Rivertowne Country Club (Mt Pleasant, SC)

Rivertowne was designed in 1998 by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay. It’s beautifully routed close to the lowlands with many of the holes touching or offering views across the river. You can rest assure that Palmer wasn’t going to let any opportunities go to waste. His persistence leaves many memorable holes, but also makes for a couple awkward ones too.

Architecturally, the vegetation and mounding obscures the landing zones. It is hard to make out where the fairway is, and often times, you will see it land but not where it ends up. The course plays firm and fast so this creates uncertainty and tension off the tee. On the back nine, there is little buffer once the ball goes offline. This unfortunately is the reality of playing in this type of environment. 

On a few holes, there is a cement wall that holds the ground in place. A couple par threes have this feature and it’s a unique hazard. Not only can the ball hit it and ricochet but a recovery shot with it in the way can be unnerving. The seventeenth in particular uses it to great effect. The green is set at a diagonal and the wall fronts the middle and rear pins. It’s quite a sight! 

The starter suggested getting your birdies on the front because the back side is four shots harder. What he really meant is the marsh is on every hole, and a few times, you’ll be laying up to it unless you’re bold enough to take on the carry. I feel Palmer focused too much on the setting, and not enough massaging loose swings. Overall, it is a beautiful course, and locally, it’s considered one of the better courses in the area. It filled in adequately as the first course in our Kiawah trip. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).

 [we played the blue tees at 6267 yards. We treated it mostly as a practice round. Paul felt the wrath of the forced carries the most, and his eight water balls highlights the shortcomings of the design. As a foursome, we tallied a dozen lost balls. I went on the bogey train for eight straight holes, but thankfully, no doubles. None of us were at our best.]