BUILT DIFFERENT: Exploring the Wild World of Mike Strantz | DRIVE Carolinas

BUILT DIFFERENT: Exploring the Wild World of Mike Strantz | DRIVE Carolinas

We got the keys. Tobacco road. This whole place to ourselves. Let’s go home, boys. Mike Strands didn’t just design golf courses. He crafted unapologetic, one-of-a-kind experiences that challenge everything you think a golf course should be. They’re bold, they’re unpredictable, and they’re unforgettable in every possible way. So, this time, we set out to play two of his most iconic creations, Tobacco Road and Bulls Bay. Along the way, we’ll meet some of the people who help bring these wild ideas to life. And we’ll even get the rare chance to spend the night at one of the most famous golf courses in America, staying in the historic Stewart cabin beside the 14th hole at Tobacco Road. We’re taking a journey through golf’s most daring designs, the stories behind them, and the people keeping that spirit alive. This is drive Tobacco Road and Bulls Bay. Jack, I got you something for the occasion. No way, dude. Let’s go. I’ll throw that right on right now. I don’t want to get rid of the no bad days hat. And now you got options, but I feel like given the trip we’re going on, it’s quite fitting. This is the full Strange Geek out. Strange geek out. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You know, that’s it. He’s ready. Classic with the paint and everything. Shorts, the paint. Trans legendary. There really isn’t a better feeling than getting the crew back together for another epic golf trip. Even if it does come with the few travel delays. Is that Mike? Is that Mike from Golficity over there? Guy goes to one YouTube creator event and now he’s just, you know, everybody’s favorite. My man said he wishes he did what we did for a living. big fan. Said he tried to at one point. Give him credit for that. Yeah. I wish we did what we do for a living. Yeah. [Music] [Applause] [Music] On this entire planet. There might be no one who’s more nervous about the idea of his golf bag not showing up than Mike. [Music] Ah, sweet relief. Thank you. All right, we can play golf now. Let’s go, baby. After a few small bumps in the road, we finally made it to North Carolina. And the only thing left to do was to pick up a few crucial supplies before heading to Tobacco Road. Dude, look at this guy. It’s just coffee, beer, and water. Oh my god. Don’t see Red Bull. Red Bull, water, beer, and coffee. No food on this trip. My goodness. We are here. I want to take that sign home. Plant it in my backyard. Put it in your front yard. In the backyard, right in the front. All right. Time for a quick pit stop in the pro shop to pick up our keys to the Stewart cabin. That the main the big keys are for the cabin itself and the little guy for the for the uh gate. Awesome. I can’t wait. All right, so we got our keys to the cabin. We’re going to go check in, scope it out, see what our uh lodging looks like for tonight. So excited. And it’s right over there. So, we just got to drive the car over there. And when we get there, we got two golf carts waiting for us to just cruise. So, let’s go. The Steuart Cabin is the one and only lodging located directly on the grounds of Tobacco Road. And let me say, it is something special. All right, let’s take an official tour of the Stewart cabin. Come on in. So, first you’ve got this great hangout living room right here. Sleeps four in here, but I think honestly if you’re willing to crash on the couch, you could probably get one more in here. So, we’ve got two beds here. Twin beds throughout. By the way, it does have air conditioning. We were thinking we might have to bring a fan. It is a cabin, like kind of in the woods, but we’ve got AC, we’ve got heat, we got TV. Actually, it’s more glamping. We’re living nice here. So, come on through. We’ve got two bathrooms. Whole thing is one floor here. Small bathroom here. You got a big bathroom in here with a shower. The whole place was recently renovated in 2017. So, everything, even though it is an old cabin, everything in here is nice and new. Come through. Got a little dining area here. It’s just absolutely perfect spot for four people. You got to force them to come down here. You stay here. In fact, you can there’s even packages you can do with Steuart Cabin where you can stay here, play Tobacco Road, and I think there’s a deal where you can also play Todd Hill Farm, which is not far from here. But come on through. We’ve got the kitchen. Now, we didn’t