The Greenville-Spartanburg area of South Carolina has been booming over the last decade, and as a result, many new daily-fee courses have been built here. River Falls Plantation, the centerpiece of a new housing development, opened in 1990, designed by Gary Player. The hallmark of this course is the wide variety of holes, shots and situations Player crammed into the routing. There are holes with dramatic elevation changes, and holes that are flat. Some are open, others tightly bound by trees. Some have large green complexes, others are tightly guarded and small. This is neither a power-hitter’s course, nor a shot-maker’s … it is both! Consider the par-five 12th, a monster of 591 yards. But it still requires two heavy blows to get in position for the required short-iron to a tiny green, fronted by water and protected by sand. Power and finesse required, all on the same hole. The next hole is just 327 yards, but the second shot, which is both downhill and blind, requires precision to hit the narrowest of greens in one of the more dramatic settings in this part of the state. It’s that kind of architectural creativity that has earned this course high marks among the local golfers, and make it well worth the short trip off I-85 for the visitor.