By: Bill Kamenjar
“I can’t imagine what we would look like now without it. Once they cleared the land, everything else was a no brainer. It’s almost as if God gave us something to put there.” Todd Miller, general manager of Santee Cooper Golf Resort
George Cobb, the mastermind behind the design of the famed Par-3 Course at Augusta National in Georgia and Quail Hollow Golf Club (recent host to the PGA Championship) in North Carolina, is also credited with having started the Santee Cooper Country Golf frenzy as it thrives today in the heart of South Carolina. That was way back in 1967. Yet it was a contemporary of his who a decade later left the region with, as it turns out, a far greater a gift – one of seemingly never-ending innovation and growth.
All of this transpired near the shores of Lake Marion after architect Eddie Riccoboni engineered a similarly wonderful sister golf course to play alongside of Cobb’s Santee Cooper Country Club design. Called Lake Marion Golf Course, the routing has become such an icon of the destination golf world that even Riccoboni likely never dreamed of what could be possible within the predominant Santee Cooper Golf Resort.
While Cobb’s creation provided a pristine private golf club experience for locals to enjoy due to its prime location hard on the lake, Riccoboni’s 1978 debut of the adjacent Lake Marion Golf Course paved the way for public golfers from up and down the East Coast to partake in the game on a more readily accessible basis. Yet his impact would not stop there (whether intentional or not).
In fact, Riccoboni’s intricate blueprint curiously left behind a six-acre-plus, wooded parcel of land in the middle of his front nine that in modern times has since been cleared out and transformed into the ultimate golf stay-and-playland. This result now allows Lake Marion, along with the current semi-private Santee Cooper Country Club course (as well as other area courses across a five-county region) to feature the best all-inclusive golf trip in the South.
You see, this former dead zone has been fashioned into a visitors’ oasis complete with an original hospitality suite, 24 golf villas, a pool and an additional 10 townhouses to accommodate up to 136 golfing guests at one time. But the latest stroke of brilliance was the shaping of a 35,000-square-foot, lighted putting course called “The Palmetto Traverse” just a few years ago.
This creation from the mind of North Carolinean Kris Spence has truly propelled Santee Resort into another dimension. But don’t take this author’s word for it, just listen to the passionate praises of package players while they enjoyed a Tuesday night barbeque spread prepared and served to resort guests inside the facility’s centrally located hospitality suite
“The accommodations and the post-round activities are nice, perfect for what they do here, “ said Doug Chaney, a member of a golf group from North Jacksonville, Florida.
Similarly, Sandy Heineman, in town from Calabash, North Carolina, along with her husband Heinie, claims her accompanying group of eight players has been returning yearly to Santee Cooper Resort since 2013.
“When we first started coming here, they didn’t have that,” she said, pointing across the way to the 18-hole putting course. “We love it. The camaraderie we develop out on the big courses and then out there keeps us coming back. At first we didn’t know what it [The Traverse] was, until they explained it to us. Now we go out there and have mini tournaments. We can even play when it gets dark because of the lights.”
And so grows the legend of Santee Cooper Golf as it becomes more and more popular with every new wrinkle it concocts (there are even plans on the drawing board for a nine-hole short course). As Teet Breland, the Marketing Director from Santee Cooper Resort likes to remark when asked what her home town would be like if it weren’t for the infusion of golf amenities over time, “It would at most be a place to stop, eat, get gas and maybe catch a few fish. It would just be another roadside town along the way down I-95.”
Well, Santee is still a fine place to do all those things, but with golf leading the way, it surely isn’t just another roadside fly-by. If the vibrant billboards for golf shoes and other golf accessories aren’t enough to yank you off the highway and drag you into the Lake Marion pro shop, the gravitational pull of big-league golf course layouts certainly will. Once inside the property, you will only begin to learn of the amenities that make the Santee Cooper Golf Resort the home of the best all-inclusive golf packages to be found anywhere along the East Coast.
Following the debuts of its core courses, the Lake Marion Golf Club golf vacation spot gained added momentum with the construction of its hospitality center. From there, the golf villas began to surround the center and players were treated to pre-existing facilities like an 18-hole championship course, a fully-stocked pro shop, a lighted driving range, short game area and warm-up putting green. As package-play demand grew, accommodations were expanded with the addition of golf townhouses along with a pool at the hospitality center. Then came the development of the top-notch putting course that truly catapulted Santee Cooper Golf Resort – with access to no less than a dozen other nearby courses – into another stratosphere. The Traverse was patterned off putting courses found in other famous golf locations.
“We are very proud of it,” said Todd Miller, general manager of Santee Cooper Golf Resort. “I can’t imagine what we would look like now without it. Once they cleared the land, everything else was a no brainer. It’s almost as if God gave us something to put there. It certainly gives golfers another reason to stay.”
Over the years, golf has been intertwined with world-class fishing in the Santee region – one accentuated by green fairways and blue fresh-water bodies. Recently, however, the land game has taken over a more substantial role for sportsmen in the state’s lakes region with no less than 14 championship golf courses serving the transient golfer. Where bragging-sized bass and monster catfish were once the talk of this quaint resort town, birdies and eagles have transformed the fertile fishing ground into more of a dual air-and-sea assault.