bring our own food. We’re going to go out get a little barbecue after this. But if you did, great. Get some beers. That’s just right now it’s it’s just beer and coffee. That’s all it is for us right now. They actually give you these big spotlights. Hopefully, it’s so that you can see the golf course at night and not wildlife, but we’ll find out later tonight. Then we’ve got another bedroom here. Two more beds. Nice and spacious. Uh more massive lights. Yeah. So, again, we’ll find out what those are for in a couple of hours. And then come out here. This is a great hang spot. the porch all screened in. Does get a little bit buggy out here, so it’s all screened in. We’ve got a television. I mean, this place is a vibe. And on top of that, I mean, this is the cabin where Mike Strand was staying, you know, as he was building this golf course. So, it’s got a lot of history. It’s just a It’s a nice little spot. It’s cool. Can grill over there. Grilling. Yep. There’s a whole grilling spot. Cabin also comes with two golf carts as well, so you can zip around, go to your tea time. And of course, you’ve got the 14th hole is literally your backyard right here. I mean, as far as golf experiences go, this one’s about as high on the list as I can think of. After getting settled into the cabin, we spent the next couple of hours both enjoying and capturing some of the rugged beauty that is Tobacco Road. Just as pretty as you remember it or what? Just keeps getting better. It’s like a fine wine. Yeah, right. [Music] [Music] After a long day of travel and with the sun quickly setting, it was definitely time for the boys to grab a bite. All right, I think I found a good spot for dinner. Smok and Barrel barbecue joint. I mean, food looks pretty darn good. I’m on Yelt. Got that authentic. They got that North Carolina backwoods barbecue. We got to try that, especially on night one. Let’s go. Let’s hit the road. I’m hungry. This is all right. I don’t know. This is might be a hard pivot. This is a pivot. I guess the barbecue joints are closed on Sundays. Do we go Pinehurst Flurry? I’m just sitting 10 minutes further. I think Smok and Barrel was like 20 minutes. 30 minutes to Pinehurst Brewery. Let’s do it. Just do it. Let’s do it. When are we here? When are we here? When are we here? Go to Pine. Let’s go. Come on. Let’s go. We saw it there anyway. Let’s go. Let’s go to Piner. Okay. Okay, I’m going to hang up on this call, right? Hang up. We’ll go to Piners. Let’s go. Do you mind give me the rundown as to what’s going on right now? Yeah. All right. So, smart idea. Call Pinehurst Brewing Company because it is Pinehurst. We didn’t realize it is busy. Kitchen closes at 9:30. We’re going to get there at 9:01. Wait list is pretty long, but first come, first serve at the bar. She did say though, you got to get here. You got to get here by 9. It closes at 9:30 and this ETA is giving us not walking in. I’m going to just start screaming ri I think the ribs over I know what I want. So, uh, we’ll see if we make it. Just just have those wings ready for us. Yeah. So, there you go. [Music] [Applause] [Music] If it’s your first time visiting Pinehurst Brewing Company, just know there’s never a time that this place isn’t busy. And of course, every table was taken by the time we got there. But lucky for us, the waitress said if we could find a spot at the bar, we could still eat. And wouldn’t you know it, there were three chairs left. The locally brewed beers here are worth the drive alone. And of course, the barbecue is outstanding. But take our word on this one. Make sure you get the wings. These are hands down like the best wings epic in golf. Pinhers Brewery. Let’s go. No more talking. Let’s go. Let’s go, baby. Right. This is it. The best. The best. Needless to say, our little unplanned detour through Pinehurst was definitely a happy accident. And any chance we get to stop into the Pinehurst Brewing Company is an opportunity that we’re going to jump on. Like a dog took Did a dog tell you? I think so. I don’t know. I think so. We made it. We did it. I’m stuffed. Tired. Get ready for tomorrow. [Music] We got back to Tobacco Road. still not quite believing that we had the entire place to ourselves. So, with what little energy we had left in the tank, we decided to fire up those lights and play a little night golf. Do you think the laser will work at night? Yeah, you just fire something bright. I’m going to try to fire the pin. There’s our cabin, by the way. [Music] What you got there? Oh, it worked. 