As I reflect on my year in golf and all the rounds I played, one course stands out above the rest. Nestled in the low country of South Carolina is Yeamans Hall Club, a GOLF Top 100 Course. It’s worth mentioning off the top that Yeamans boasts incredible architecture, stunning views and pristine course conditions. But that’s not why I selected it for my favorite course in 2024. To better understand why I chose it, we’ll have to go back to the fall of 2013.
At the time I was a freshman playing on the Women’s Golf Team at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (not to be confused with the Tar Heels just up the road) and we were in qualifying for the first event of the fall golf season. Unfortunately, I missed the lineup and had to sit at home while my teammates made the trek down to play in the Cougar Classic, a tournament hosted by the College of Charleston at, you guessed it, Yeamans Hall Club.
When my teammates returned home, they regaled me with their stories from their incredible experiences playing the well-known private club.
“You would have loved it, wide fairways and greens that are so undulating they look like elephants were buried under them,” one teammate said.
“It felt like traveling back in time! We couldn’t even use our phones on the range,” said another.
“And it’s right off the water, the views were amazing,” my other teammate gushed.
As I listened, I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to make the lineup the following year. Over the next 12 months I practiced harder than I ever had. I was determined to get to ChuckTown. And my hard work paid off when I qualified for the 2014 Cougar Classic.
From the moment we drove through the gates, every expectation I had was blown out of the water. Right down to the bagpiper that played up the entire first hole through the morning fog to kick off the final round.
Flash forward to October of 2024 and I stood over the same opening tee shot from 10 years ago (above left). As I looked out from the first tee scanning the horizon for my target line, I was drenched in nostalgia. I had chills thinking about how far I’ve come.
Each hole I played unlocked some long-lost memory from my college golf career. I even tapped into some local knowledge that helped me navigate a few of the challenging course features that you’d expect from a great Seth Raynor design — the cross bunkers, elevated greens, iconic par-3s and dramatic landscapes that offer multiple routes into the green.
I attempted to beat my tournament low from college, and it’s safe to say my game was put to the test. The wide open fairways were perfectly baked out, giving drives a few extra yards of roll. But you needed more than additional length off the tee to score on this course. Good ball-striking was often rewarded, but even well-struck approach shots would occasionally catch the dramatic curves of the green and send the ball tumbling into the collection areas below or the deep bunkers that guarded the elevated greens.
Chipping onto the raised greens was challenging, especially over the gaping bunkers that were hard to ignore. And if your ball landed in one of the many greenside bunkers, you’d have a daunting up-and-down ahead of you as you’d have to splash the ball over the tall green pads. And it didn’t get easier once you got on the green. Two-putt pars felt more like birdies on the large undulating surfaces.
But, the views, from the vast waterfront to the Spanish Moss dangling from the trees, helped to soften the blows to my score. And the half-way house provided me with the sustenance (canned Gatorade and Nekot crackers) needed to make a few birdies on the back.
As I strolled down the 18th fairway, I was greeted by the enchanting clubhouse and reminded that, a decade later, my incredible day had come to a close. Playing Yeamans Hall Club was a treat I won’t soon forget.
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