The eagle is gone from Eagle Nest. Evicted from his home overlooking the eighth fairway in 1989 by an overbearing bag of wind named Hurricane Hugo. But although the great bird is gone, the pursuit of birdies goes on at this exceedingly popular North Myrtle Beach course. Eagle Nest provides all the beauty you would expect at a South Carolina resort course. Gently rolling terrain. Tall pines lining the fairways. Cypress trees growing in ponds; willow trees gracing their banks. But the real beauty lies in the way architect Gene Hamm set up the course.

Hamm starts you off easy, giving you a virtually straight-away par five, handicap 14, stretching 492 yards from the whites. Then follows that with a delightful little 332 yard par four, dogleg right, handicap 16. By then you ought to be warmed up. And by the time you make your way around the ponds and pines through the next thirteen holes, you'll be ready for Hamm's big finale, the three toughest finishing holes on the Grand Strand. Individually, they're known by locals as Tough, Almost As Tough, and Lord Help Me Over The Water. The 16th, the number one handicap hole, is a 416 yard par four that gives you a choice. You can hit your second shot into the water that cuts into the fairway from the left. Or you can avoid the pond and fly it OB on the right. Or you can thread the needle to the well guarded, undulating green. The 17th, the number three handicap, is an ever so gentle double dogleg that stretches a mere 576 yards. And unless your name is Daly or Godzilla, you'll be laying up short of the pond, and pitching to an elevated green. Don't be short on that shot, though.....trap. Don't be long either.....trees. The 18th, is only 164 yards, and only a handicap seven. And if only you can get over the water that starts just below the elevated tee, and ends just below the elevated green, you'll do alright. Oh yes, watch out for the four traps that guard the green. Eagle Nest is a fun course, with just the right mixture of easy and hard holes to make your round interesting and entertaining. It would be even more entertaining if the eagle were still there. But who knows, if you're lucky you might find an eagle of your own at that 576 yard 17th. And wouldn't that be something to write home about?