True Blue Golf Club

This is my third Mike Strantz-designed course, the other two are in my top 4 of the 132 courses I've played, so you could say I'm a bit of a fan.

True Blue is another stunningly beautiful example of Strantz' masterful creativity and artwork applied to a golf course. Even in a setting very different from the others I have played in, you can instantly recognize the styling cues Mike used to create incredible shapes and sight lines.

Overall style and design aside, each hole is very well done and the set of par-3s here rival those of any other premiere golf club, and they are personally my #1. Other favorite holes include the par-5 9th, par-4 8th, and par-4 6th.

The staff and amenities here are very good. It was decently busy when I arrived but there were no pace of play issues despite not seeing a course ranger at any point. Social distancing policies may have attributed to a slight lack of attentiveness by the staff so I won't knock them for that, we'll all still trying to adjust to these new norms. Grass driving range and free range balls are what you'd expect at this price and were present.

Speaking of price, that's where I start to struggle on this one. I am a value-focused golfer, rarely paying more than $75 for a round of golf and True Blue charges well over $100 per round. For that price I would expect a little better conditions and a bit more of an exclusive feel upon arrival. Again, this is nitpicking, but such a high greens fee sort of demands it. The course conditions overall were very good (no points taken away for the recent aeration) but the fairway grass was a tad scruffy for my taste and on a couple holes there was some minor evidence of wrong grass invasion on the greens. It didn't affect play at all but was noticeable nonetheless.

Perhaps though, the premium charge here isn't about carpet fairways and valet service but the chance to take in one of the best designed public courses in the state. If I were to judge the course solely on how much fun I had playing and taking photos of it, then the premium price makes more sense.

This is one heck of a great golf course, and if the greens fee doesn't scare you off, you should definitely not think twice about playing here!

I've played some of the best courses in the world and the architecture of True Blue is up there with the best. There are no boring straight away holes with the imagination and artistry of Mike Strantz being something to behold. The condition of the course wasn't as good as I had hoped but it was early season and everything else made up for it. I am a good golfer so I didn't find the course too difficult, but I could imagine it being a stern test for the lesser player.

Playing True Blue once a year with a local golf group of 100 is always a treat for me. It's always in Dec and the course with the overseeding is in great shape. The greens were the best I have played all year. Highly recommend putting it on your play list if your in town.

Great layout w/ best 3 finishing holes on Strand. Every level of golfer can be tested thru assorted tees. Classic test

The best advice I got about the course was to remember to aim. The generous fairways invites you to just hit away. However, although you will likely find yourself on the fairway, it may not be the best position to attack the greens. The layout is challenging, the conditions terrific. And sand....

Highly recommend!

Just played True Blue this past April 2019.

Pros-Incredible layout design, Mike Stranz’s designed courses are just a beautiful thing to see. Staff was friendly and easy to talk to. Played on a Tuesday afternoon shortly after we landed, barely saw anybody on the course which was magnificent. Loved the huge brawny course with wide, I mean very wide fairways. The bunkering designs were very cool.

Cons-This used to be a top 100 public golf course. If you look up any recent polls you probably won’t see it on the list. Now I’m sure this is a golf destination for a huge bulk of the golfers. We fly in, drive directly to the course and there’s no type of locker room? I mean there’s not even a bench to sit on? Is this a little petty? Maybe but I’d rather not change standing in pee next to the guy at the urinal. Biggest disappointment was the course conditions. The fairway bunkers are just basically hard pan which I figured is how it’s supposed to play but almost every green side bunker was a joke. Every bunker washed out with big rains that came a few days prior. Greens were slow and bumpy. Nobody was out there even attempting to fix the bunkers. Normally I wouldn’t complain but when the rack rate is 200 bucks this is unacceptable. I paid 159 since we played at 2pm but for that kind of money I expected much better conditions.

Would I recommend? Tough one cause the condition with the amount I paid is just too hard to justify. The only saving grace was the back 9 is absolutely breathtaking. Never seen anything so cool, the design just wows you.

Played True Blue on a cold, wet day in mid January. Course was in excellent condition for time of year. Challenging layout requiring every shot in the bag. A visual masterpiece on a dead flat site. A must play.