129 plays like 122 down. No problem. That was dead ass, dude. We got a hole in one here. Oh, it’s on the green. The green. You hit the green. Yeah. Let’s go. Nice. [Music] Think we got one within 10 ft, right? Let’s see. I think the uh kind of our best guess is that one of us got to 10 ft. Okay. So if we didn’t then we know we all we’re all What if someone hauls it? One’s in the hole. Like Yeah. No one’s going to never We’ll never know. We’ll never know who did it. It was it’ be like, you know, who had the bullet in the firing squad. We’re going to always have to just go to our graves not knowing who had the hole in one. Hope that’s not the case. I don’t think it’s going to be our problem tonight. Let’s see if we got one close. All right. Never thought I’d be walking around. I think I see a tight one, actually. Yeah, I think I see one in Testop. I know that. Listen, one of my shots had two blue stripes on it and a pink stripe in the middle. Well, if it’s that, then it’s tight. All right, let’s see. Holy cow. Check the cup. Check the cup. I swear if there’s one in there. There’s one in this cup. I’m going to go for a swim. Ah, today lucky. This is I don’t know. This doesn’t look like something I hit. There’s two back deep. We got deep ones cuz we had a lot of club. Well, we had nine. Let’s see. Yeah. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be our lucky day. So, time to call it a night. All right. So, tomorrow morning, 8:45 tea time. It’s Backo Road right here. First TE’s right outside this door. And then after that, we got a 3 and 1/2 hour ride south to Charleston, South Carolina for some more festivities on this trip. So, night one. Cheers to that. Time to get some much needed shutye. Big day tomorrow. [Music] Yo, dude. Morning. Good morning. How’s it looking? I slept all right. You sleep pretty good in there. No, the beds were comfortable. I liked it. The air conditioning is a is a nice unexpected treat. I didn’t expect it. Looking at the outside of the cabin, I didn’t expect it, but uh sun is coming up over Tobacco Road. Drone is out. This place, let’s go. Let’s go check this place out and then we’re going to play it. Let’s go. Let’s hop in this bad boy and go. [Music] If you have an early tea time at Tobacco Road, it’s always worth a stop into the pack house for a quick bite to eat before you go out. The coffee here is strong. The breakfast sandwiches are hot, quick, and affordable. making it the perfect way to kick off your day before heading over to the range to get warmed up and ready to play one of Mike Strand’s most famous designs, the infamous Tobacco Road Golf Club. Good morning, guys. Welcome to Tobacco Roads. Good to have you with us. If it’s the first time here on this course, there’s no out of bounds. Everything’s in play here. One of the biggest features on our course is waste area. You’ve got over 13 acres of sand that can come into play as well as our bunkers and they are huge, but it’s all waste area. So, ground your clubs, take practice swings, be sure you know what’s under your ball. Okay, I like that. And uh you’re on the T- box at this moment. Excellent. Appreciate it. Thank you guys. It’s a bit hard to explain to Backer Road to someone who’s never played a Mike Strand’s course before, and many consider this course in particular to be the boldest of all his designs. Everything here feels a bit out of this world, but the entire experience brings a fresh take on what a golf course can be. Oh, give it a look on the first attempt. [Music] Oh, didn’t go at the end. Now I got a tough one for par. Tough one. [Music] Got to say it’s been it’s really cool being back here. It’s been 4 years as we approached that next two box. I remember that photo we took where we’re sitting there just it’s like that smile on our face but we were so gassed cuz we played piners number two and then here it’s just those memories that stick with you. Although on this hole we did play it way further up last time. So, different T- box, different look this time. [Music] Oh, go in the hole. [Music] Birdies definitely hit just a bit different at Tobacco Road, [Music] but not this time. Although Tobacco Road is known for being a notoriously difficult golf course, the real beauty of this design is that Mike Strand still gives you plenty of opportunities to score. And a perfect example of this is the fourth hole, which is a button hook par five that can be very reachable with two wellplaced shots. [Music] Could be go zone for you. Could