Average Joe reviews The Pearl Golf Links West Course

North Myrtle Beach News

By Joe Derus NorthMyrtleBeachOnLine.com

MAY 8, 2009 CALABASH, NC ― With tee time was arranged by Myrtle Beach Golf Directors, we traveled just a few minutes north on route 17 from North Myrtle Beach into North Carolina on route 179 that runs straight through Calabash to The Pearl Golf Links.  

The Pearl has two 18 hole courses - East and West. Today we played the West with the review of the East course to come soon.  

The Pearl is one of the mature courses that had plans to develop home sites all around the course. Unfortunately, due to the down turn in the housing market those plans appear to be on hold.

Fortunately this has not affected the courses themselves.  

The Pearl West course is very well maintained. It has lush fairways and nice rolling greens. Crews were out “fixing up” problem areas around driveways, ponds and cart paths. None of these repairs were on the course itself.  

The only maintenance needed on the course is the tee boxes are a bit hairy. The grass is too high; it needs cutting. This will probably be corrected by the time you read this.

A tip on playing the Pearl. Be sure to notice the hole layout on the score card. A few of the holes have water hidden in back of the greens that the player can’t see from the fairway.  However it shows on the score card so read it carefully.   

This is important because the course lacks yardage markers. The most frequently asked question was “How far are we away?” That guessing game can lead to a spirited debate. We found this to be a bit frustrating. A few more yardage markers would greatly increase the playability of the Pearl.
 
The Pearl does not double tee, you will start out on hole number one. This is good! At least the score card will not get mixed up as it often does on courses that double tee. The first hole you play is always number one.
 
A bit of a quirk on the course layout is on the 2nd hole which is a par three on the front nine.  The West course has three par threes. The golfer will either enjoy this or not depending on how quickly he gets into the rhythm of his swing.  The distance on these par threes are 180, 148 and 183 from the white tees.

On the 2nd hole - the 180 par three – your shot will either make the green or lay up just a bit. A poor tee shot is unforgiving since there is water left of green, and sand and woods to right. The number one handicap is also on the front nine, so be prepare to start off well.

The fairways are not too tight or too wide open either. I like this aspect because fairways that are wide open may reward long errant drives. Since I am a short hitter that’s why I like tight fairways.

Definitely the most interesting and challenging hole is the 18th. It is a 508 yard par five.

A well placed tee shot is needed to avoid water that runs all the way up the right side. The second shot must be well placed also. Get as close to the water as possible, as the third shot is going to be over the water avoided with the first two shots. Around 130 yards is the distance to the green with the third shot. The green is well protected by oyster beads
 
The Pearl West is in good shape and a pleasure to play, but bring a distance finder if you have one.