After a 20-month, $15 million project to restore the golf
course and clubhouse to its former status and early 20th century
grandeur as a premier golf resort, the "new" Pines Lakes Country Club has
re-opened its doors.
In recent days Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc introduced the golf course to South Carolina dignitaries, media members and finally the public on Saturday, March 14. Tom Turnbull of Longs, S.C., winner of the First Foursome on Pine Lakes Sweepstakes, and his guests were the first public players to tee off at Pine Lakes.
The Pine Lakes renovation began in November 2006 with the vision of restoring the golf course as closely as possible to architect Robert White's original 1927 specifications for the course, then known as the Ocean Forest Country Club. White designed 18 of the 27 Ocean Forest holes, and it is believed by golf historians that he also designed the third set of nine holes, that was later closed in 1946 for real estate development. Over the next 50 years, White's original nine holes remained intact (holes 10-18) while the front nine holes were redesigned by numerous golf course architects.
Nationally-known golf restoration architect Craig Schreiner, who had previously collaborated with 1994 British Open champion Nick Price on another Burroughs & Chapin course in 2005, The Members Club at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, was chosen to direct the course restoration and blend the two routings of the remaining front and back nine holes. Schreiner established continuity between White's remaining holes, where two holes were eliminated for a new entry into Pine Lakes, and replaced them with his own newly-created holes, offering golfers an authentic visit back to early 20th century Scottish golf.
Schreiner preserved 16 of Pine Lakes'
original 18 corridors. Following instructions from Burroughs & Chapin Golf
Management, Schreiner designed Pine Lakes Country Club in a strategic golf
architecture style similar to White's philosophy; the more risks taken by the
golfer, the better the scoring opportunities.
Schreiner and his staff made many improvements to enhance the playability and enjoyment for golfers of all skill levels. Because of Burroughs & Chapin's desire to make the turf more environmentally friendly, the owner and architect incorporated planting SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum grass; utilizing environmentally-friendly irrigation, enlarging tee box areas and adding native waste areas.
"My design challenge was integrating the nine newer holes with White's nine original holes," said Schreiner. "This task was made easier by Burroughs & Chapin Golf Management's vision, which gave me the opportunity to reshape the entire golf course. The end result was improved consistency in the strategic play quality and the aesthetics of every hole, while preserving the historic-view corridors of those original 16 holes. Remarkably, the 80-year-old clubhouse can be seen from all 16 of these holes; unlike most golf courses today."
Throughout the restoration project, Burroughs & Chapin also envisioned conveying the grandeur and regal stature of the once-great Ocean Forest Hotel to the new Pine Lakes Clubhouse. Featuring a Dorothy Draper "Great Gatsby-esque" design, the clubhouse is an ideal setting for golfers to relax with a beverage after play, as well as hosting lavish weddings, receptions, birthday celebrations, holiday galas, family reunions and business or social functions.
An antebellum clubhouse designed by Henry Bacon McKoy after
he completed the Lincoln Memorial, the design and integrity of the Pine Lakes
Clubhouse was saved including the Snug Pub, the meeting place of the Time Inc. editors in 1954 when they visited Pine Lakes to play
golf and plan for a new weekly sports publication, Sports Illustrated. The two
magnificent Pine Lakes ballrooms, the site of countless
weddings and parties since 1927, were restored and will again host a variety of
social events. The rich history and tradition of Pine Lakes
is now on display in the new History Hall, which features memorabilia and
artifacts from the club's first days.
A new 6,000-square-foot wing was added to the perimeter of the clubhouse to house the pro shop and locker rooms, the Robert White Pub, the grill kitchen, an outside patio, the cart barn and swimming pool. Just off the clubhouse is the Garden at Pine Lakes, a private area that will also be used for weddings and events, with the golf course as a backdrop. Recently established is the new Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame that honors those that helped build Myrtle Beach into the "Golf Capital of the World."
"Today's ceremony is truly an event that we have looked forward to for more than two years," said Jim Rosenberg, president and CEO of Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. "Restoring and preserving Pine Lakes to its former glory days and history as a premier golf destination on the East Coast was important to Burroughs & Chapin as not only an investment for the future, but also as a place for many generations to enjoy. Pine Lakes not only holds a special place as a golf legend, but also in sports history as the birthplace of Sports Illustrated and the Myrtle Beach community."