Barefoot Resort & Golf (The Love Course)

Barefoot Resort & Golf (The Love Course) – Played 2014

• Rankings: Golf Magazine Public #86
• Location: 4980 Barefoot Resort Ridge Road, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• Year: 2002
• Architect: Davis Love III
• Course Access: Public
• Walking Rules: Carts Available

Score Card Information:

• Platinum: 7,047 yards, Par 72, 75.1 Rating/139 Slope
• Black: 6,542 yards, Par 72, 72.5 Rating/135 Slope
• White: 6,055 yards, Par 72, 69.8 Rating/123 Slope
• Green: 5,643 yards, Par 72, 67.9 Rating/119 Slope
• Gold: 5,336 yards, Par 72, 71.1 Rating/124 Slope

As you’ve seen from my other course tours in the Myrtle Beach area (Caledonia & TPC Myrtle Beach), the Grand Strand has plenty of golf.  The Love course at Barefoot Resort is another on that list.  The resort itself opened all four of its courses simultaneously, a very impressive feat.  The other three courses are designed by Greg Norman, Pete Dye, and Tom Fazio.  In addition to golf, the property includes a marina, hotels, housing, and commercial space.

The resort gained more notoriety for hosting the hit Golf Channel show Big Break.  The season recently wrapped with Jimmy Brandt claiming the champion’s prize.  If you haven’t watched the series, I would definitely recommend it.

The Love course is the only one that is ranked on the four lists I am chasing, but the show used the other courses and they seemed solid.  For you grass lovers out there, the tees and fairways consist of GN-1, a hybrid turf developed by Greg Norman’s turf company. The approach areas consist of Tif-sport Bermuda grass. The greens surfaces are Champion UltraDwarf and the rough areas are 419 Bermuda grass.

Now on to the course tour.  This was the last course on our trip that included Caledonia and TPC Myrtle Beach.  It was originally supposed to be the first course I played, but heavy rain was falling when we arrived.  Thankfully, they helped me reschedule for our last day in town.  I arrived early and luckily they let me tee off right away.  Since it was only me I played in about two hours and was able to start the drive back at a reasonable hour.  I played the black tees and all the distances will be from there.  The carts are equipped with GPS and gave plenty of information as you can see below.

There were also some more serious messages.  I don’t know about you, but I didn’t need to be reminded not to do these things.

 

Hole 1 – 352 yards – Par 4

The first hole eases you into the round.  A driver is not mandatory, but the bunkers are in play.

This is the approach from the left rough.

Here is the green from the cart path on the left.

Hole 2 – 483 yards – Par 5

My tee shot was not the best and I had a little longer shot into the green.

The layup is seen below.

The green is pretty flat but is accepting of longer second shots.

Hole 3 – 169 yards – Par 3

This hole is tough if you miss to the right.  The hazard extends all the way along the right side and behind the hole.

Here is a zoomed-in look at the treacherous shot.

The green is large and provides an opportunity to play to its left half.  It was a nice option to avoid water.

Hole 4 – 280 yards – Par 4

I love a drivable par four.  The tee shot must be accurate with all the bunkers you can see.  Your tee shot needs to carry the whole way to the green.

As you can see in the candid shot my wife took, I decided hybrid was the safe play.  I also rock the wide-brimmed hats.  Come at me when you have some skin cancer scares!!!

The bunkers I mentioned can be seen below.  Any drive into these leave you with a long bunker shot from deep pits, which explained my hybrid play.

The green has a drop off in the front to repel any drives not quite long enough.  You can see the ruins in the left of the picture as well, we will get to those in a bit.

Hole 5 – 443 yards – Par 4

The fifth is a change of pace from the first four holes.  It’s a lengthy hole that requires a solid drive.  There is a hazard on the right that needs to be avoided.

The second plays to a green guarded by bunkers and surrounded by a thicket of trees that shield the wind.

I was obviously the first guy out on the course since they hadn’t even turned the sprinklers off!

Hole 6 – 370 yards – Par 4

This hole plays uphill and doglegs to the right.  It plays a little longer than the yardage due to the slope.

The approach shot plays to a green fronted by a small brick wall.  This was a nice touch that was different from the other holes.

Here are the ruins from the fourth hole.  The greens on the fourth and sixth are close together.  Big Break used this opening for one of their challenges.

Here is another shot of the ruins.

