Being the most popular layout at Barefoot Resort is no easy feat, but it’s a distinction the Love Course has held since the 72-hole facility opened in 2000. Ranked among “America’s Top 100 You Can Play” by Golf Magazine, the Love Course charms golfers with generous fairways and crowned greens, reminiscent of Pinehurst No. 2.
The layout manages to simultaneously challenge highly skilled players while providing mid to high handicappers a fair test and a tremendous design, without overwhelming them.
The Love Course’s signature hole is the fourth, which is shortest par 4 along the Grand Strand, playing just 294 yards from the tips. Most memorably, the green is back-stopped by the faux ruins of a 17th century plantation home, creating one of the Grand Strand’s most iconic visuals.
The size of the fairways encourages golfers to wallop the driver without great fear of being slightly offline, but your 2016 Ryder Cup captain didn’t craft a pushover either. The heart of the course’s challenge is in hitting those contoured greens in the proper spots or scrambling to get up-and-down if you don’t.
Fun is the word that immediately comes to mind when playing the Love Course.