This Jack Nicklaus designed golf course is getting major upgrades. When will it reopen?

Adam Benson
·2 min read
12

A Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course on Pawleys Island will be closed through the summer for upgrades, including a remodeled clubhouse and new bunkers.

Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club’s course shut down May 22 for a modernization to include:

  • Tilling and restoration of every green and a 48 % increase in putting surfaces to 117,000 square feet.

  • New greens to boast TifEagle Bermudagrass — a strain known for its durability that’s also used at The Grande Dunes Resort Course.

  • Bunker reconstruction on holes 1 through 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 18 to add smaller fairway traps and expanded fairways to increase playability for mid- to high-handicappers

  • Strategic tree removal to enhance course conditioning

  • Clubhouse improvements to provide a better view of the 18th hole and marsh. The project will also bring outdoor seating.

The course is expected to host play again on Oct. 1.

Founders Group International, a Myrtle Beach-based management firm that operates 21 golf courses in the region, has partnered with Nicklaus Design to oversee the project.

“Founders Group International has made reinvesting in our golf courses a top priority, and I couldn’t be more excited about the work Troy Vincent and the Nicklaus Design are going to do at Pawleys Plantation,” FGI president Steve Mays said in a press release.

Pawleys Plantation has long been one of the Myrtle Beach area’s premier courses, and this project will provide the layout a much more contemporary feel while remaining true to Jack’s vision for a classic Lowcountry golf course.”

Pawleys Plantation, which opened in 1988, is the second major Grand Strand course this month to announce upgrades.

Dunes Golf and Beach Club on May 10 announced a four-year partnership with the PGA Tour to bring a FedEx Cup tournament into the area for the first time starting in 2024.

Club president Collins Wakefield said several holes will be lengthened to meet PGA Tour requirements, but its famed 13th hole, the 590-yard par five Waterloo, won’t be altered.

The upgrades come at a time when golf’s popularity has never been higher in South Carolina. A recent state-sanctioned analysis found golf had a $3.3 billion economic impact in 2021, contributing more than $378 million in federal, state and local tax revenues.