be, man. It was a great shot. We’ll see what happens. Might be might be longer than a seven iron in, but we’ll see. [Music] [Music] Let’s go make an eagle on Tobacco Road right now. Just don’t get too far ahead of yourself because trust us, this course has a way of keeping you humble. Wow, that just [Music] All right, three putts will go away soon. I think this is the thing that so many people like overlook with Strand’s golf courses. Everyone focuses on how hard they are and that’s kind of honestly a bit of the draw to it. You know, you look at this next hole and you could see the pin and I’m sure it tempts a lot of people to try to drive it up there. But the reality is Mike, you look at the way you just played that last hole. Yeah, that’s way to keep going. Scoring is possible out here. Um you just you just have to and I think this is what Mike ultimately wanted. He wanted people to be tempted, but for them to score, he wanted them to fight that temptation and play it smart. So it’s an iron shot really here. and then another iron shot. But Mike will always give you that option to be bold if you want. And I think it depends on what kind of game you’re bringing that day, what decisions you make. But that’s the real cool thing about strands is like, yeah, they’re they’re tough courses, but you you can score if if you’re smart enough, right? [Music] [Laughter] That’s one way to get lucky, man. I planned that. Yeah. Did that on purpose. You’re so lucky that flag was there cuz So, hey, at least my my, you know, aim was good. Aim was perfect. Yeah. Maybe the contact not great, but the aim was good. Right. That’s Mike giving you one. There are three really great par 3es on the front nine at Tobacco Road, and today Mike was out there giving them all a scare. Don’t go in the hole. One of these days it’s going to happen. So close. But at least this time he converted the birdie. Dude, I’m getting hungry. And I heard they have one of the best hot dogs in golf here. Someone said like sixth, ranked sixth in Golf Digest is like best hot dog in golf. It’s a full glizzzy topped with pimento cheese. Now, I don’t know if that’s that’s me. That might be you. I mean, that’s not me, but you might have to try it. I don’t know. Maybe that might be a little dangerous. I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna try it, but I’m not going to try it at the turn cuz it’s 10:30 in the morning. Okay. I will I will promise you that I’m having it after this round. We also have a 4-hour car ride to Charleston. Don’t forget. Yeah, that hot dog’s coming with us. If I had to pick a favorite spot here at Tobacco Road, it may just be the narrow walking path taking you up to the ninth hole tea box overlooking the dramatic number one handicap hole ahead of you. It’s the small architectural details like this that really depict the fact that Mike Strand was an artist above all else. This is Tobacco Road for you. [Music] Great. Come on. Turn or kick off that hill. Good. Give me a kick. Give me my kick. Come on. Is it going down? Kick down here on this hole. You don’t want anything to do with the right side with all of that deep bunkering. It’s like left and Mike gives you a little hill there that you can try to play it off of. Mhm. As much as I would have loved nothing more than to make a birdie on the number one handicap hall, I’ll still gladly card my par before heading back into the clubhouse for what might just be the best egg salad sandwich we’ve ever had on a golf course. Little egg salad order ready to go. That’s the pickme up he needed. Oh, mustard in there. Give this guy an egg salad sandwich with a little mustard and a back night of tobacco road. Let’s go, baby. And he’s he’s ready. Good. [Music] If this egg salad is any indication about what that pimento dog is going to be like after this round that we’re we’re headed for something special. You’re still doing it, huh? Absolutely. Now I’m really doing it because this egg salad is right where I need it to be. Yeah. If they do their pimento, spicy pimento, and their dog like this, I could see why it’s number six. Maybe we’ll move it up to number five. We’re going to move it up. Mhm. All right, we’ll see what happens. [Music] Oh, so close. The par five 11th hole at Tobacco Road is certainly one of the most dramatic examples of Mike Strand’s unconventional approach to golf course architecture. The entire right side of this hole features cavernous waste areas that are just waiting to wreak havoc on your scorecard. But although