakable Florida feeling.

"(Golf course architect) Bob Spence was a consultant on the project, and he said, 'On a menu, this is a really good hamburger and it's not going to take much to make it a steak dinner,'" says Ray. "Before the renovations we were a completely different golf course, aesthetically."

With an $85-a-round price tag and greens that Ray calls "the best in Charleston during the winter overseed," the course with the town's best hotdog seems to have made itself into a pretty darn good steak.

The Essentials

Patriots Point Golf Links
1 Patriots Point Road
Mount Pleasant, S.C. 29464
Phone: 877-709-5053
Website: www.patriotspoint.com

Where to Stay

The Sheraton North Charleston is a full service hotel just 20 minutes away via Interstate 526. The Sheraton offers a full range of golf packages in conjunction with Charleston Golf Partners. Golfers also enjoy the Sheraton's golf themed bar and restaurant, an all-you-can eat breakfast, and shuttle service into downtown. For more information, or reservations, call 800-247-5786 or log on to www.charlestongolfvacations.com.

Where to Eat

The Boathouse at Beach Inlet (843-886-8000) churns out some of the best seafood and steaks in town while coming off as something like a neighborhood pub. There's an outdoor bar upstairs, equipped with the obligatory acoustic guitar player, ice-cold long neck beers, and "you must be kidding me" views of Charleston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.

Downstairs is a cozy dining room with white paneled walls, dark wood tables and chairs, and a wine list to go nose-to-nose with any fancy joint downtown. The Boathouse was a recipient of Wine Spectator's 2001 Award of Excellence, and sports a list of nearly 50 reds, 40 whites and 10 sparkling wines.

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