“Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
-Ferris Bueller
Man, you ain't kidding... The days go slow but the years go fast. Pretty soon, you look up and (you might have) missed it. Good thing we formalized this project 6 1/2 years ago to have our wives sign off on random golf trips to collect some new courses and to catch up on that life you might otherwise miss with your head down.
For a couple of guys trying to play 1000 courses that haven't relocated in a dozen years or so, finding new courses to play is pretty much a daytrip enterprise these days. We're looking at (typically) a ninety minute to two hour drive out to a new course. If we're lucky, there is a possibility of a 2-for-1 day, but it doesn't always work out (short on time or weak on body).
The solution we've found is the short 2-night golf trip. Our typical cadence has been to play a strong public course, a short course, a big name track (often but not always private), a nine-holer if there's time and even a replay if we find a place we love so much we just have to play again (or one that one of us has played but the other needs to see to confirm said love/greatness). Our aim is to collect 4-5 courses on those runs.
We've made this trip annually to a number of different cities/destinations in the past six years. You may have even read about them in feature stories on trips to Pinehurst, Aiken or Hilton Head Island. If you've been following us awhile, you may also recognize the recipe is similar to The Iron Maverick events we've staged in Richmond/Williamsburg, Pawley's Island/Charleston and most recently at Tot Hill Farm in Asheboro, NC (creating our own short course to play backwards across the restored Mike Strantz masterpiece).
Recent 2-night trips have yielded courses such as (clockwise from top left) Haig Point, Old Barnwell, Royal New Kent and Bulls Bay.
Living about five hours apart on opposite ends of Interstate-26, there are a few opportunities we've had to meet for a round in the middle or an overnight to an event perhaps (PGA Championship in Charlotte for example) that we can squeeze in a quick par-3 course or something of the like.
So with a free night suddenly appearing on the calendar, we called in spousal permission to assemble in the Upstate of South Carolina for a night, namely because while BMAC had played the semi-famous 3's Greenville - yet only during the day - and Dooner needed to validate The Golf Crusade's version of the little blue checkmark on 'verified' social media accounts.
But why stop with one course we can't even count towards our roster (since BMAC already played it, it wouldn't add a tally to the Crusade Course Counter in the top right hand margin of all pages on the site?
If you haven't guessed already, we didn't.
With tee times so hard to come by these days, it seems planning an overnight trip with just 24 hours to play, let alone finding a choice tee time on a Sunday morning, might be challenging to say the least. Well...
It took a minute, but after securing lodging, finding a playing partner or a round, scouring the internet and phone lines for tee times and scouting a couple of college golf team facilities (to add photos to our college golf landscape map & story), it all came together like a freaking glove!
After all, planning these things is half the fun! We have no less than half a dozen of these theoretical trips planned out should lightening strike. We HIGHLY encourage you and a bro (or group of bros) do the same!
Remember what Ferris said?
So with 24 hours in town, where did we play?
First, every trip has to have an anchor course. Know your priorities and get this one locked in first. It'd be a pity to go through all the trouble to plan and miss out on the place you really wanted to see. For this trip, the anchor was 3's.
3's - if you were not aware - is an alternative golf entertainment facility located at the north end of Greenville's Downtown Airport. If that sounds familiar, it's likely you read about Justin Timberlake and 8am Golf's investment in the company and plans to franchise the model into other markets. Charlotte was announced as the first expansion of the brand - which includes a legit 12-hole par-3 course, an 18-hole putting course that wraps around two sides of the Grubhouse, the property's social hub loaded with cold beer and great food (the burger might be top-10 all-time, maybe top five). A practice facility completes the site plan using a few holes of the site's original 18-holes no longer in use for play.
Best of all, if you hadn't guessed, the whole site has LIGHTS!
After we nabbed the second to last tee time of the night (8:45pm) to maximize the time on course during daylight, we got to work on the rest of the courses.
With the lack of public tee time availability, we called a friend who helped us secure a 2:10pm Saturday slot at the private Country Club of Spartanburg. It helped that the course is also home to the Wofford College golf teams practice facilities and we could capture those while we were there.
