All par 3s at Kings North feature well-placed water hazards. (Photo by Elliot deBear)
If the weather cooperates between Christmas and New Year's, I intend to play Arnold Palmer's Kings North course at Myrtle Beach National. I have been visiting the area for nearly 40 years, and it is about time I played one of the best. People I know and respect admire the Palmer layout, and many contributors to the golf discussion boards on the Internet praise it as well.
Our friend and contributor to this site, Elliot deBear, called the course "Fantastic!!!" after he played it earlier this year, adding that it was "A real beauty with some fabulous golf holes." Among those were par 3s with water guarding each, and long par 4s with waste bunkering along the sides of the fairways. As for conditions, Elliot described the course as "pristine from every angle and perfectly manicured."
As you might expect in a golf rich area, Myrtle Beach's daily newspaper, the Sun News, reports frequently on local golf courses and even published a book, "The 100 Greatest Holes along the Grand Strand" in which it named to the list the 6th, 14th, 16th and 18th at Kings North. The 6th is a par 5 with an island fairway and is known as "The Gambler" to reflect the high reward/high risk nature of the hole. The other three holes on the 100 best list are par 4s. The finishing hole presents more than 40 bunkers; photos of the hole are featured in much of the club's advertising.
From the tips, Kings North plays to just over 7,000 yards, a rating of 72.6 and slope of 136. The more modest gold tees, at about 6,500 yards, rate a 69.7 and 128, more in keeping with resort courses that don't want players spending too much time looking for golf balls or re-teeing.
Myrtle Beach National comprises two other Palmer courses, South Creek and the West Course, but neither is ever whispered in the same breath as Kings North. Like the West Course, Kings North has no adjacent housing, but those wanting to live nearby will find a range of reasonably priced single-family and condominium homes along the fairways of South Creek, which opened in the mid 1970s.
We have included a couple of Elliot deBear's photos here which give a hint at what to expect at Kings North. I'll provide my own thoughts and perhaps a few additional photos after I play it.
Arnie takes a page from Pete Dye with his use of bulkheads to dress up Kings North. (Photo by Elliot deBear)