incredibly visually intimidating, this hole, like many of Mike Strand’s designs, rewards smart play and can present a scoring opportunity if you can string together a couple of good shots. You’re right in that spot. Perfect. That could be go zone. Mhm. Yeah. Yeah, that could be. We could be getting after it here. Okay, so this is what we mean. I mean, you hit a great drive. Like I really this is my best drive of the day and I’m just a seven iron out on this par five. But he paces away from being in a world of hurt. Mhm. Right at it. Right at it. Yeah. Oh, baby. Now you just felt the exact feeling of joy that I had on four. Yeah. What you’re going through right now. We just switched. We switched. We switched. I feel what you felt. We can’t both play good at the same time, can we? Jeez. Oh, that’s awesome. If we eagle this, it doesn’t matter what I do the rest of the day. I’m a happy man. I love that. That’s what we need. Slid more than I thought, but I told you no problem getting it to the hole. No problem. All right. Great birdie on this hole. Yes, the eagle would have been nice, but like I said earlier, birdies just hit different at Tobacco Road. You know, slow pace just hits different out here, doesn’t it? It really does. It’s like no worries. I don’t mind. It’s not even that slow. Like, we could tee off right now. I’m just relaxing. So, we’re the problem. We’re the problem. That’s what you’re saying. Should probably get We’re the problem. Yeah. Maybe get up. All right. [Music] Oh, it was such a good read, too. All right. [Music] Go in. Go in. Go in. Woo. That’s how you make par the hard way. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So you guys are tobacco road realists. I don’t know if this is the drop area. Was this the drop zone over here? Today it is Mike. Today’s the drop zone. Today we make a three on the scorecard. Yeah. From my This is the Mike Panos drop zone. Yeah. Yeah. That might not have been the right drop zone on hole number 14, but after that shot, we’ll give it to him. Hold it. Cabin vibes, baby. Yeah. You know, we put those vibes out there. Steuart Cabin just Yeah, bringing you one back with water behind. Oh, yeah. You did. Now we’re talking, right? That was a heck of a shot. Appreciate that, man. Came right off the the fringe and we’re straight the hole, man. I feel good now, Mike. Yes, Mike. All right. All right. And we stayed in the cabin last night. Oh, did you? We did. How’d you like that? Great. Had a lot of fun. A cool experience. It’s an old novel thing. So, it’s a novel thing. Sure. But it was something a little different. Absolutely. Go. Let’s go, baby. Now, for a bit of context, the 16th hole at Tobacco Road has a bit of personal significance for us. And well, I’ll just let Mike explain what I mean. All right. 16 at Tobacco Road might be one of my favorite golf memories of any course I’ve ever been to. And the reason for it is cuz I almost made a hole in one on this par4 by cutting off the entire hole. I missed by inches. So, let me tell you what happened. So, was up there. The smart play is basically to hit it down by that drain pipe with something like 150, 180, maybe 200 and then hit it up to the green. But, if you see up there, there’s a gap. So, what I did is I just said, you know what? I’m going to do it. Driver right through those trees, right through the exact gap I needed to go through. And I just hit the ball and I just didn’t think anything of it. And then seconds later, I heard an enormous roar from the guys ahead of us. [Music] Four. Oh my god. Are you on? Is that for me? I think so. Am I on the green? Am I on that green? Come on. Let’s go up there. What happened? Drive came over the left side of these traps. There’s a heavy slope in the middle of the green. It rode the slope all the way down. And you came down right here. Half the hole about this far away. We’re going nuts. That’s wild. They going nuts for me. Well, like they can’t be yelling for us. That can’t do. That’s wild. Awesome. Thank God that’s uh apparently uh the ball just missed by like this much of went on the green, rolled by the hole by this much for an ace on a par4. So the heart was pounding pounding. The ball actually ended up rolling off the green all the way down. I had to hit it back up and I think I ended up making par after almost hauling out. But I said to myself, no matter whether it’s real life, in the sim, Xbox, video game, if I’m on 16 tobacco forever and ever, I’m going to keep doing it. So, we’re going to give it