True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 4
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 4
The dramatic par-5 fourth at True Blue Plantation wraps around a lake. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 1
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 1
A treacherous green site makes the par-5 first the No. 1 handicap hole at True Blue Plantation just south of Myrtle Beach. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 2
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 2
The second hole at True Blue Plantation features a narrow green tucked behind a waste bunker. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 3
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 3
The third hole at True Blue Plantation plays over water and a flash-faced bunker to an island green. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 18
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 18
The finishing approach on the 18th at True Blue Plantation is exacting. Courtesy of True Blue Plantation
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 7
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 7
The green of the par-3 seventh hole at True Blue Plantation is propped up behind a bunker. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 8
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 8
The approach to the eighth green at True Blue Plantation feels like hitting to a table top. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 9
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 9
The par-5 ninth at True Blue Plantation is actually reachable in two with a good drive to edge of this hazard. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 13
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 13
A massive bunker with stairs fronts the 13th green at True Blue Plantation in Pawleys Island, S.C. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 17
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 17
Water guards the 17th green at True Blue Plantation in Pawleys Island, S.C. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 18
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True Blue Plantation golf course - hole 18
The beautiful 18th hole showcases the True Blue Plantation clubhouse. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
11 Images

True Blue Plantation: A sprawling green paradise in Pawleys Island, South Carolina

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. -- When True Blue Plantation opened in 1998 adjacent to the Caledonia Golf & Fish Club on the southern end of the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand, the Mike Strantz design had both fans and critics.

Each took a different view regarding how tough and penal the 7,126-yard golf course played. Begrudgingly, Strantz returned in 2000 to tweak nine holes, while the greens were converted to TifEagle Bermuda. The changes elevated True Blue to rock star status almost on par with Caledonia.

True Blue, rated among the top modern designs by Golfweek, counters Caledonia's intimate setting with a sprawling landscape revealing gigantic fairways, greens and waste areas. Even though it plays tougher than Caledonia, True Blue allows golfers to spray the ball and get away with it. The 624-yard No. 1 hole introduces the first of five meaty par 5s. Strantz defends par with elevated greens and flash-faced bunkers that can ruin rounds.

True Blue's watery three-hole finish ends with a difficult approach to a green tucked between a pond on the left and the clubhouse with its signature blue roof on the right.

Jason Scott Deegan has reviewed and photographed more than 1,100 courses and written about golf destinations in 25 countries for some of the industry's biggest publications. His work has been honored by the Golf Writer's Association of America and the Michigan Press Association. Follow him on Instagram at @jasondeegangolfpass and Twitter at @WorldGolfer.
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True Blue Plantation: A sprawling green paradise in Pawleys Island, South Carolina