Five Things You Need To Know About Wedgefield Plantation

Nestled amongst abundant Live Oak Trees, Wedgefield Plantation has served golfers since its 1972 opening. The layout hasn’t received the attention of many of its fellow Myrtle Beach golf courses, but it’s rich with history and value.

If you’ve never played Wedgefield, we have five things you need to know before teeing it up on the Porter Gibson/Bob Toski design:

1. Wedgefield plays to the natural contours of the land and, as a result, the front and back nines offer different experiences. The opening nine is mostly flat, but as the course nears the water, the land begins to roll. Holes 11 through 14 play along a series of ponds and the natural elevation serves to help drain the water from the high ground towards the Black River.

2. The land Wedgefield was built on was once among the most profitable in South Carolina. Wedgefield used to be home to indigo and rice plantations dating back to the 1740s and remnants of the old rice fields are visible on the 17th and 18th holes.

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3. Speaking of history, Wedgefield housed “high value” POWs during the Revolutionary War. Legend has it that during the rescue of an American prisoner, a British sentry was beheaded and buried beneath the old Wedgefield house (near the clubhouse) and he continues to haunt the area. The ghost is said to be most often seen or heard from dusk through the night time hours, so if you are coming up 18 with the sun setting, be on the lookout for the ancient soldier!

4. The day at Wedgefield ends with the course’s two most scenic holes – 17 and 18. The 17th green backs up to the Black River and the 18th tees off beside the river and plays into the stately manor house, sending golfers home with the layout’s most memorable images fresh in their minds.

5. Wedgefield is back under the stewardship of the Marlowe family, and they are planning to gradually renovate the facility. The project, which will begin in the summer of 2012, will include tweaks to the course’s design with an emphasis on playability, landscaping and infrastructure. So the best is yet to come at Wedgefield, a longtime Myrtle Beach golf staple.