Arcadian Shores Golf Club- Myrtle Beach, SC

This is a solid golf course that was ranked in the Top 100 in America by Golf Digest in the 70's. The course has lost a bit of luster since then, perhaps the course conditions are not as good as they once were and the designer, Rees Jones, is no longer a preferred name in the design business. The course is a decent combination of holes, but none of the holes are much above average. This is not a bad course by any stretch of the imagination, it just lacks anything better than average and even with it's prior pedigree, likely gets lost in the shuffle of the other courses in Myrtle Beach

Ranking
Variety of Design: This course falls into the rut of many courses built during it's era. All the holes on the course fit nicely in little "safe" yardage groups, none very long, none very short. Directionally, the course is average at best with 4 holes playing left, 2 holes playing right, and 12 holes playing straight. 4 1/4 out of 10

Flow of the Course: This course has little flow. There are no short holes to give the player great chances at birdie or eagle. There are no very long holes to mandate the player hit precise shots in order to make a par. At no point does the course provide anything of real excitement. There is nothing below average here, but nothing to get the blood flowing either. 4 out of 10

Course Conditioning: The conditioning was what one would expect when paying one of the lowest fares in town. The fairways were reasonable and the greens average. 4 3/4 out of 10

Ease of Walking: The course is very flat, most holes are fairly close together and the course is not very long in general, so walking would not be difficult. 7 out of 10

Atmosphere: The course might get a slight boost from those who really take time to research courses and know that it was previously in the Golf Digest Top 100. Other than that, the course has no known significant tournament history and much of it's luster has worn off. 2 out of 10

Total: 43 1/4 out of 100

Holes to Note
Hole #1: Par 5, 527 yards
Par 5's are not often used as opening holes, but this one is a solid hole. This hole plays as a slight dogleg left to a green that is heavily bunkered. The play for those who want to go at the green on the second shot is to play over or as close as possible to the bunkers on the left side of the fairway. That will give the shorter shot to the green. Those players not able to reach in two can play to the right away from the bunkers. For those not going at the green in two shots, the lay-up shot should be played down the far right of the fairway in order to have a better angle to the pin.

 From the tee, the bunker is visible on the left and the fairway is easily seen.

 From 250 yards from the green, the greenside bunkers can be seen. The entire left side of the green is protected by bunkers, but a roll-up shot is possible.

 A closer view shows how protected the green is and the difficulty of the shot awaiting the player.

Hole #2: Par 3, 201 yards
This hole is a perfect example of what the course was and what it has become. This is a fantastic hole, very scenic and provides solid strategic challenge. The lake protects the hole on the right and there is a bunker guarding the hole from the left. Very solid hole. However, look beyond the hole. There is a shopping mall now in the background. At one point in this, this was likely a very solid, secluded hole. Now there is such encroachment from the rest of civilization to make the hole simply average.

Hole #9: Par 4, 376 yards
This is a solid hole to close out the front nine. One reasonable strength of this course is it's shorter par 4's. There are bunkers located down the left side of the hole. It is not known the purpose of those bunkers, they don't seem to be in the range of any golfer playing the proper set of tees, even if playing the course in a strong wind from the south. However, they certainly steer play to the right side of the fairway which will yield a poor approach angle to the green.

 From the tee, the bunker down the left is plainly visible. The player should favor that left hand side in order to have the preferred line to the green.

From the left side of the fairway, the player is able to take the front bunker out of play more so than from the right. This is another hole that will easily accept a roll-up shot.

Hole #12: Par 4, 382 yards
Another solid shorter par 4. Play on this hole is directed by the right fairway bunker. A slightly better line to the green can be had from the right side. The green complex is fairly well designed as well. There is one large fronting bunker that protects the green. The green is elevated and is essentially not accepting of roll-up shots (though that is not 100% the case. My playing partner rolled his shot onto the green from around 180 yards with a hybrid, but that was not intentional, nor was he pleased with the shot)

 The bunker can be seen in this image. Truthfully, the bunker could be removed and no strategic value lost on this hole. A play down the left side will give the player a shorter approach shot with the same angle as the right.

 The green is elevated and protected by this large bunker, making it impossible for the player to see the bottom of the flagstick. The green is well contoured on top of that. This is probably the best green complex on the course.

Hole #13: Par 4, 408 yards
While this hole is not the best on the course, it is certainly the most scenic. The hole plays downhill with a dogleg left. There are no bunkers on the hole, so the best play favors the left side of the fairway, giving the player a shorter approach to the hole. The approach to the green is the most scenic on the course, playing over a lake to a green cut into a hill.

 Nothing major happening from the tee. The left side is preferred, but there will be no harm in finding the right side of the fairway.

The green and approach is quite scenic. Any missed shots short, left or right will find water and long will find a bunker, playing directly back towards the water. 

This course is simply average. This is nothing bad here, but nothing really above average. The course is fun to play and a place I would play again, but it's just not anything special. 4 out of 10