Playing the Jack Nicklaus-designed May River Golf Course isn’t just a round of golf, it's a mental and strategic examination set against a beautiful Lowcountry background. To score well here, you need more than a good swing - you need a solid game plan. This guide is your caddie on paper, breaking down the course's character with hole-by-hole strategies and actionable tips to help you navigate its subtleties and enjoy one of the finest courses in South Carolina.
Before stepping onto the first tee, it helps to understand the personality of the course. Jack Nicklaus designs reward thoughtful golf. Raw power takes a backseat to precision, placement, and course management. He often wants you to shape the ball a certain way, frequently favoring a left-to-right ball flight (a fade for right-handed players) to fit the hole's design.
Here are the fundamental principles to keep in mind throughout your round:
The front nine winds through pristine forest and marshland, demanding your attention from the very beginning. It's a fantastic mix of gettable par-5s and demanding par-4s that will test your discipline.
This is a classic Nicklaus dogleg right that puts your strategy to the test right away. From the tee, it can look intimidating. A long waste area runs up the entire left side, while thick trees guard the right. A straight drive can run through the fairway.
This is the first hole where a well-placed fade is a massive advantage. The ideal line is to start your ball at the far bunker on the left and work it back towards the center of the fairway. If you don't have a reliable fade, the safe play is to aim down the left-center. This might leave a slightly longer approach, but it keeps you far from the trees on the right and gives you the best angle into the elevated green. Don't be a hero, putting yourself in the fairway is priority number one.
You’ll likely be hitting into an elevated green protected by deep bunkers on both the front-left and right. The green itself is two-tiered. Take an extra club. Nearly every amateur under-clubs this shot due to the elevation. A shot that lands pin-high or just beyond is perfect. Missing long is much better than being short in one of those bunkers, where getting up and down for par is a tall order.
One of the most scenic holes on the course, this an unforgettable par-3 playing directly along the banks of the May River. The beauty can be distracting, and the wind coming off the water can be treacherous.
The green is massive - very wide but not particularly deep. The river guards the entire left side. The predominant wind tends to come off your left shoulder from the water, pushing balls toward the bailout area on the right. Your first job on the tee is to gauge that wind accurately. Feel it on your face, toss up some grass, and trust your gut.
If the pin is on the left, an aggressive player might try to hold a shot against the wind. However, the smart play for most is to aim for the center of the green and let the wind drift the ball toward the hole. If you're unsure, playing to the fat part of the green, right of the pin, and leaving yourself a 30-foot putt is never a bad outcome here. A bogey can feel like a par when the wind is up, a double bogey from a ball in the water is a scorecard wrecker.
The back nine feels a bit more open but is no less challenging. It features some of the most memorable holes on the property, including a spectacular stretch along the river.
The quintessential risk-reward hole and arguably the course's signature. A sweeping par-5 with the May River patrolling the entire right a gigantic fairway bunker guarding the left, it presents you with a series of compelling decisions.
You have a choice. The bold play is to aim down the right side, flirting with the river to cut off as much of the dogleg as possible. A successful drive down this line could give you a chance to go for the green in two. The much safer play is to aim at the fairway bunker on the left. This takes the river out of play and leaves a much wider landing area, but it will almost certainly make it a three-shot hole.
If you're going for it in two, be aware that the green is narrow and well-guarded by deep bunkers. Any miss to the right is gone. For most golfers, the third-shot approach is the wiser path. The key here is your layup. Aim to leave yourself a full wedge - your favorite yardage - for your third. Many players get too greedy with their layup, trying to get as close as possible, only to end up in an awkward half-swing distance. Lay up to a comfortable number, hit the green, and give yourself a good look at birdie.
A fitting and formidable finishing hole. This long, sweeping dogleg-left par-4 requires two excellent shots to finish your round on a high note. A large pond protects the entire left side from tee to green.
Like on the 10th hole, you're faced with a decision dictated by your confidence and your score. The aggressive tee shot challenges the water on the left to leave a shorter approach. It requires a powerful draw for right-handers. The safer line is to aim well to the right of the water, toward the far fairway bunkers. This will leave you with a much longer second shot, often from over 180 yards, but it keeps that dreaded penalty stroke off your card.
This long approach is all about club selection and commitment. The green is big, and there is a collection area on the right, which is the "safe miss." Anything pulled left will find the water. Given the length of the hole, walking away with a bogey is not a disaster. Don't press for a miracle finish, play intelligent golf, and aim for the largest part of the green to give yourself a chance at two putts.
Beyond the specific holes, here are a few more course-wide points of strategy:
May River is a masterpiece that rewards strategic thinking, patience, and execution over brute force. Focus on finding the right spots on the fairways and the correct tiers on the greens, and you’ll not only survive Nicklaus’s test, but you’ll come away with a satisfying score and an appreciation for world-class design.
On a course this strategic, having a clear game plan before every swing is what separates good rounds from great ones. Knowing the right line off the tee or the precise yardage for your approach is the key. We built Caddie AI to be your personal on-course strategist, designed to help you make smarter decisions. If you're on the tee of a complex hole like the 10th at May River, you can get an instant game plan, and when you find yourself in an unpredictable waste bunker, you can even snap a photo of the lie, and our AI will offer sound advice on how to navigate the shot. It’s like having a tour-level caddie in your pocket, making you feel more confident and prepared for whatever the course throws at you.
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