another shot and we’re going to see what happens. That’s it. It’s going to be a little right of the green, but Yep. Not bad. Not bad. That one might actually stay up there. Yeah, maybe [Music] it might not have been the exact way he wanted it to happen, but at least Mike did get a little bit of redemption this time around. Trickle, there’s your redemption. You wanted redemption, you got it. I got it. Okay. All right. Not the way you wanted it, but you still got it. I still got it. The final stretch of holes at Tobacco Road are certainly some of the most memorable and the most challenging on the course. And the par4 18th hole is a particularly tough closer, playing it over 400 yd and challenging your accuracy on every shot from Ta Green. Ultimately keeping you on your toes right until the final putt drops. Didn’t hit it. Didn’t hit it. Yeah. Regardless of how you play, there are no forgettable rounds at Tobacco Road. And no matter what’s on the scorecard, there’s always a spicy pimento dog waiting for you in the clubhouse. All right, here it is. The one everyone told us to try. The spicy dog at Tobacco Road. Looks good. Spicy pimento on top. Let’s get into this. Okay, time. Smells good. Mhm. Yep. That’s the one, huh? Your favorite. I would have never thought of putting those two together, but it’s just perfect. Okay, it’s earned its reputation. That’s it. That’s the one. It’s officially earned its reputation. Looks good. Number six. I didn’t know about the other five. Yeah. All right. Now, we got to go find them. It’s good. It’s good. Yeah. That’s great. It’s always tough leaving Tobacco Road, but with a long 4 and 1/2 hour drive ahead of us, it’s time to get back behind the wheel once again. This time headed down to Charleston, South Carolina. The food scene here is one of our favorite in the country. And if it’s fresh seafood that you’re after, then 167 Raw is an absolute can’t miss anytime you’re in Charleston. The drinks here are outstanding and the oysters are by far some of the best we’ve ever had. Cheers. Fire right there. So good. After a long day, it’s time to call it a night and get ready for another incredible Mike Strand’s course tomorrow. How are we feeling today? Feeling good, man. Yeah. Down here working. Got some actual sleep. Got a lot of sleep. Got some coffee. Puppy’s actually pretty good. Did you try it? I did. Yeah. It’s not bad. Yeah. Not bad for a holiday express. A short drive just a few minutes outside of Charleston takes us to Bull’s Bay. We’re in. We got the code. We got the code. We’re in. Let’s go. The huge iron gates open up and quickly reveal a landscape that looks nothing like the native South Carolina low country. The clubhouse itself is far more reminiscent of Shinikak Hills than anything else in the area with 70 ft of elevation created out of almost nothing by Mike Strands and his team. Once inside, we met up with Frank Anteneelli, a close friend and colleague of the late Mike Strand, who shared with us some incredible stories of Mike’s time building Bull’s Bank. Mike was actually working on trying to put some he lived here in Mount Pleasant. He was trying to put something together and there’s a group of guys that had like the option on this 500 acres and but they really couldn’t get it going. And so, uh, Mike came to me cuz when I had moved down right about the same time and he knew that I, my background was in running clubs and Bill, I was with Jack Nicholas before this. Mhm. And I had done that. So, he actually, hey, let’s get together and talk. So, we actually were trying to figure out how to make this work. And I said to him, you know, my partner might be interested. We could go talk to him. And, uh, not sure if Joe actually wanted to even do this or not, but very interesting first meeting we had. Brought him down to uh, Joe’s office. I go to pick up Mike and he’s wearing jeans and a little leather vest looking like a cowboy with cowboy boots at 66, you know, he had the long hair, you know, and and I looked at him and said, “We’re going to the law office and this this is what you dress like.” And he’s like, “That’s who I am cuz I have and uh we show up at Joe’s office and for the first hour they just talked about horses.” I mean, Joe’s a passionate. He has a lot of horses and and um you know, stables and stuff and they just sat and just talked horses. And then finally we pull out the the plans and Mike was looking at this area and then we talked a little bit of golf. But I think that because they hit it off