FLORENCE
AREA
COURSES
READY FOR
PRIMETIME

COUNTRY CLUB OF
S.C. TOPS LIST OF
AREA COURSES

by MARC ATCHISON

A ‘friend’ waited until
I was ankle high in
muck looking for my
errant ball in a small
wetlands area off the
first green at the
Country Club of South
Carolina before
shouting to me: “Watch out for the snakes!”“Snakes!?”“Just tap your club on the ground and they’ll leave you alone,” he suggested.“But I didn’t bring a club,” I shouted back.“Is there anyone you’d like me to contact?” he laughed. What a snake in the grass that ‘former friend’ of mine was.

However, it doesn’t take long to get snake bit – in a good way – by Florence’s golf courses, especially the aforementioned Country Club of South Carolina. Equally impressive is Cheraw State Park just up the road from Florence and a host of others – The Crossings, The Traces and Governor’s Run – all of which offer golfers great value with greens fees starting at less than $30. In all, Florence has 30 courses in what’s become known as the Pee Dee
Golf Region.

Golf packages in this area start
at only $49 a day and include
golf with power cart,
accommodation and breakfast
and some even include dinner.
The Country Club, a former stop
on the Nike Tour circuit, stretches
to 7,062 yards and pound for
pound is one of the best tests
of golf in the state.

The Country Club is a
premium property and it costs
about $20 over the package
prices to play but it’s the best
$20 you’ll ever spend. The course is well mounded with well placed bunkers protecting tough but fair greens. No. 8 hole has so much sand you’d swear you’re in the Iraqi desert.

The front is tough but the back nine is where the course really flexes its muscles. Cheraw is wilderness golf at its
best – right down to the rustic
cabins you can rent. The Tom
Jackson-designed course is
nestled in the state park of the
same name and as you’d expect
it winds through dense forest
and around lakes.

The 6,928-yard Cheraw is a
delight to play – think
Pinehurst without the steep
greens fees. In fact, in
summer months you can play
here for as little as $18 and
at peak season, you’ll pay
$25. Great value for what you
get.

The Traces is another
Carolina beauty that draws a
lot of attention from passing
golfers – over 3,000
out-of-towners played the
course last year. But The
Traces and other courses are
hoping the Florence area will
become a golf destination
and clubs like Governor’s Run,
under the direction of new
course superintendent David
Miller and a new owner, are
spending lots to upgrade their
facilities. Governor’s run is a
6,919 beauty that when
upgraded may rival the
Country Club and Cheraw.

The Florence area is a golf
destination ready for
primetime play – just watch
out for the snakes!

For more information or to
obtain a customized package
contact Swamp Fox Country
Golf @ 1 800 845 3538;
www.swampfoxgolf.com


Marc Atchison is the former Travel
and Golf Editor of Canada’s largest
daily newspaper The Toronto Star. More of Marc’s stories are also available on www.tnnworld.com.