The coast and the hammock are waiting for you!
We all know what a hammock is, right? Those hanging rope beds that are couch-like and let us snuggle away for an afternoon nap every once in a while. Well do you know where the first American rope hammocks came from? Well, you are right, if you guessed that 20-mile or so stretch of South Carolina just south of Myrtle Beach.
The Hammock Coast, as it is known, is the same right answer if you are looking for golf, fishing, water activities, entertainment and restaurants away from the hustle- and-bustle of Myrtle Beach proper. And there is a special place to stay, whether you are a woman or a man, called the Inlet Sports Lodge, also known as a boutique hotel. Plus there are two nearby sister courses side-by-side that will satisfy all your golfing desires and are known as the very best in the area, including all of the Myrtle Beach area—the Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and True Blue Golf Club.
The beauty of Caledonia hits you immediately, this is the 2nd green complex.
This was my last stop on the 7-week, 17-state, 6,000-mile 2015 East Coast Golf Journey so I was ready to get home by the time I hit South Carolina. But after two nights at the Inlet Sports Lodge and playing Caledonia and True Blue I wanted to stay longer and play longer.
The golf is vintage Mike Strantz, who was based in South Carolina and was named as one of the “Top 10 Greatest Golf Architects of All Time” by Golfweek magazine in 2010. Five years later, having designed only nine golf courses, stricken with cancer he died after barely turning 50 years old.
The difficulty of Caledonia lingers around and culminates at the 18th hole, here looking back over the forced carry to the fairway.
Caledonia was Strantz’s first solo design and is strikingly different than True Blue. Caledonia is a classic and traditional parkland course that weaves through twisted live oaks with hanging Spanish moss. Some say it is like “playing golf in a garden.” Water comes into play in strategic spots like all the way down the left side of the 415-yard par-4 fourteenth hole and a forced carry to the devilish green on the 383-yard par-4 home hole. Assistant Golf Professional Zach Lawther shares his personal insight into the golfing experience at Caledonia:
CLICK here for a Video Interview with Zach Lawther, Assistant Golf Professional at Caledonia
Not only is the 3rd hole at True Blue an island but there is a mound hiding the green and flagstick! Difficult but fun to play!
True Blue, on the other hand, is more wide open, with wide fairways and large greens and playable sandy waste areas. Untrue to its name, water hazards are present but not exceedingly so, most notably on the 190-yard par-3 third hole with an island green, all the way down the left side of the 548-yard risk-reward par-5 fourth hole. Later in the round there is water in front of the 208-yard par-3 seventeenth hole, all the way down the right side of the 449-yard par-4 seventeenth hole and all the way down the left side of the 437-yard par-4 finishing hole. Head Golf Professional Bart Romano, with ten years experience at True Blue, shares his personal insight into the golfing experience at True Blue:
CLICK here for a Video Interview with Bart Romano, Head Golf Professional at True Blue
With Catherine Rotman and Warren Beckham, loving life at the Inlet Sports Lodge!
Caledonia and True Blue complement each other like the ying-and-the-yang. So do General Manager Warren Beckham and Marketing Coordinator Catherine Rotman at the Inlet Sports Lodge. Sounding like a man’s hotel but with carved mahogany wooden doors, Heart of Pine floors, nine-foot ceilings, granite countertops, Rainhead showers with four massaging body jets and custom china in the kitchenettes, it’s really a woman’s boutique and luxurious hotel. As you can tell in the videos’ introduction I had a lot of fun meeting Warren and Catherine and the rest of the staff at the Inlet Sports Lodge. Warren’s ties to Myrtle Beach go back to 1936 and his family and several others have been getting together to break bread and have a fish dinner on Thursday nights for the last 62 years! This is a unique, casually friendly but quite comfortable 34-room home-away-from-home. I really did not want to leave!
CLICK here for a Video Interview with Catherine Rotman, Marketing Coordinator
CLICK here for a Video Interview with Warren Beckham , General Manager
I think this is my room but they will let you stay there too!
Looking for a romantic couples get away, a girls or guys golfing trip or a place to stay while traveling for business, the Inlet Sports Lodge is the place to stay on the Hammock Coast in South Carolina just south of Myrtle Beach. If you are a golfer, make sure you make time to play Caledonia and True Blue. The fishing, water activities, dining in what is known as the Seafood Capital of South Carolina, entertainment and shopping is good too.
You can even pick up a good rope hammock to take home with you!
The entrance to Caledonia sets the tone for a memorable golfing and living experience!
Lots of trouble and lots of activity on the 18th at True Blue. But you play it and make a par!
Even the clubhouse is blue at True Blue!
