Developers knew exactly what they were doing when they tapped Scott Pool to design Legend Oaks Golf Club, located in the historic “plantation district” between Charleston and Summerville, even though his signature wasn’t on a single golf course anywhere. Oh, he had worked on plenty of them; he just didn’t have his name on them.

Pool came to his first solo project with a pedigree that included 10 years experience working for Pete Dye, as well as completing some shaping assignments for Jack Nicklaus. And it’s safe to say that you can see subtle influences of both master designers in Pool’s first effort.

Built on the site of an antebellum rice plantation, Legend Oaks is just minutes from such famed estates-turned-tourist destinations as Drayton Hall, Middleton Place and Magnolia Plantation. Even today, the approach to the clubhouse is framed by the same centuries-old live oaks that graced the drive leading to the plantation’s stately manor. No less than GOLF Magazine likened the drive to Augusta National’s Magnolia Lane, but added “...the golf course is more akin to Pinehurst No. 2 in its straightforward presentation of challenge.”

That is an apt description of a layout where demands are always clearly defined. Unlike Dye, who often seems to relish in the art of deception, Pool shows you exactly what you need to do to score well. Now the challenge is up to you. Can you negotiate a course that puts water in play on 13 of the 18 holes? The answer is yes, if you play smart, well-executed shots. Remember, Pool isn’t out to trick you here. His first course is definitely more rooted in the strategic, rather than the heroic, school of golf design. If you appreciate the traditional style courses given to us in golf’s “Golden Age of Architecture,” you’ll definitely enjoy what Pool has created at Legend Oaks.