CCOS doesn't show up on a lot of rankings of the best courses in South Carolina. We get it, there is a lot of great golf in the state, but it in our eyes it's a major omission or fault that this course isn't talked about more in those discussions. Lists are the end all, be all of course, and the club may prefer it that way. To call it bustling would be an understatement.
From the course to the pro shop, to the culinary options and pool program, it was filled with happy faces and welcoming comments. The club's racquet sports are getting a relocation closer to the clubhouse, three golf holes are also being redone/added to account for the land swap. This meant we only played 15 holes, but came away giddy that we'd had the chance to experience this Kris Spence design.
Country Club of Spartanburg
The new holes are already shaped, sanded and seeded (and look fantastic). Hopefully we'll get a chance to come back when they're done and contend for nothing even remotely close to a course record.
Since we played in just over three hours, we decided to make the five minute drive down to The Creek Golf Club. We ran around their 6-hole Juniors Course in about 30 minutes, Dooner winning a heads up match in convincing 3 & 2 fashion. Yes, this is worth adding in writing since it's probably been 30 years since BMAC lost a match to Dooner. #championship
Short Course at The Creek Golf Club
The course sign gives design credit to Tom Watson. It's not going to win awards if put against say The Cradle or The Chalkmine, but it's exactly like it should be - a scalable experience that's fun for kids and adults alike. Kudos to The Creek for using a few acres to add an awesome amenity that every city over 50K people should have!
We then made the forty minute drive down to Greenville in time for dinner, a few beers and a few pics at sunset. The day came together so well, but was topped off with a visit from our buddy Cam from Up River Golf Company. These guys are LEGIT filmmakers that specialize in tell some pretty incredible golf stories. We shared a few of our own stories over the 12 all too quick holes. We didn't get into the putting course this time around, but hope to do so the next time down - because there will most certainly be a next time.
3's Greenville & Grubhouse
Think playing under the lights is cool?
IT MOST CERTAINLY IS!
Also, we may have set a new Guinness World Record that day. Due to the construction at CCOS, we played a 15 hole course, a 6 hole course and a 12 hole course in the same day. That's got to be the first time that's ever happened right? Who else would do that or even have the opportunity to? Let's go Guinness, adjudicate that please!
After a quick nap, we walked downstairs from the rooms at the Embassy Suites Greenville Golf Resort and were on the first tee at The Preserve at Verdae by 8:45am. This Willard Byrd design seems to fit many of the other jobs ol' Willard took - cramped or crumpled. All we know is we played pretty quick for a Sunday morning and got pair up with a couple of fantastic regulars that showed us the course ropes.
The Preserve at Verdae
Some of the greens have seen better days, but it's been a hot summer in the South and it's hard work keeping up a golf course. To those that take care of our courses that never get enough thanks, we thank you for giving it your all to allow us to enjoy the game we love!
After some bottomless steak fries at Red Robin (Pro Tip: never forget to ask for a basket as an appetizer people when you order your meal!), we headed back in our own respective ways, but not before tallying up the final trip figures...
Hours in town: 24
Holes played: 51
Courses played: 4 (3 new)
Hours slept: 5ish?
Beers consumed: We forgot
If you're looking to follow in our footsteps and have your own 'One Night Golf Stand' in Greenville, you could also look to add a round at Furman Golf Club (played it 25 years ago so didn't look for a replay this time) and/or Cherokee Valley on the north end of town. Spence also did the Furman course and we've never played a course he's worked on and not loved it. Cherokee Valley is a P.B. Dye design we've yet to play, but hope to on a future trip. We hear the views are excellent!
We're already planning another trip back with perhaps a Clemson flavor to collect the Walker Course and see the team's incredible stand alone facility perhaps? Time will tell.
Got a trip like this you've done or are planning to do? Drop us an line about it on the contact form below or put it in the comments if you'd like. We are far more responsive to DMs on Instagram at @GolfCrusade too, so hit us up and share the good news!
Sincerely Fores,
Your Golf Crusade
24 Hours Golf Upstate South Carolina
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