Number 24: Palmetto Golf Club
Ceiling: 88.5
Rating: 85.5
Trend over Time: 7
Let’s start with this. Palmetto is criminally underrated by most mainstream rankings systems. Period, point blank. The number of people I have spoken with who have played it and have a good eye for golf courses all come back with the same reaction of “I have no idea how that isn’t higher rated.” Herbert Leeds (Myopia) gets the credit for the front nine, and Mr. Alister Mackenzie the back. In fact, the original plans of Augusta were laid out in the clubhouse (a damn cool one if I may) of Palmetto. At current, Gil is the architect in residence after taking the reigns from Doak a number of years back. Not too shabby on the architecture front. More to come below, but I’ll make this simple. It’s one of those places you truly won’t “get” until you see it for yourself, but once you do, it won’t take long.
Culture:
The core of a course with cultural depth to me is sense of place. There is nothing better than knowing where you are when you are there because a place is steeped in culture. Palmetto is a wonderful example of this. Lowkey, very South Carolina, the opposite of stuffy, and not looking to please anyone, Palmetto has never tried to be anything more than what it is. And why would it?
It’s a place that somehow straddles the line of being both warm and inviting yet shrewd and brash once you tee off. Make no mistake, Palmetto-when it has any level of firmness-is no easy golf course. In fact, I have seen it on many days where it is just flat challenging. To me, this goes back to the culture of the place at large. They are not looking to appease any one type of golfer in particular or push anyone’s agenda. The golf course is what it is. The place is what it is. If you don’t like the club or course, no sweat. Plenty of people will happily take your slot on the tee sheet next time around.
Competition:
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but in this category Palmetto is a high bucket B or even low bucket A. A handful of PGA Tour guys (Kisner, Matt NeSmith, Scott Brown) call it home, and they have hosted both a college event and strong Amateur competition for years. What’s more is that the course stands up beautifully to the young guns. Even though it only tips around 6700 yards and plays to a par 70, Even par would get you a top 10 in the Palmetto Intercollegiate every single year. That’s fairly remarkable. I’ve played plenty of events where the course is north of 7500 and -5 hardly finishes top 30…
When the tournament levers are pulled at Palmetto, it all comes down to the greens. Both what it takes on them, and knowing the absolute no-no’s coming into them. I would by no means call the greens crazy, but they are not exactly tame either. There are spots you just can’t putt/chip your ball from with any success and knowing those things from the fairway is key to playing Palmetto well.
Architecture:
Although the greens are the course’s hallmark, by no means is Palmetto a putting contest. Much like Augusta, it is a full game examination. With the firmness of the Bermuda greens, approaching certain hole locations from the proper places and knowing what side of the hole the ball must be left on is crucial to success at Palmetto. Much like Pinehurst No. 2, I see Palmetto as a course that converges good and bad players. With a couple exceptions, you can successfully run the ball into many of the greens at Palmetto and a stronger player is not heavily favored by it’s design. Moreover, a good player will not be immune to it’s challenges around the greens as when the ball is left in the wrong spot, it doesn’t matter a whole lot who you are in trying to get down in two. The usage of short grass and length of the golf course make it very playable for anyone but also challenging for everyone. This is the best thing a golf course can accomplish in my mind and a core reason why Palmetto has made it’s way into my Top 25.
Cheers, HS