PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. | The sum of our parts is what makes us great, right?
At Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club, it’s much of the same.

The finisher was named to the 2017 project dubbed “The Perfect Round,” a compilation of the 18 best holes in all of Myrtle Beach. The esteemed No. 13 wows players who find out why it’s called “The Shortest Par 5 on the Grand Strand.” And the following hole creates memories on both ends of the spectrum with a vast natural grass area up the right side.

Those are only the tip of the spear.

Jack Nicklaus crafted one of the area’s consensus top-10 layouts at Pawleys Plantation. He did it by going well beyond just three holes. Here are some of our other favorites.

THE SOFT OPEN
Jack wasn’t one to avoid risks. When he returned to Pawleys in 2018 for a ride along to re-evaluate his work, he took a hard look at some of his bunkers and deemed a couple of them too difficult or misplaced for the hole.

The waste bunker on the Par-5 No. 1, (top photo) however, wasn’t one of them. In fact, it was a sign of what’s to come. With 484 yards from the white tees, that lengthy trap up the right side in the final fifth of the hole frames everything perfectly.

It cuts into the front edge of the green and proves that you’re in the thick of it now.

THE SHORT BEND
On the third hole of the day, you think you’re on a minuscule Par 3 (you’ll see on the aforementioned No. 13 that this one feels a mile long by comparison). But how Nicklaus built in a 90-degree turn on a 115-yard hole (pictured right) will give you an appreciation for what he thinks a short hole should be.

The pond that all five tee boxes must fly in various distances in packaged with a bountiful landing area – if you go short and right of the green. Find anywhere else but the putting surface, however, and you’re wet, sandy or into some trees.

THE MEAN ONE
About the only thing Nicklaus didn’t incorporate on the Par-5 fourth was some element of water. He left it out because he didn’t need it to create problems.

Three fairway pot bunkers with mounding off to the right. A left-side waste bunker. Another sizable bit of sand just shy of the green. And then just 25 yards of putting surface depth.(hole pictured right)
It all makes that 468 yards from the whites feel so much further in a hurry with just one thin strike, one fat connection or a slight hook along the way.

Master this one with a par or birdie, though, and you will see your confidence skyrocket.

THE LAYUP
Notice the 301-yard designation from the white tees on the score card, and you might get a little giddy at the thought of muscling up and having a moment to remember. See the 10th hole (pictured right) in person from the tee box and watch those thoughts evaporate quicker than you thought possible.
Outside of the top golfers in the world, everyone else here is gonna be leaving one of the big dogs in the bag in favor of a long or mid iron capable of finding a patch of green allowing for a second shot over water.

For the super unlucky, they’ll be left with that possibility from inside a large waste bunker running across most of the interior fairway.