Barefoot Resort & Golf - The Fazio Course

Barefoot Resort and Golf Course, on the Intercostal Waterway, is home to 4 spectacular golf courses designed by some of the legends – Tom Fazio, Pete Dye, Davis Love, and Greg Norman.  These courses are consistently ranked as some of the best in Myrtle Beach.  In fact, the Fazio Course was rated #96 in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses 2009 and it's consistently rated in Golf Digests' Top 50 Courses in Myrtle Beach.  The Love Course is currently ranked #96 in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses.  Each of the courses has it's own unique characteristics, personality, and challenges.  We loved the Fazio course and thought it was one of the best we played during our visit to Myrtle Beach. 

The Fazio course traverses the natural sand dunes and low country forest filled with live oaks and pines surrounding Barefoot Resort.  The natural areas, elevation changes, grass areas, ponds and creeks, mounding, and bunkers make this a very challenging as well as aesthetically pleasing course.   With a slope of 139 and rating of 73.7, you'll need some strategic shot making, good course management, and a little bit of luck to score well on the Fazio Course.

The Fazio course winds through a naturally wooded area with few homes.The fairways range from wide open and let-er-rip to fairly tight.  The rolling and contoured fairways also mean that an even lie is rare.   And on the way to the green, you'll encounter over 100 bunkers, including the waste areas, of all shapes and sizes that you need to avoid.  Fazio is known for super-sizing his bunkers and he outdid himself on this 18 – some seem like they are big enough to hold the entire state of Maine and they held my ball two or three shots before I could find the fairway!  One writer described #9 as "having more sand on it alone than most entire golf courses. There's a mid-sized pond to the right along the tees and then a sand trap that can be best described as Saharan. Even calling it a sand trap is like branding a Ferrari a modest mode of transport."

The large, undulating green complexes demand a good short game.  All of the greens are well protected with bunkers, ponds, pines, or oaks and some are elevated.  The putting surfaces are smooth, but fast, and with plenty of slope and undulation.  When we played, the fairways, greens, and bunkers were in near perfect condition. 

The Fazio course is a little short (thank goodness) but the elevated tee boxes and greens, forced caries, water on most every hole, bunkers and waste areas, dog legs, and challenging green complexes  make for a very challenging round.  But don't let any of this scare you away from playing this fantastic golf course – just pick the right set of tee boxes, keep your head in the game, relish the challenge, and enjoy the scenery.  Who cares about score, you're on vacation and out to have some fun – this will be one of your most memorable rounds of golf.