With its 20th anniversary right around the bend Cobblestone Park in the suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina has never looked so smashing.
Golf course rankings are pretty much beauty pageants, except instead of a tiara and a sash the most manicured stunners take home a glittery stamp of approval from an august ratings body or magazine.
Since earning a top-30 places you can play in the state plaudit a couple years back—quite a doing for a landlocked track course considering South Carolina boasts 187 miles of dimpled ball loving coastline and includes a pair of nationally known golfing Meccas in the Grand Strand and Hilton Head Island—Cobblestone is currently enjoying its welcome to the big leagues moment. The former regional draw is gaining the attention of travel golfers making long treks just to walk her fairways.
The 27-hole P.B. Dye layout which opened in 1995 is the home roost of the South Carolina Gamecocks golf teams, an honor it shares with the Members Club at Woodcreek & Wildewood. What vaults this golf beauty queen to the top of the leaderboard are its immaculate conditions, true rolling greens, and a mettle-testing layout that is spun out across a tract of spectacular pine and oak accented parkland. With a brand new 28,000 sq/ft wedding ready clubhouse in the Colonial Revival architectural style with a grand balcony overlooking the closing green of the Black Nine, Cobblestone cuts a rug.
While there’s a trio of nines to play, when in Gamecock country play the University’s team colours by taking on the garnet and black for their round if it’s doable. Black No. 2 is the famous peninsula green par-3 where according to head pro Tony Branham, only 40% of average golfers stay dry on their first go at it.
Another standout hole is No. 9 on the black course. The par-5 presents golfers with a risk-reward decision right off the tee thanks to a split fairway. “The high side on the left is the more conservative route,” explains Branham. “The right fairway on the lower side is a little shorter but it gives you a forced carry over water on the second shot to get to the green in two.”
19th Hole
You’re in South Carolina’s Olde English District, a Revolutionary War hotbed. There’s plenty of battlefield hopping to be had from Blackstock—where General Sumter defeated Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton—to the Camden Revolutionary War Site. While exploring this 107 acre museum complex, you’ll brush up on your colonial period knowledge and get a glimpse at the tumult the Brits endured when they were hunkered down here for a year.
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