It’s no secret that Aiken County is blessed with many wonderful golf courses.
From turn-of-the-20th-century layouts to courses that weave through neighborhoods, golf has been an integral part of the local sports landscape for many decades.
And, thanks to an abundance of suitable terrain and available land, there are more on the way.
The Tree Farm, Old Barnwell and The Chalk Mine are the new additions, and each is unique in its own way.
The Tree Farm
Professional golfer Zac Blair is developing The Tree Farm, a private golf club that is located near Exit 33 on Interstate 20.
The Utah native wanted to do something in his home state, but eventually settled on a tract of sandy soil in South Carolina. The goal was to create a club where people who loved golf could play the game and stay on site.
“It's like Augusta National Golf Club, built to have fun and bring people that love golf out here,” Blair said. “Really, the idea is to come here and everything’s taken care of. You just hang out and play golf. Eat good food and hang out with good people.”
The Tree Farm gets its name honestly thanks to the abundance of trees on the site.
“It was called the Merry Land Tract when we bought it; originally, we were thinking about calling it the Merry Land Timber Company,” Blair said. “And then we were calling it The Tree Farm, just kind of like a nickname; and then everyone started calling it that. We were like, that will work, too.”
Blair hired Tom Doak to route the course and Kye Goalby to handle construction.
Doak’s resume includes Pacific Dunes in Oregon and Cape Kidnappers in Australia. He’s also done a ton of restorations, and has worked locally at Palmetto Golf Club.
Goalby is the son of late Masters champion Bob Goalby. Kye Goalby has worked extensively with Doak in the past and is considered one of the best in the business when it comes to shaping courses and building bunkers.
The layout has some unique twists, including the first hole that is a 170-yard par 3. The last hole is a drivable par 4 of 257 yards. The course plays 6,300 yards from one set of tees and 6,900 yards from the other.
Another oddity: There are no water hazards that come into play on the 500-acre property.
“Yeah, none,” Blair said with a laugh. “I didn’t want a bunch of water hazards, places where people lose balls. You should not lose a golf ball out here. Maybe you get into some of the wire grass, and one out of a hundred you lose it. The goal is to maintain it so you can get your club on it and have a shot, get it back into play and move on.”
The Tree Farm will have a clubhouse and four cabins where members can stay and not have to leave the property.
A soft opening of the course is planned by the end of 2022. A more formal soft opening, Blair said, is planned for the spring of 2023; and the clubhouse and cabins should be completed by fall of 2023.
Old Barnwell
A 575-acre tract between Montmorenci and Windsor is the site for another golf club, but one with a different mission.
Nick Schreiber wanted to create a unique club, and Old Barnwell will have multiple layouts.
The first 18-hole course, Old Barnwell, is slated to fully open in the fall of 2023. A clubhouse and an 18-room lodge are also planned.
Seven holes of Old Barnwell are expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The remaining 11 holes will be grassed in the spring of 2023.
A short course for junior players, according to Schreiber, also will be built. The 13-hole layout will be used to introduce kids to the game.
A third course will be called The Gilroy, Schreiber said. He describes it as more family-friendly with a “lot of fun shots.” It is expected to be ready for play in 2025 or 2026.
What makes Old Barnwell different is its mission to give back to the community.
Plans call for supporting four aspiring female pros each year, complete with housing in Aiken and playing privileges at Old Barnwell.
Schreiber also wants to partner with at least one Historically Black College or University and provide opportunities for networking. A caddie program is also in the works.
“I know from my own experience as a caddie and player, I’ve made relationships on the golf course that I wouldn’t have made otherwise,” he said. “It provided a great benefit for me personally and professionally.”
The golf course designers, Brian Schneider and Blake Conant, are in their first solo project.
Old Barnwell will be a par 72 with “multiple environments” throughout the 18 holes. That includes the deep valley that runs through the property, a meadow-like portion of the land and pine forests, as well.
The motto for Old Barnwell is “for all who love it.” Based on Schreiber’s enthusiasm and positive feedback from those who have toured the property, it seems the club is on the right track.
“I’m very excited about the mission,” Schreiber said. “It’s going to be an exceptional golf course, but the mission is really for making an exceptional golf club so that we can better execute our mission.”
The Chalk Mine
What do you get when you give a talented artist a blank canvas? Something original and very good.
Such is the case with The Chalk Mine, the new nine-hole course and practice facility for The First Tee of Aiken and USC Aiken.
The “artist,” in this case, was Jim McNair Jr. He’s known around Aiken as the owner of Aiken Golf Club and Cedar Creek Golf Club, courses where he’s shown off his design skills.
The “canvas” was an abandoned chalk mine on the western side of Aiken near USC Aiken’s growing campus. The natural terrain dictated where the holes would flow.
McNair teamed with a couple of old friends and got to work. McNair, who referred to himself as the "contractor/designer/builder" of the facility, said they put down over 75,000 square feet of sod by hand, installed somewhere around 170 sprinkler heads and about 4,000 feet of pipe.
The Chalk Mine is 840 yards from the medal tees, but is hardly a pitch and putt.
"We made sure when we designed it ... from the forward tee for young players, First Tee, it's a very short, very playable golf course," McNair said. "From the medal tees, with the green slopes and certain tee positions and certain pin positions, even for your better player it's still very challenging."
The signature holes include the third, named "Leap of Faith," a 63-yarder over sand and scruff with a tiny landing area on the green. Another is the eighth, "Red Rock," which has an Aiken-meets-Mars look to it with red clay behind the green.
"That little hole that's about 70 yards, that's the one that probably most people comment about," McNair said. "Just because of the backdrop into the cliffs, the old weathered clay."
The joint facility for the USC Aiken golf program and The First Tee of Aiken held a soft opening over the summer. It was a project years in the making with much community support.
"It's amazing to see the kids out here, and to see the university team practicing really makes it real," said Heidi Hoffman, The First Tee of Aiken executive director. “It's just a really unique facility here in Aiken. We're excited for community members to come out and use it, to play the course, and we're excited for the growth of First Tee Aiken."
USCA faculty, staff and students can play for $15 per nine-hole round ($20 for each guest), and First Tee board members and participant families can play for the same rate. There are also community and corporate membership opportunities, with all fees going toward maintenance of The Chalk Mine.
Aiken Standard staff sports writer Kyle Dawson contributed to this article.
