Myrtle Beach Golf News and Reviews

Leopard’s Chase: The New Cate Design

            Myrtle Beach is home to some of the best golf in the world and it just got a little better. Famed architect Tim Cate has unleashed the newest of his “Big Cat” themed courses. Leopard’s Chase. It has come out with a roar all its’ own. Golf Digest has recently added Leopard’s Chase to its list of “Top 10 Best New Public Courses in America”. Not too shabby. And, if that weren’t enough, Golf Magazine just added Leopard’s Chase to its list of “Ten Best New Courses You Can Play”.
            The 7155 yard, par 72 track of leopard’s prints, wind throughout some of the finest land in southeastern North Carolina. "I think Leopard's Chase will have a premium on accuracy," Cate says. This holds true with a slope of 140. Accuracy comes in handy on the par 4 first hole. It can come out and bite pretty hard as it is a slight dogleg left with water down the entire left hand side and short of the green. Miss your drive a little to the right and you end up with a longer shot than preferred into a green that invites nothing to the left. The par 3 fourth hole stakes its claim to accuracy as it boasts an island green. Then, if that doesn’t purr accuracy, the par 4 fifth hole has a green that is completely surrounded by sand. Keep in mind, that these are the first 5 holes. The back nine is where the teeth and claws come out. The par 5 eleventh is complex in its design to make you try to reach the green in two. Tee off with driver, and hit it too far, now you might be trying to reach the green in three as there is a hazard that crosses the width of the fairway. The par 3 thirteenth is one of the prettiest holes on the course. Don’t let that fool you. It is 190 yards over hazard to a green that is very heavily guarded by bunkers short right and left. There is absolutely no place to bail out. Accuracy is most important at this juncture. The par 5 seventeenth cannot be reached in two as it is a monstrous 585 yards deep and dead straight. This hole tends to play directly into the wind, so keep it straight and you might get on the green in regulation. The finishing hole may very well be one of the most visually stunning and photographed holes in the Myrtle Beach area. It is a 439 yard, dogleg left, waste bunker right, fairway bunker left, with water left all leading to an elevated green guarded by a waterfall pond short left and a greenside bunker long right. Not to mention a hogs back in the middle of the green. Left, right, left, right. It is all about accuracy, Cate was correct.
            Leopard’s Chase opened in the spring of 2006 and may very well become one of the most sought after courses in all of North and South Carolina vacationers. This is a beautiful, prowling cat that demands the most of your golf game as it watches your every move with the intensity that it may strike at any moment. Be careful.