COURSE DISCOURSE:
BELFAIR EAST

By Joel Zuckerman

t’s rare and pleasurable to find a golf course that succeeds on different levels. There is no shortage of modern courses that are attractive, but overly deceptive. By the same token, many solid course routings fail to captivate, or offer little in the way of natural beauty. The East Course at Belfair Plantation is an exception to this rule. It’s a combination of beautiful and playable, both testing, and visually arresting.

The single most memorable feature of this excellent Tom Fazio design are the troughs of love grass peppered sand that frame many of the fairways. These frightening and omnipresent hazards serve a dual purpose. Not only do they give the course tremendous character and dramatic appeal, they also provide an unmistakable target line from the tee box. There are a number of elevated tees, and the presence of the sand troughs bordering the landing areas makes for a clearly defined target. The design effect is extremely satisfying, as most of the holes are both straightforward and spectacular.

From the middle tees, the East Course plays slightly less than 6500 yards, with a par of 71. There are more than a dozen delightful holes on the property, the quintet of one-shotters in particular. This “Fazio Five” ranges in length from a tiny but treacherous 137 yards, to just a shade over 200 yards. The designer must be sympathetic to faders, because the majority of the trouble is found to the left of the green. On the back nine par 3’s in particular, heed some sage advice. If you’re going to miss the green, miss right. Like fireworks and fisticuffs, these cavernous sand hazards looming on the left are best viewed from a distance.

A Fazio trademark is the do-or-die, diminutive par 4. The East Course’s 5th hole is a prime example. The yardage is listed at 312, but that’s choosing to play the hole via the fairway, aiming at 12 o’clock. If a player has the fortitude and the requisite tailwind, they might choose to aim at 10 o’clock, trying to airmail the expansive water hazard, and reach a green that’s about 230 or 240 yards away, as the crow flies. It’s a fun and demanding hole; take a deep breath and make the choice. You might soar with an eagle, or you might swim with the fish.

The East Course features two distinct types of sand in the hazards, a choice that was dictated by the design team. Players will find either typical fluffy type bunker sand in some spots, and a more natural, gritty variety that has a tendency towards hard pack. It’s an unusual feature, and adds a degree of difficulty to a shot that most players fear regardless. A minor consideration in the scheme of things though, as Belfair’s East Course is truly a delight. It takes a well deserved position alongside the West Course at Belfair, Long Cove, Haig Point, Chechessee Creek and Colleton River’s Nicklaus Course as one of the finest private venues in the area.

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