Shoal Creek
Played Shoal Creek around 2003. I think I have one photo below of the second hole (I think) and the above is from the USGA website but I thought it did a great job depicting the feel of the course form my distant memory. You can find it in the scrapbook here. There’s also some great photos here.
Very hilly course and was one of if not the first Nicklaus solo design. It is on a huge piece of land and each hole is unique and set by itself in the woods. I rank other courses above it simply because I can’t remember much but that was a lot of Miller Lites ago, so it probably should be up higher.
This was also the first time (or one of the very first times) I had a caddie. I also didn’t know our host at all and remember feeling pretty intimidated as this was a super exclusive and Old South club.
The clubhouse is an exact replica of the VA Governor’s mansion and I think they have cabins for members to stay on property though we didn’t do that. I remember the conditioning was immaculate. I remember the 14th hole here. The tee is up by the clubhouse and the hole drops below with a huge pond on the left. This would make a beautiful opener but as it is, it’s a memorable hole (even nearly 20 years later) and could even make my list of top 18 holes in golf.
Of course, the elephant in the room with Shoal Creek is the controversary over the club not having any black members and the owner’s comments that he wouldn’t be forced to accept anyone to the club. This was prior to the 1990 PGA Championship being held here and advertisers were backing out and they were going to move it until the club capitulated. Still it left a stain on the club’s reputation, which, while a shame since this is such a great golf course, I guess you reap what you sow.
I played here well after that and there did not seem to be any sense of bigotry or elitism with anyone I met at the club. In fact, I remember reading about the 1990 incident before going and I was looking for it, but my distinct memory of Shoal Creek was how welcoming the membership and staff was here. Of course I am white so I guess I wouldn’t really know, but I was an outsider in their world and have been made to feel as such by other clubs but not here.
So here is a funny story about a couple of Northeasterners being in the south. So we went to one of the Myrtle Beach courses (maybe first or second time I was ever there). And there’s a huge group of guys checking in in front of me and my buddy. So we’re not really paying any attention until we hear the guy at the counter say, “Hey, (N-words), we don’t see a lot of them around here.” We look up and see a black guy in the group in front of us by the counter. We were incredulous that this guy would say that, how ridiculous the south was, and before we could get all indignant, the guy then follows up with, “Yeah we don’t even sell those here.” The crowd parted a little and we see that the guy checking in was wearing knickers. Glad we didn’t immediately engage, that could’ve been embarrassing.
Golf Scrapbook 