so well, you know, at the end of it, Joe was like, “This is maybe there’s something we could do here.” You see the elevation change now from here. Now, you got to remember this was this whole property was dead flat with just like trees like that, pine trees, and you know, just nothing here. I think we were 6 ft of elevation above sea level. And uh one of the great stories was there was an old tomato field real flat in the middle here and we’re standing out there with Joe Rice, myself, we had this guy Steve Worthy who was at the time the operation director for the US Open and Stratson Fesla and Mike’s explaining to the owner Joe, well I’m going to build this. This is going to look like shinikok at 9 and 18 coming up to this high hill with this little club bell sitting in the distance and we’re all of course we’re in the middle of a tomato field going what are you talking about? And one of the great things with Steve Worthy who was working with Shinik at the US Open said Joe goes I’ve never been to Shinik so I don’t I can’t picture it and Steve said well let’s go to Shink. I guess. So, we all flew up like the next day and went to Shinikok and then I remember Joe going, “How the hell do you think you’re going to build this from that flat piece of land?” And Mike drew the picture, showed it to him and said, and he was like, “All right, let’s do it.” We also had the unique opportunity to meet Bulls Bay owner and visionary Joe Rice, who told us the fascinating story about how he first met and became close friends with Mike Strand. He was finishing up Tide Hill and he wanted to bring his horses down and they they couldn’t find a place to keep the horsesh. So the way I actually met him was I had a barn, a staple about 2 milesi from here that I had extra stalls in and I had a I had some borders. Mhm. And so I met him over there and said, “Okay, you can leave your horses here.” And I had about 40 acres, 50 acres over there to ride. And then he found out we had this and we started riding horses together. That’s how I met him. This is this was his art and that’s he took pride in the fact that it was his vision and he wanted to call it and then he wanted to get it built. All right, it’s time for us to experience the course for ourselves. And joining us for our round is Matthew Applebee, the assistant golf professional here at Bulls Bay Golf Club. play here is definitely uh definitely left of the oak tree and you got a I mean you got ton of room so you can really yank one. You like hearing that? Yeah, especially on the first T. Right. In his lifetime, Mike Strand designed only nine golf courses with just three of those being private. And although not without its own challenges, the private Bulls Bay is certainly a much friendlier layout as compared to places like Tobacco Road with Mike gearing the course more towards membership play. Kick a little forward hop there. I couldn’t believe the story they were saying how this was flat and they that’s Yeah, it was a tomato farm and they Yeah, they moved all the ponds out here. They moved I think it was like what I was told they stopped counting after 223 million cubic feet of dirt they moved up there and they stopped counting. I think it’s a good spot to stop counting. Yeah. Good roll. What a pot. For as much as we talked about the incredible amount of earth Mike Strand and his team moved to shape Bull’s Bay, I couldn’t help but be amazed by the fact that every hole here looks and feels like it was carved by nature, not construction equipment. Like so many of the other Mike Strands designs we played, the sandy areas at Bulls Bay aren’t just hazards. They’re part of the course’s DNA. They weave through the fairways and wrap around greens with a kind of rugged elegance, blurring the line between where the golf course ends and nature begins. There are no cookie cutter holes here either. Each has its own personality, its own rhythm, and its own way of challenging you. Bulls Bay truly gives you the sense that you’re not just playing golf. You’re exploring a landscape that was meant for it. Right before the round, we uh actually went and got a little bit of lunch at a place called Seawe. Uh a little spot looks like it’s been there forever. Uh really like authent authentic like seafood, everything like that. But the reason we wanted to check it out is they said it was the only place back when this was being built, the only place around. It’s it’s been there forever, but it’s where Mike uh Strands and Forest used to go and