The green is shallow and has some slope to it that is almost wave-like.

Hole 7 – 426 yards – Par 4

The tee shot here calls for a draw and a long one at that.  The fairway bunkers and hazard must be avoided.

The second shot is no-nonsense, just pick a club and take dead aim.

The putting surface is flat and should provide a good birdie opportunity if you hit the green.  If you wander too far to the left, however, you flirt with the trees seen here.

Hole 8 – 525 yards – Par 5

This drive fits my eye wonderfully.  I like any hole where a big draw works.  Keep the bunker in the middle of the fairway in mind when planning your line.

The approach to the green must negotiate a hazard and a sloping green.

The left side of the green (right in this picture from behind the green) is pretty flat.  The majority of the slope is behind me in the picture and runs off the green.  Any wedge shots with spin will probably rip right off the front.

Hole 9 – 207 yards – Par 3

Now that you are warm, this par three tests your long iron/hybrid game.  A waste bunker wraps around the front and right sides of the green.

The green can be seen below from the right waste bunker.  I flared one a little here.

Hole 10 – 345 yards – Par 4

The back begins with a shorter hole.  The fairway is a little narrower than some of the ones we have seen so far.  Taking less than driver is a smart play here if you can afford it.

The second shot is relatively flat and plays to a mildly sloped green.

Hole 11 – 123 yards – Par 3

This is a great birdie opportunity with a short hole and a flattish green.  The waste bunker in front is not in play for anything but the worst shots.

Here is the green which is pretty small matching up with the short iron tee shot.

Hole 12 – 421 yards – Par 4

The course switches things up again on this one after two short holes.  The twelfth favors a draw off the tee with trouble on both sides.

The second shot plays over a hazard and features multiple bunkers left of the green.

The green slopes away from its middle with the ridge seen here.

Hole 13 – 470 yards – Par 5

This is a very reachable par five.  There is a hazard that bisects part of the fairway and is crossed by wooden bridges.

Either the yardage is wrong or I hit one of those bridges, because I only had 150 yards left after my drive.

The green has a bunker on its right side although this picture is from the rear of the putting surface.  There is some slope in the green from right to left in this picture.

Hole 14 – 402 yards – Par 4

The tee shot plays to a wide landing area although there are some bunkers.

The approach shot plays to a skinny green with some slope as you can see.  The bunkers on the left are well below the putting surface.  Left of those is a hazard ready to swallow any truly wayward shots.

The wife caught this guy chilling around the cart path.

Here is the green from a closer vantage point.  There are two levels with the ridge that crosses the green just behind and to the left of the flag.  It also falls off on the back left.

Here is the green from the fringe.  This photo gives you more of an idea of the slope facing the player.

Hole 15 – 172 yards – Par 3

This shot is do or die on hitting the green.  Anything that misses will not bounce on to the green, but will be repelled down a hill.

The green is thankfully flat to reward good shots that do catch the green.  It also makes recovery shots a little easier if you are way below the surface.

Hole 16 – 375 yards – Par 4

This is a great hole.  It really gives the player some options.  You can take it directly at the green with driver or lay up left of the bunker and natural area.  You really need to determine what kind of approach you want and then plan your tee shot from that.

This photo is from the left side of the fairway and is a pretty open shot to the green.

The green is small and relatively bland.

Hole 17 – 420 yards – Par 4

This tee shot is straightforward, bang it up the middle.

The approach is the same as the tee shot in that it is all out in front of you.  The bunkers are not as close to the green as they appear.

The green here is also flattish with not much going on.

Hole 18 – 559 yards – Par 5

This is one of the tighter drives on the course and could be played with a match in the balance.  Trouble lurks hard up the left side and the hole really favors a draw.

The second shot is most likely a layup for most players, but make sure you focus to avoid the hazard on the left.

The approach shot must contend with a hazard along the left side and a bunker fronting the green.

The green is wide but shallow.  Distance control on the third shot is critical.

I enjoyed playing this course at Barefoot Resort, but I wasn’t wowed by it.  The greens were monotonous in my opinion.  I think it is a fine resort course and very enjoyable to play on a buddies trip.  I am just not sure why it was ranked in the top 100 of Golf Magazine’s list.  I don’t want that to come off as too negative, it’s just that very few of the holes were memorable.  If you are going to Myrtle Beach I would play the course, but not over such courses as Caledonia and True Blue.