In a Palmetto State of Mind: “Breaking Par with Charlie Rymer” Episode 65 at Myrtlewood-Palmetto
It’s the penultimate stop in his “Breaking Par” journey, and Charlie Rymer is feeling nostalgic as he visits the Palmetto Course at Myrtlewood Golf Club. Join him as he looks back on some fond memories of previous visits from his youth, and tries to card a birdie here on the par-3 17th!
Charlie:
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 …
(I don’t even have a writer!)
… 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!
(I’m gonna show you all the best par you’ve ever seen after that one!)
Join me on my journey to break par!
This is a cool hole, the first of two at Palmetto that plays into or along the Intracoastal Waterway. Here, you’re hitting from an elevated tee over a sizable water hazard that separates you from the green, but it really doesn’t come into play if you hit a decent shot. Just steer clear of those three front bunkers, and you’re going to have a shot at birdie.
So we’re almost exactly halfway between Miami and New York City. Just over the 17th green here at the Palmetto course at Myrtlewood is the Intracoastal Waterway. I happen to live on the Intracoastal Waterway, a little farther south than this, and it’s amazing to see all the boats that are going north and south. Unbelievable place. Great spot, by the way, to get the sunset. That happens pretty much every day here in Myrtle Beach.
As I was coming out here today, I remembered the way back in 1983, which was 40 years ago. If I’m doing my math correctly, I won the South Carolina State Junior Championship on this golf course. I wish I could remember a single shot I hit in the 54 holes, but I do remember when they handed me the big old trophy. Cool place. We can take a little off of this into that win. Giddy up!
All right, got a chance for birdie here. There’s some pretty home sites in here, too. All right, I just cleared that bunker. Kick down in there. Pretty close. All right, we got a little movement here working down towards that front. In my mind, if you put about 20 inches of water on this green and pulled the plug, where would it go? It’s all going to go down that way. So that means this golf ball’s going to go down that way too. Hang on. I didn’t get that high enough. See what I was telling you? That water was going that way?
I just wasn’t smart enough to play it high enough. But I’ve got to tell you, it really is a beautiful place, especially a lot of fun for me having won what at the time seemed like the biggest event in the world, and coming back 40 years later and seeing the golf course. Special place. When you come out here to play golf, make sure you hang out for a little while afterwards and watch that sun go down.
I enjoyed that trip down memory lane, and I’m going to take it all in as I get ready for the final stop in our Breaking Par journey – at the place it all began for Myrtle Beach golf!
