“Breaking Par with Charlie Rymer” Episode 26: A Wild Finish at Shaftesbury Glen

The closing hole at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club in Conway, S.C. has “The Big Timer” becoming “The Story Timer” – weaving an epic tale of the historic origins for this celebrated design that may or may not be accurate. Will it distract him from the task at hand: taming the par-4 18th? Tune in to find out!

Charlie:
So everywhere I go, people ask me, they say, “Charlie, you’re a Myrtle Beach guy, right?” And I say, “Sure.” And they say, “Tell me the Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club, how did it get its name?” Well, I love telling the story because here’s the deal. John Myrtle was actually playing this golf course, which at the time didn’t have a name. Naming a golf course is a big challenge, and sometimes it takes a while to get a name. But anyway, John’s playing with his son, Glen Myrtle. And so that would be the great-great-great-grandson and the great-great-grandson of the founder of Myrtle Beach, Ivan Myrtle. It was founded in 1763.

Anyway, so they’re out here playing on this very hole. What happened was John Myrtle hit a bad iron shot here, snapped his club, buried the shaft, right. He just left it there. He goes up to the green. He misses his bogey putt, snaps it, buries the shaft. And that’s how they came up with it because it’s Shaftesbury Glen. And the final part, it’s also a fish club. His son Glen said, “That’s great, Daddy, you don’t have any more clubs. You broke them all. Can we go fishing?” Thus, Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club.
I’ll be here all week.

Cancer knocked me down, but not out. Now, I’m cancer free. The recovery? It’s been tough. I’ll need patience, a lot of humor …

(Somebody clapped. I heard him!)

… And support from friends and family. Over the last two years, I haven’t played much golf, but there’s no better place to get back in the game than on 66 courses in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We’re keeping score, but just teeing it up means I’ve already won!

(That’s why they call me “The BIIIIIIIIIIG TIMER!”)

Join me on my journey to break par!

The finishing hole here at Shaftesbury Glen is a straightaway par four where you probably want to favor the right side for the best angle in. Pin placement is key on this hole because you’ve got a deep green with two sections, and it’s surrounded by these wild-looking bunkers. Buckle up, folks. We’re in for a wild ride on this one!

Okay, so we’re just a little north of Myrtle Beach. This is Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club. And I love it when you’re at a golf and fish club because these days, my fishing seems to be a little better than my golf. But this is a beauty. Architect Clyde Johnston had a dream. He wanted to build an English-style golf course out in the English countryside. And the clubhouse here is actually an English manor home. So, really pretty neat. And I’m guessing maybe you can find some fish and chips around here that goes with the golf course.

This is the 18th. It’s a par four. The trees come in a little on the left. That’s tough for a guy like me that hits a cut. You want to avoid the bunker on the right, and you can sort of see a little bit of an English-style golf course. Sir Nick Faldo and Elton John would be really comfortable here. All right, let’s see what we get here. A little low but down the middle. We’ll be all right.

Boy, that makes me mad. I caught that one right there. Yeah, a little low on the heel. Woo-hoo, catch it a little low on the heel, give up a little bit of distance, but guess what? You can find it, and finding it’s the key. Man, this is a pretty place. This golf course is in good shape here. Not exactly sure what an English-style golf course, what that means. I’ve only played a few in England. I played Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s in the British Open. So I was pretty happy about that. Ow. That Pampas grass bites. But if this is English style, then I like it.

All right, it looks like I got about 100 yards left. Let’s see what we got. That little low-heeler ran out pretty good. That’s never a bad thing. And I see it now. The English style, really cool how this green is raised up a little bit and the bunkers sort of finger in there a little bit. I like that. Maybe just a little more than 100. All right, baby. All right, a little bit longer. We’ll be okay.

If you don’t have sand, we’re cart path only here today. I would just sort of kick your divot back in a little bit. That’ll help it grow back a little quicker. I think I got a pretty long putt up here. Let’s go and see. Oh, look at the movement in this green. If this was a par three, we’d call it a Biarritz. I guess you could call it a Biarritz-style green. It’s got a front, a middle swale, and a back, a lot of depth to it. Boy, there’s a lot going on with this putt. I got some down, some flat, some up, some flat. Overall, I think she’s going to play a little bit downhill. It shouldn’t be a whole lot of break.

Uh-oh, I didn’t hit that one, did not hit that one. I think there was a little more uphill in there than maybe what I thought. One thing I got right was the straight part. I always hate leaving a putt short. When you get it to the hole, you at least get to see it roll by and get an idea of the slope. I didn’t get to see the last part of this.

I’m thinking it’s left-center. I misread that one, too. Well, I guess every now and then, you’re going to have a three-putt. What makes me mad about it, it was on the 18th hole of this beautiful golf course. I’ll survive, though.

Well, that hole wasn’t for the faint of heart. Oh, well, saddle up, folks, because we’re headed back north for our next stop!

Miss an Episode? Just Click the Links Below to Catch Up!

Episode 25: The Hackler Course at Coastal Carolina University

Episode 24: World Tour

Episode 23: Grande Dunes Resort Course

Episode 22: Crow Creek

Episode 21: Meadowlands

Episode 20: The Wizard

Episode 19: Man O’ War

Episode 18: Colonial Charters

Episode 17: Barefoot-Norman

Episode 16: Barefoot-Love

Episode 15: Barefoot-Fazio

Episode 14: Arcadian Shores

Episode 13: Blackmoor

Episode 12: Wachesaw Plantation East

Episode 11: Willbrook

Episode 10: Tradition Club

Episode 9: TPC Myrtle Beach

Episode 8: River Club

Episode 7: Litchfield Country Club

Episode 6: Caledonia

Episode 5: True Blue

Episode 4: Pawleys Plantation

Episode 3: Founders Club at Pawleys Island

Episode 2: Heritage Club

Episode 1: Wedgefield Country Club

Series Trailer