Perfect day for golf in January! 70 degrees and sunny! Staff greetings were great as was the beverage cart girl Lydia. Great conditions to go with a great experience, I will be back

Course was in GREAT condition even after the amount of rain in the area recently. Golf staff at bag drop and in the pro shop were beyond excellent. Unique from all the courses I have played in the Myrtle Beach area. Cant wait to go back.

The creative hazards and the overall design is so good that it will leave you wanting to play it over and over again. The conditions were tops for being in the winter and the staff was great. Cant wait to make it back!

True Blue was my 12th and final course to play during my 2018 Myrtle Beach World Amateur trip.

We definitely saved the best for last. This course was in excellent condition. The best we played on all week. Greens were perfect as was the rest of the course. Personally, I like this course better than Caledonia which is just around the corner. If you have never played True Blue, on your next trip to the Myrtle Beach area...play here. .

We played this course on the recommendation of Matt Ginella. We got a "bounce back" rate for having played the sister course Caledonia earlier in the week. We loved it so much we played 36 holes despite how hot it was! The food was very good and the beer was cheap. This a difficult course but so worth playing!

We have played True Blue for years and have always liked the course. Understanding that MB had a rough winter, this course is in terrible condition. Bare greens, dirt tee boxes, weeds everywhere, etc. Much of the poor conditions were not weather related, it appeared as if the staff was not even trying. We played three other courses this trip in MB and all were in much better shape (and cost about half the price of True Blue). I hope they get their act together as this is a great course, but given the current conditions, I would not consider what we did at True Blue this week as golf

Every April/May for the last 5 years, my golf buddies and I make our pilgrimage to Myrtle Beach to kick off the golf season. Each year we rotate the course selection, always pulling in a mix of the top ranked courses to get the full experience, and unfortunately, this year True Blue was on the list.

Run any search of top courses in Myrtle Beach, and True Blue resides as a Top 5 or 10 pick. That ranking is a farce, because the course we played was no where near the quality to be expected for this area and price point. Pulling into a packed clubhouse, there was no one at the bag drop area to help or check us in. As we stand around the starter area, there are approximately a dozen groups all waiting around with the same confusion and frustration. When I finally find a staff member to ask whats going on, he tells me they are a little behind, maybe 30-35 minutes. Personally, when I am paying close to $200 for a tee time, I expect the course to be running a tight ship.

We go to tee off 30 minutes after our reservation, and are dismayed to see the tee boxes, fairway, and green are all burnt out and in severe disrepair. More than half the greens were painted, and infested with what looked like poa annua.

This was billed as the top course this year, and was easily the worst of the ones played (Heritage, TPC MB, Kings West, Prestwick).

Bottom line- if you are looking for a top tier course, look elsewhere. This course is not run or kept in any condition that could possibly justify what they are charging.

Very disappointed with experience. Bag staff was absent , then rude. Conditions poor for what i was expecting being a top tier course. Great layout, great service in pro shop and tavern.

Played here in a foursome. Noticed warming up on the putting green the Green was infested with Poa annua. I asked the guys loading clubs were all the greens like the putting green. He said 3 or 4. Well he was wrong. 75% of the green have so much poa annua in the green that putting was impossible. The tees had very little grass and we were hitting off of dirt. The fairways were overseeded but very lightly as lie were very tight. For a price of $150 I expected a much better conditioned course. We will not play here again or recommend to anyone.

Not much needs to be said, but this is a must play if staying in the area. The course is incredibly challenging but not overly punishing. Conditions for this time of year were good, not outstanding, but very good.

Highly recommend. Every par 3 was sceninc and challenging - and most par 5s were incredibly long but again, very rewarding. Excellent design.

When True Blue opened in 1998, it rounded out one of the best one-two punches (with its neighbor Caledonia Golf & Fish Club) for traveling golfers, especially those who appreciate the intersection between the strategic and the artistic. True Blue's sandy, sinewy Mike Strantz layout seemingly throws the kitchen sink at its challengers, but in reality the fairways are large and the greens tend to be surprisingly receptive and large. But bad misses tend to be punished harshly.