As one might expect from architect Mike Stranz, who catapulted into prominence with his highly regarded work at the nearby Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, the barely three-year-old True Blue course has already become one of the highest-ranked courses on the Grand Strand, and considered one of the top ten courses in all of South Carolina. Stranz was obviously inspired by Pine Valley. True Blue has that scary look of vast expanses of desert-like sandy waste areas, punctuated by small-looking targets of green fairway and green. Hit the ball to the assigned target and all will be well: miss those targets and start adding strokes. The course starts with a bang: the second through the fourth holes are demanding to the max. The second is short par four that calls for just a wedge approach, but to a devilishly hard target of a small green surrounded by trouble. The innocent-looking par three 3rd seems easy enough, but the odd shaped, narrow-to-wide green is tough to find, especially in a wind. And the par five 4th just bends to the left around a lake, water in play on all three shots. The course closes in equally demanding fashion, with water in play from the 16th tee to the closing green. Most golfers won’t (and shouldn’t) play True Blue from the tips, where length, wind and sand are the premium considerations. But even from more moderate lengths, this is a golf course that demands attention on every shot, and will stay in your memory banks for a long, long time.