Waterway Play at River Oaks: “Breaking Par with Charlie Rymer” Episode 62
Three of the next four stops in Charlie Rymer’s “Breaking Par” journey are situated along the Intracoastal Waterway. The first is at River Oaks, where “The Big Timer” is taking on its par-3 3rd hole. Let’s see if he can kick off this part of the home stretch with a birdie!
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 one of the handful of holes along the Grand Strand that plays into or along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Par-3 3rd at River Oaks plays to a slightly elevated green with bunkers front and right and waste areas surrounding it all that really shouldn’t come into play with a decently struck tee shot.
So this is River Oaks Golf Club. It’s right smack dab in the middle of Myrtle Beach. I love it here. It’s the friendly place. It’s a place that locals like to play golf and hang out afterwards. Their back patio here, it’s awesome. Just a beautiful place. Pond, great green right on the other side of the pond. Staff takes great care of you. Locals are always hanging out. It’s a happy place. It’s also very friendly for junior golf. It’s home of the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Foundation, and it’s also where the Juniors Play Free initiative got started, so very junior-friendly. You can also walk the golf course if you’re into that sort of thing. Me, I’m going to hop in one of those buggies right there.
This is the third hole. It’s a par-3. Sits up a little high. It’s right on the Intracoastal. I’ve spent a little bit of time over the years floating up and down the Intracoastal in a tritoon, listening to some country music, maybe enjoying a nice beverage. Just a wonderful place, laid back. Love this part of Myrtle Beach. I got about 160 yards here. See if we can get a good one.
We did not. Giddy up! Might be putting. Let’s go find out!
I’ve got to tell you, these holes over here that are right on the Intracoastal, I really have had a lot of fun over the years cruising up and down that Intracoastal. Real quick, you can get away from it. You feel like you’re in Jurassic Park after about five minutes. There’s a lot of creeks here. Some big rivers come together in this area. Just some great scenery. You can be around people, or you can feel like you’re completely isolated, whatever you choose. Most days, I like a little bit of both.
All right, that wasn’t my best. Oh, this is a tough one. I could take a lob wedge and carry it all the way over this fringe, or I could roll it through the fringe. The problem is rolling it through the fringe, it’s going to be in there for about 20 feet, and I’m going to be real honest with you. I’d probably use a lob wedge, but that means I’d have to walk back to my cart and it’s a long ways over there, so I’m going to putt it. That’s what’s going into this club selection. This fringe is going to make this be really slow.
Come on, get some of that! Get some of that! That’s pretty good right there. Y’all, come on in. I want you to check out something. Last time I was out here, we were doing an event to assist a local veterans group. Get a good look inside that golf hole right there. Man, I love seeing that. Locals are friendly, patriotic, and support the folks that serve us. Awesome!
And we salute River Oaks for another great stop in our journey. We’re staying on the water, but heading back north one last time to experience it. Time to check out a masterpiece in North Myrtle Beach!
