<img decoding="async" alt="Willbrook Par Five 3rd Hole" src="/media/images/Willbrook_Par_5s_600x300.png" style="width: 600px;height: 300px" />
Story by Ian Guerin
PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. | Dan Maples created a product that would long be lauded.
<a href="https://www.mbn.com/courses/willbrook-plantation">Willbrook Plantation</a> opened to rave reviews in 1988, and not long after it was anointed as one of the area’s best shot-maker’s courses while others promoted its attraction for female players. In 2017, a large-scale project to find the top 18 holes along the Grand Strand (dubbed “The Perfect Round”) honored its opener as Myrtle Beach’s best. And in 2019, a survey of local pros named Willbrook as one of the area’s top-20 designs.
But if anything has been lost in the shuffle &#8211; amid the property’s deep-rooted history or its string of plaques &#8211; it has been just how much Maples’ vision was very much ahead of his time. When others were pushing courses to be meaner, he took a different approach, one we have on full display with his four Par 5s at <a href="https://www.mbn.com/courses/willbrook-plantation">Willbrook</a>.
The longest holes he routed into the course each bring something different to the table while keeping playability over time as his top priority.
[NOTE: All distances are given from the white tees.]
NO. 3, 520 YARDS 
Maples eases you into the first big dog of the day some with his pair of Par 4s to start to the day. It certainly takes some of the edge off the third hole, the type of Par 5 where the fairway doesn’t exactly inspire long drives. You’re going to be asked to go straight away; that part is good. However, virtually no one will have the type of pop to get far enough down that landing strip to entertain a second shot at the green. Most who do will get caught up by one of the trio of bunkers that line the bend of a last-minute dogleg right in the final 100 yards. (hole pictured above)
 
 
NO. 8, 501 YARDS<img decoding="async" alt="Willbrook Plantation par five 8th hole" src="/media/images/Willbrook_8.jpg" style="width: 300px;height: 150px;float: right" />
Long before Missy Elliott sang about “flip it and reverse it”, Maples did so between his first and second Par 5s at <a href="https://www.mbn.com/courses/willbrook-plantation">Willbrook</a>. Instead of the dogleg coming in the final yardage of the hole, he put the bend up close and personal to the tee box. Some 185-200 yards, to be exact. That means that no only did he take the driver out of your hands on a 500-yard hole, he basically meant that most folks are wisely going to be grabbing a mid or long iron to start. That isn’t most of our comfort clubs, but it added a nifty dynamic.
 
 
NO. 15, 538 YARDS<img decoding="async" alt="Willbrook Plantation par five 15th hole" src="/media/images/Willbrook_1511.jpg" style="width: 300px;height: 150px;float: right" />
The straightest of the Par 5s comes with one heck of an asterisk smack dab in the middle. Yes, the fairway is wide and able to take on just about anything your throw at it. But if you don’t find even amicable distance, get ready to lay up. That’s because a wooded and banked stream and wet land cuts across the hole left to right about 60 percent of the way up. From even the furthest edge, you’re still staring at 200-plus yards into the green. Navigate the break in two, though, and you’ve certainly given yourself a meaningful chance at par.
 
 
NO. 18, 515 YARDS<img decoding="async" alt="" src="/media/images/Willbrook_18.jpg" style="width: 300px;height: 150px;float: right" />
Maples’ last biggie is how you’re going to wrap up your round, and it’s time to keep in mind everything else he’s presented. That long, sweeping drive is out of the equation thanks to a mild bend in the fairway. The tree lines on both sides aren’t overly embedded into the line of play, but they are enough to get you to pull back some off that drive. As cliché as it sounds, this is one of those holes where your only goal should be to stay dead center. Do that, and you can run a couple shots right into a nice finish.
 
Ian Guerin is a DJ and freelance writer based in Myrtle Beach. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/iguerin?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@iguerin</a> and Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/IanGuerinWriter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facebook.com/IanGuerinWriter/</a>

Willbrook Plantation’s Long Holes Diversify the Par 5 Feel

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Willbrook Plantation

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