Golf expert Sophie Horn gives us the scoop on the Barefoot Resort course.
I had the privilege of being in the US at that well-known golfer’s paradise, Myrtle Beach, just after the Masters this year. Unfortunately it wasn’t because I had been invited back to defend the Green Jacket, but to attend ‘Monday after the Masters’ (an annual celebrity pro bash) which made up for it…just!
I’ve been to America a few times now but have only really sampled the very commercial parts such as Orlando. Myrtle Beach is much the same, and the amount of golf courses per square foot is quite astonishing!
Having had a taster of Barefoot on the Monday, I was itching to get back and sample the track for myself, it’s a hard job but I feel I have a duty to take one for the team and check it out for all you MoneyMakers! The resort boasts not one but four courses designed by Davis Love, Tom Fazio, Greg Norman and Pete Dye. Not a bad set of designers!! So not only did I have a tough decision deciding which resort to head to in the first place, I was then faced with a choice of courses. This was a good time to sample the club sandwich and beer for the HORNdex score whilst I compared each man….I mean course!
I decided to play the Fazio and Norman courses, and if the other courses are as attractive and interesting as these two, then you need go nowhere else for a long weekend golfing holiday of a lifetime!
As with all things American, there is great emphasis on customer service. From your clubs being taken from the boot of your car and cleaned, to the friendly pro shop staff, there is always a smile to greet you. Plus the sun shining, another benefit often missing from our UK courses, always helps as well.
Both courses have water featuring heavily throughout which makes for many interesting and challenging tee shots, this failing it also provides a nice way to cool off if things don’t exactly go to plan.
Although, that said both courses were fair. The greens, surprise surprise, were BIG. Get onto the wrong part on some of them and you can watch your ball disappear quite merrily into an area where a 3-putt would be a good result. The fairways were immaculate, like carpet. They don’t cram the course full of players either so I had a really nice relaxing round…exactly how golf should be.
Even if you’re not playing well, the beer cart and the spectacular setting, especially on the Norman course that’s known for its seven holes situated along the Intracoastal Waterway, will help put a smile back on your face.
Try it!! Don’t forget to take advantage of the 35,000-square-foot Barefoot Clubhouse and The Range at Barefoot, a lighted facility with more than 30 acres of manicured grass.
Sophie’s HORNdex Score
The HORNdex takes into account aspects of the golf course and facilities itself, alongside such things as the Club Sandwich and the local beers on offer.
Barefoot really was a treat from first to last. The courses are stunning to both play and take in, and the facilities and staff won’t be matched by many courses around the world.
COURSE: 9/10
FACILITIES: 9/10
To find out more about Sophie’s travels visit her website at www.sophiehorn.com or follow her on Twitter @SophieHorn.