get lunch. They’d sit there for an hour taking a break from the the heat and just talking about the course. So, it was like cool to go down there, check it out, grab a couple of sandwiches before the round. We were just getting that full strands experience out here. So, this hole from the tea, it’s kind of deceptive. You can’t see a lot of the fairway, but really the line is the two left chimneys. Kind of use it as a field goal upright. So, try and throw right in between those two chimneys. A little left to the left one won’t kill you, but obviously don’t want to be left there either. But more room to the right than it looks. [Music] Can you believe that this was flat? No. You stand on this hole. Can you believe that this was flat? And he added 70 feet of elevation. Didn’t say how much how much earth they moved. It’s crazy. [Music] No, not high enough. Making the turn to the back nine at Bulls Bay brings into play what I would consider to be some of the best holes on the golf course with water coming into play on what feels like just about every shot. It also includes an extremely difficult stretch of holes that the local membership simply refers to as the prison shower. Come on, wind. Come on. Come on. Look at the number. Yeah. Oh yeah. Go in. Come on. Great shot. Thank you. Go back to back here in the prison show. Let’s go. I’m going to escape the shower. The lineup of holes in this corner of the golf course may be challenging, but in true Strand’s fashion, he always leaves you a smart play option to help avoid the big number. What do you say? 17 million 17 million to one odds. Let’s do it. You and me. You and me. Another plaque. Mike Pasado. Frank Pasado. We We can’t get two without getting one. That’s right. Get it. Go get it. All right. There’s our first. Ah, tail too much in the way. Just kind of leaked on you. Yeah. Go in the Oh, good shot, though. Wow. I got it up there. Good shot. Oh, yeah. Come on. All right. All right. Well, it’s 8 to1 odds that two guys back to back can hit the green. Yeah. So, we’ll take those. I’ll take That’s more like our odds. Even if you escape the aptly named prison shower holes largely unscathed, the final stretch here at Bull’s Bay feels like anything but a victory lap. A series of long par4s and another tricky par three await you. All leading up to the stunning 18th hole. A 450 yard uphill par five that requires two great shots to get onto the elevated green. [Music] In the end, Bull’s Bay was everything we’d expect from a Mike Strand’s golf course and more. And above all else, it was simply fun to play. [Music] So, if you ever get the highly coveted invite to play here, just take our word and jump on it. [Music]

Tobacco Road is one of the boldest golf courses ever built, and in this episode of DRIVE, we’re heading to the Carolinas to play two of Mike Strantz’s wildest designs — including an unforgettable night spent on the grounds of Tobacco Road itself.

You can rent the Stewart Cabin at Tobacco Road here:
https://go.tobaccoroadtravel.com/?rnd=2025072508471555&special=561

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Club Glove ➡︎ https://www.clubglove.com/
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In this episode of DRIVE, we take on two of Mike Strantz’s most unforgettable designs: Tobacco Road and Bulls Bay Golf Club. But this isn’t just another golf trip — it’s a full-on Strantz experience. We kick things off by checking into the Stewart Cabin, the one and only lodging right on the grounds of Tobacco Road. This historic cabin sits beside the 14th hole and was once used by Strantz himself during construction. We’ll take you through the cabin, share what it’s like to stay there, and soak in the vibe of having an entire legendary course to ourselves — including a little night golf under the lights.

From there, we tee it up at Tobacco Road Golf Club, one of the boldest, wildest, and most visually stunning courses in the world. Then we road trip to Charleston, South Carolina for a round at the private Bulls Bay Golf Club, a lowcountry masterpiece that Strantz and his team literally built from the ground up. Along the way, we meet people who helped bring these courses to life, share Strantz stories you’ve probably never heard, and reflect on what makes his architecture so special.

Whether you’re a Mike Strantz superfan or just love unique golf experiences, this video is a deep dive into two of the most unforgettable courses in America.

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