18 Holes at Old Barnwell - Walker Simas
I’d like to thank our good friend, high school teammate, and Old Banwell Team Member Gray Carlton (pictured below) for showing off the work that he and Andrej have done under Brian Schneider, Blake Conant, and the OB Team.
If you are interested, I have recorded a podcast with Brian and Blake which you can find here- also with Gray after his work at Lido which you can find here, and will also attach Cody McBride’s interview with Old Barnwell’s Founder, Nick Schriber here.
These are my thoughts after a second trip to this site, now fully grassed.
Holes 9, 11, & 14 are currently off-limits for photographs.
Hole 1
A subtle par 5 that is reachable, with the 40 yard approach to the left serving as a sunken area- still short cut, but not necessarily where you want to be for your 3rd. A diagonal ridge hides the forward tees, hiding the fairway from the backs. The golfer sees hazards and a sliver of fairway, but it’s handshake width.
Hole 2
Imagine playing shuffleboard to a single point on a triangle. Going for the green on the driveable second feels like that. With a devilish cross bunker some 60 yards short of the green, the land falls right towards 1- around the green falls away. There’s also a trio of questions the hole asks:
You're going to have to face this green. 1st or 2nd shot?
What shot do I have?
Does that shot allow me to be aggressive on my 2nd?
Hole 3
To me, the 3rd does three things very well. First, it’s an artist's hole. A semi-blind tee shot reveals one of the most artistic greens on the course. Ironically, I believe there was a lot done to/around this green during construction. Second, the drainage feature left of the green is A+ work. Thirdly, the bunker complex on the right border of the hole is manufactured and linear while the green flows with undulation off to the surrounds. That contrast is a theme, but especially unique on this hole.
Hole 4
Dare I call it a signature hole? Unusually picturesque with a back bunker that is hard to comprehend until you’re standing there looking at it (see second photo). Kevin Hart wouldn’t be able to see the golfer on the tee if he was standing on Goliath’s shoulders. This par 3 is either an easy par or a hard-fought bogey and is probably the easiest when played for the first time. Likely, everyone will carry around the story of how they made 7.
Hole 5
5 feels like an air strip, especially from where this photo is taken by the alternate angle tee on 4 (third of three pictured above). As far as Eastern South Carolina goes, you’re on top of the world. A valley there, a mound over there- it all seems to make sense. A new back tee sits way below the 4th. Seemingly, you feel as deep as you were in the back bunker, but you’re still 10-12 feet below that. From back there it’s blind, giving you this grand reveal.
Hole 6
I feel obliged to mention this is a key meeting point on the golf course. Below 5 green sits the par 5 16th, a hole Brian Schneider and Blake Conant described in detail during our episode.
To your right (coming off 5 green) is 17, a short, uphill par 3. Bisecting the two, the teeing ground points perpendicular down the valley, with the landing zone near the bottom of the hill. The remainder of the hole falls right towards the valley, and another triangular shuffleboard green awaits a well thought out approach.
Mounds hide drainage from the golfer to the right, built to handle plenty of water.
Hole 7
I got a look at the land here before the hole was built and I was always interested to see what they would do with it. Miniature chocolate drops hide the forward tee and bunkers are stacked up the right, nudging the golfer left towards another set on the left. The green (more artistic than the 3rd, by the way) is guarded by a front teardrop bunker that bisects the green into a mid-sized shelf, and another larger putting surface to the right. They can and will place the flag directly over the teardrop, and you will like it.
Hole 8
What ordinarily would be a “get you to the next” type hole given the routing is ANYTHING but. The fairway would be the best driving range in Florida, but the green is the only conversation here. Taking (or making) inspiration for the future “Gilroy” course, the green funnels to a boomerang allowing you to hit whatever shot necessary to get your ball close to the hole.
Hole 9*
What I had envisioned was some wild-ass par 3 with a giant kicker slope on the right some 40-60 yards short of the green turned into a 4 with a similar concept. The hole is wide enough to host a concert, but narrows as you reach the green. Short, play it your way, and you’ll certainly be challenged before you hole out. True Tie Guys know the power of a nook. This is certainly a nook green.
Hole 10
I hope that frequent players of Old Barnwell can appreciate the 10th from eye level as we can from aerial view. The bunkering here is incredible, making an open plain into a very strategic experience. The green is tucked left into the bunker complex leaving plenty of room right. Call it Lido, call it National, I don’t care. The effort to build something like this is extraordinary.
Hole 11*
I can hear my co-host HS yelling “good hole here” as he would when stepping on the 11th tee. Gray Carlton’s masterpiece sits front and center, one of the many bunkers he shaped out at Old Barnwell. This hole doesn’t need much explanation. Pleasing to the eye, makes sense, and can play differently every day.
Hole 12
A par 5 that works it way back to the second meeting point on the golf course. Technically, we already passed through it while walking off 9 green. Now that you’ve been through “the loop”, you might see this meeting ground in a new way. The 12th is a long par 5 to a diagonal landing area that falls off into the valley to the right. The landing zone for players who choose to go for the green in 2 is pinched by bunkers.
Hole 13
Most people will play the 13th without knowing what is under their feet. What was once a burial ground for the property’s clay & stumps is now a walk in the woods. Sitting between 9 green, 10 tee, and 12 green, 13 points you straight ahead with bunkers on the left only revealing the green when in position. The green falls off on both sides, right being the clear miss because its twice as deep. The green sits amongst a bed of short grass three times the size of the green in surface area, making it look easier than it really is. Unfortunately no photos worth sharing on 13.
Hole 14*
Another 4 here with multiple teeing options- the longer played across a large plot of native to a crest in the hill. The shorter, played from the right (just off the back of the 13th green) plays with the plot of native to the left, also blind to the green. Whether playing from right or left- across the casm or beside it- there’s room for plenty right. From the right, the green sits above a line of bunkers, sitting down the hill from the crest. Options galore still require a well struck 2nd that matches your intent. Plenty of birdies will be made. 5’s too. 14
Hole 15
Very much a woodsy hole here, which feels different than the rest of the golf course which is quite expansive. This one keeps you where you are, using bunkers to prevent you from knowing what’s next until you reach your tee-shot. You’re met with a second to a large green with native short left and plenty of room right.
Hole 16
Referenced earlier, you’re about to enter a three hole stretch that really shows off the property. On the par 5 16th, drive is merely positional. In fact, just like the last, the reveal of the second shot down into the amphitheater green is what makes the hole. Those out of position will be penalized with little visibility for their 3rds and a lower trajectory to a green that asks for softness. The details are $$$$.
Hole 17
The 17th will probably be regarded as one of South Carolina’s better one shot holes over time . The way the green sits amongst the large chunks removed from the hill looks so right (see above) . It’s short enough to make you believe a 2, 3 finish is in store, but devilish enough to make you second guess your ability to hit a 9-iron. Beautiful stuff.
Hole 18
Noticeably simple, the 18th doesn’t need to show you any more tricks. Now on top of the hill, a long way even from 16 tee, you’ve seen all Old Barnwell has to offer. Enjoy the walk, see if you can hold the green, have a few good handshakes, and go find some food. After all, DERT is no good without the E, and, to quote (paraphrase) Ben Hogan, “The secret is in the DERT”.
If you enjoyed, drop us a message! We’d love to hear from you.
Cheers,
WS