Glen Dornoch Waterway

Golfers in South Carolina may see railroad ties and assume Pete Dye was the inspiration, but Clyde Johnston was paying tribute to the biography of a different golf course architecture icon: Donald Ross.

Glen Dornoch Waterway assembles a number of elements into one singular concept. On one hand, there is Ross’s origins at Royal Dornoch, from which Johnston takes inspiration for the railroad ties seen throughout the course. On the other hand, the American architect aims to emulate the Scot’s works here across the inland holes, which feature doglegs through the forest, punctuated by pot bunkers.

The third element is not Rossian at all but it’s tough to avoid: The quality of the terrain in the South Carolina lowcountry, and the title "Waterway." Marshland abounds and Johnston incorporates it as a midpoint carry on par fours, or as an outright forced carry — such as at No. 17, which plays 200 yards across the marsh to a long green.

The course makes it known from the onset that the challenge of the opening 15 holes are a build-up to the final trio, which it deems to be among the most challenging stretches in the region.