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 By the time he finished his postgraduate work at the Harvard School of Design, Rees Jones was programmed to be a golf course architect. After all, he watched his dad, the legendary designer Robert Trent Jones, transform undefined patches of land into picturesque golf venues for the better part of his formative years.
Rees’ own legacy is likely to revolve around his virtuoso work breathing new life into sites of the United State Golf Association’s premier tournament – the men’s U.S. Open. It was Rees who beefed up Bethpage Black and put the teeth into Torrey Pines South before each welcomed the world’s best players.
While it will never host a major championship and probably won’t again be considered one of America’s 100 Greatest Courses like it was in the 1980s, Arcadian Shores Golf Club, Rees Jones’ first solo design project, is in the middle of an “Open Doctoresque” touch up courtesy of Burroughs & Chapin.
One of Myrtle Beach’s premier development and operational companies, Burroughs & Chapin assumed management duties at Arcadian Shores, which was designed by Jones in 1974, on June 1, 2009, and has been diligently working to restore the popular layout to its rightful position as one of the most sought after tracks on the Grand Strand.
Just how serious is Burroughs & Chapin about re-establishing Arcadian Shores as one of the beach’s best golf courses?
The company has already moved considerable manpower into place to spearhead the turnaround, including Head Golf Professional Jason Mitchell and Superintendent Steve Martin, who previously held the same positions at Grande Dunes Resort Course; the Resort Course was the 2009 recipient of the National Golf Course Owner’s Association “Golf Course of the Year” award.
“There is so much potential out here,” said Archie Lemon, senior director of golf, sports and hospitality for Burroughs & Chapin. “It’s a tremendous layout. Many of the people who’ve played it, whether it’s people in the golf or hotel industry, golf directors, people booking rounds…a lot of people put it in the top 10 layouts in all of Myrtle Beach. Some even say it’s their favorite. We just had to bring the golf course conditioning and services and staffing back up to par; give it the attention that it truly deserves.”
Tremendous Layout, Superb Location
Anchored in the heart of Myrtle Beach, Arcadian Shores Golf Club is an old-fashioned layout that challenges golfers with relatively narrow tree-lined fairways and carefully-placed bunkers. A series of natural lakes, gentle contouring and lush grounds cultivate a spirit of classic scenery at this fair yet formidable layout.
“It’s an old traditional layout with tree-lined fairways,” said Mitchell. “What you see is what you get. There aren’t many big surprises. There are a lot of doglegs, left and right, but you can still see everything right in front of you from the tees.
“We have a nice mixture of par 5s and par3s,” he added.
“There are a lot of large trees…beautiful oaks. It’s a different course here at the beach as compared to more modern courses like those at Barefoot or Grande Dunes that are more open. Arcadian Shores has a few more trees, a lot of bunkers, but not necessarily waste bunkers. More like old traditional bunkers that have been strategically placed in the fairway or fronting the greens. “
With five sets of tees and championship markers measuring just less than 7,000 yards, Arcadian Shores can test the pro all the way down to a beginner.
Two of Arcadian’s signature holes have also been recognized on multiple occasions by the Myrtle Beach Sun-News as being worthy of inclusion in the publication’s Grand Strand Dream 18. The 201-yard par-3 2nd and the 408-yard par-4 13th were voted into the Dream 18 after a survey of golf professionals, visiting golfers and writers making up the selection panel.
“They’ve long been known as great holes on this course,” said Lemon.
Arcadian Shores’ tremendous reputation can also be traced back to the course’s role as host of an event called the Grand Champions, a supplementary tournament played when Myrtle Beach hosted the Senior Tour Championship. The event brought some of golf’s true legends to the course, including Sam Snead, Doug Sanders and Charlie Sifford.
Today, Arcadian Shores works closely with hotel partners Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, Kingston Plantation and the Embassy Suites to put together top-notch “Stay and Play” packages. More information is available at www.arcadianshores.com. The golf course is also home to the year-round Hilton Golf Academy, which provides full-time instruction, private lessons and clinics.
When you’re making plans to tee it up on the Grand Strand in 2010, make an appointment to renew acquaintances with an old favorite at Arcadian Shores. The course has been restored to old form and invites you to rediscover a Myrtle Beach classic.
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