“There are still great fishing spots around Santee, but we’ve been focusing more on the golf lately,” added Miller.
Play the winding fairways around Santee and you will soon discover that each of these layouts has been designed for maximum enjoyment and thrilling challenge. You can test your skills on classic tree-lined layouts, traverse dramatic elevation changes and soak up views of beautiful Lake Marion.
Santee Cooper Country actually spreads out across five South Carolina counties (Orangeburg, Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon and Sumter) sporting two lakes (Marion and Moultrie), two rivers, two canals and a vast swamp that combined form 450 miles of shoreline. It is around these inland waterways that golf courses of a wide variety have flourished within a 45-minute drive of central Santee.
In fact, for those headed to points south for the winter, Santee is positioned right off fast-paced Interstate 95 (it marks the ‘bulls-eye’ halfway mark between New York City and Miami) making it an ideal place to “brake” and spend a few days before venturing onward. Santee is set up like a sprawling resort, with an array of accommodations available and access to golf always just a short spin away.
A good place to start when setting up your value-laden golf package to the region is with Santee Cooper Golf & Travel (www.santeecoopergolf.com). According to the friendly folks there, Santee is indeed the best-valued golf vacation on the East Coast. Combine this with good old-fashioned southern hospitality and you’ll come away with an experience that may have you actually laying-up short of other destinations in the future.
Behind golf counters, alongside first tees, inside classic restaurants, hotels and on the streets of Santee you will find friendly faces and welcoming hosts. It’s that kind of town.
“What makes us so unique is the familiarity,” continued Miller. “Golf groups get to know us fairly well. Even many of our residents started out by coming here on a package for golf and fell in love with the area and the people [and decided to stay].”
A great place to start your search for a memorable retreat is in one of Santee’s full-equipped villas or townhouses. You can find units overlooking the beautiful Lake Marion Golf Course, situated alongside green-grassed fairways or rising high above the big waters on Lake Marion’s north shore. There is also a wide range of growing local and chain hotels to be had along with lake cabins and campsites.
No matter how inviting the accommodations are, resist the temptation of becoming a cabin dweller because right outside your door is maximum golf pleasure. In the case of the Lake Marion villas/townhouses, the traditional Riccoboni-designed layout features outstanding Miniverde greens and pine tree-lined fairways. Several smaller lakes border the course at Lake Marion and 47 sand bunkers will test your golf course navigational skills.
Santee Cooper Country Club plays right next door to Lake Marion and is the venue you should never leave off any South Carolina itinerary due to its prime positioning on the big lake. Set among majestic pines, the classic Cobb-designed challenge winds its way through a series of scenic dogleg holes and features some of the best par 3s in the region. Of course the par 4s and 5s are enjoyable too, though the best closing hole in Santee is unquestionably the par-4 No. 18 that provides a panoramic view of Lake Marion from its elevated green.
The closing stage isn’t the only one that is raised, however, as 14 of its 18 green complexes are positioned higher than the approaches into them. This makes it particularly more thought provoking for golfers flocking in from flatter homesteads.
According to Andy Evans, the members of his Florida group have to adjust their games whenever they venture north to play Santee Cooper.
“All the courses here are strong and well maintained but Santee Cooper is a bit harder because most all of the greens are elevated and you have to get used to that,” he said. “You need to hit more club. It’s still fun, but a definite challenge.”
Steve Smart, the head PGA golf professional at Santee Cooper Country Club, added another potential variable in which to consider.
“The main defense of the golf course are our greens,” he agreed. “They are elevated and slopey with lots of false fronts. But I tell guests they can also lose up to 12 yards on their drives due to air density. Sometimes the air gets so thick around the lake that it’s like you are hitting the golf ball through jello. The course may look short on the scorecard [6,578 yards from the tips], but it can play much longer for a variety of reasons.”
Another popular golf course on the menu around Santee is the Porter Gibson-routed Santee National Golf Club down the way. This 6,858-yard offering is positioned in a truly natural setting filled with mossy live oaks and more highland terrain than what is found closer to Lake Marion. It is also situated up the road from the wonderful Santee State Park, a 2,500-acre outdoor playground ideal for campers, hikers and water enthusiasts.
Additional top-notch courses within proximity of the big water include Wyboo Golf Club, a Tom Jackson signature course featuring possibly the purest greens in the region, Orangeburg Country Club, a private venue (accessible through package play) showcasing scenic views of the Edisto River and the Players Course at Wyboo Plantation, perhaps Santee country’s most player-friendly layout along with neighboring Wyboo GC.
Wherever you choose to San-tee it up, you’ll marvel at the beauty and downhome hospitality found at one of the true gems of East Coast golf destinations. There’s truly no place better to traverse the land with your golf clubs than across the verdant fairways of Santee Cooper Country.
Learn more at santeecoopercountry.org.
By: Bill Kamenjar
