Founders Group International has reopened the King’s North course at Myrtle Beach National Golf Club in South Carolina following the completion of an 18-hole renovation by Brandon Johnson Golf Course Design.
The course was designed by Arnold Palmer’s firm and opened in 1973, the first of three Palmer designs to open there in successive years. The club sought to improve playability, strategic options and maintenance efficiency, while retaining the character of the course, and the existing routing.
“Greens had contracted in size, causing them to drain into bunkers and leading to maintenance and playability issues,” said Johnson, a former Palmer design associate. “The majority of the green complexes also had dated ‘mounding’ surrounding them. The slopes were steep and difficult to maintain even at rough height. The mounding served little playability or strategic function. Even mounds originally placed to screen or buffer backdrop views were unsuccessful in doing so.”
Johnson’s work has included expanding the TifEagle greens – some back to their original sizes and shapes, while others have been enlarged beyond their original size to add strategic pin placements and better engage with new surrounds and reshaped bunkers. Green collars now feature Tahoma 31 bermuda.
Work on the front nine was completed first, reopening in October 2024 and including significant redesign of the fourth and ninth greens. The left side of the fourth green was expanded to create a sideboard that funnels balls to a cupped pin location, while the front-right was enlarged to bring water at the front into play and the expanded back-right leads to a low-mow swale behind the green. The ninth green was redesigned to offer more aerial and ground game options.
The renovated ninth hole (Photo: Founders Group International)
Greens continued to be a focus on the back nine. “On hole ten, expansion at the front adds pin locations that engage a feeding slope on the right, a reconfigured centre bunker and the subtle green turndown on the left,” said Johnson. “We have created a bowl pin location on twelve with reshaped contour at the back as a subtle backboard. On the following green, we expanded the surface to create a subtle false front, and it becomes a Punchbowl-inspired green. Fifteen’s complex has also been reshaped and on seventeen, the back-left green expansion creates a pin that ‘floats’ in between a fronting beach bunker and wraps around the back. On the closing hole, we restored a middle-right pin and one tucked behind the front-right bunker. The expansion of the back-left portion of the putting surface helps to create a sunken bowl pin location with a subtle backboard and funnel that feeds balls to a pin at the back.”
Several putting surfaces (including the seventeenth, pictured) have been restored to their original size or enlarged to bring more pin positions into play (Photo: Founders Group International)
Bunkers were past their lifespan, and all now feature liner from CapillaryFlow. “Bunkers were impossible to maintain as subsurface drainage had failed and the surrounding contours drained into them, causing massive washouts, contaminating sand and leading to their style and aesthetic being lost,” said Johnson. “Also, several bunkers were obsolete due to tree growth.”
On the eighteenth hole, 45 bunkers were removed. “We created a large landform that feeds balls to the green and screens the parking lot,” said Johnson. “We converted bunkers on the right into a sandy area that ties into an existing sandy feature on the adjacent ninth hole.”
Additional work on the King’s North course has included the stabilisation of eroding pond banks using a system from Sox Erosion Control, strategic tree removal to reveal new sightlines across the golf course, and the conversion of 10 acres of maintained turf into natural or native grass areas.
“The new design has put an emphasis on creating landforms and contours that encourage thought and creativity in how best to attack holes and recover when out of position,” said Johnson. “A fun balance of feeding, funnelling and shedding contours now adds avenues for all skill levels to navigate the golf course and have loads of fun during the round. The heroic and risk-reward strategies of the golf course have all been enhanced to create a round of golf that is full of fun, tempting choices to make or daring shots to execute.”
Below, Brandon Johnson highlights three holes that encapsulate the work he has overseen on the King’s North course at Myrtle Beach National:
On hole one, the fairway has been expanded along the left side, greenside bunkers have been reshaped and new contouring introduced (Photo: Founders Group International)
Hole one | par five | 502 yards
“We have undertaken some subtle fairway expansions that bring the line of tall pines on the left into play for tee and second shots that drift left. Our work on this hole also includes exposing gentle rolls and folds along the right and left fairway edges. We have also reshaped the greenside bunker on the left to create a foreshortening appearance into a green that builds into a contour feature that houses three thumbprint bunkers that obscure the back-left of the putting surface.
“The reshaped fairway bunkers create a long line that bisects the fairway leading into the second landing area, creating choices/decisions to be made. Players have the chance to go for the green in two or bail out right. Layups that successfully challenge the diagonal bunkers are rewarded with a short pitch into the green and players can use the booster slope on the backside. Another option is to play your second shot to the right of the diagonal bunkers, although you will be further away from the green. A third possibility is to avoid carrying the diagonal bunkers and play left – this brings dangling limbs of trees into play. Laying up left avoids trouble but leaves players with a tricky pitch shot from below the putting surface with a bunker and contours obscuring the view.”
Hole ten | par five | 517 yards
“This hole was one of the biggest transformations of the project. We extended the middle tees, built two new forward tees and extended the fairway line back towards the tees, reducing the carry to the front fairway edge. The cart path, which cluttered the tee shot view, has been blended better with a sandy waste bunker and the reconfigured left fairway bunker.
“Other work includes expanding the fairway lines to reveal and incorporate contours. We have also converted mounds on the right into a massive landform with a prominent bunker cutting into the feature that counterbalances the new left fairway bunker.
“Bunkers, contours and varying fairway widths provide a plethora of second-shot decisions. The aggressive play is over the bunker on the right, but you will be rewarded with a slope that feeds balls towards the green.
“The existing green had one sprawling, greenside bunker dominating the entire left side with mounds detached from the green and covered in rough. Players encountered limited tactical decisions and similarly lacking options of attack or recovery.
Our major changes on this green began from around 100 yards out. Shots left of centre now run the risk of funnelling down into a broad low that positions players slightly below the green surface with them needing to navigate a small but impactful left-centre bunker. The expanded green has been revamped to tilt slightly right-to-left with a back-to-front pitch. There are plenty of pin locations that work in concert with the feed slope on the right or the small bunker on the left. We also expanded green surrounds with subtle contours mowed at fairway height to provide bailout and recovery options.”
On hole thirteen, Johnson has created sandy waste areas (Photo: Founders Group International)
Hole thirteen | par four | 407 yads
“We have shifted tees to the right to improve sightlines and ‘line of charm’ – new forward and middle tees were also added.
“A major aspect of work on this hole was converting fairway bunkers, which previously floated in space, into a sandy waste area that connects to an existing open sandy feature as well as creating a risk-reward line over a diagonal hazard.
“We also reshaped mounds to enclose the majority of the green so shots can be played off sideboards and backboards.”