Myrtle Beach Online Tee Times

Golfers Can Now Book Myrtle Beach Tee Times Online at On The Green Magazine’s Web Site

In December 2009, On The Green Magazine Tee Times Online went live. Golfers are now able to book tee times at their favorite Myrtle Beach golf courses right on our web site. There is no extra charge to golfers for this service. The volume of rounds booked ensures that the rates are competitive.

 

On The Green books only Myrtle Beach golf tee times online. If you would like a Myrtle Beach golf package that combines golf and lodging, be sure to visit one of our Myrtle Beach hotels, condos, or golf package partners. These can be found through the "Lodging" link at the top of every page.

Know Your Score Links and Laughs Golf Tournament

Following coverage of the PGA Championship for TNT and Turner Sports, award-winning journalist Jim Huber will welcome a cast of celebrities at the 3rd annual Know Your Score Links & Laughs Golf Tournament and Gala on August 28. Celebrities scheduled to appear include three-time Grammy winner Branford Marsalis, former NFL great Sterling Sharpe, former major league baseball player Tony Womack, former Boston Celtics great and 11-time NBA champion Sam Jones, NBA player Brevin Knight and College of Charleston head basketball coach Bobby Cremins. Huber is also this year's national spokesperson for the Know Your Score - Fight Prostate Cancer campaign.

"We are very appreciative of Jim (Huber) and the other celebrities taking time out of their busy schedules to benefit such a worthy cause," said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. "From the golf to the comedy show to the amazing raffle prizes we have this year, it promises to be an incredible day of fun and evening of entertainment. Ultimately, we all wish to raise as much money as possible for the Know Your Score campaign, so we can assist in the fight to find a cure for prostate cancer."

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Long Bay Club in North Myrtle Beach will host the celebrity golf event and an evening comedy show, live auction and gala will be held at Kingston Plantation. Proceeds from the events will benefit ZERO - The Project to End Prostate Cancer. Those interested in playing in the golf tournament, or purchasing sponsorships or tickets to the comedy show and gala should visit KnowYourScoreMB.com.

Raffle tickets are also available to purchase on the web site for 13 extravagant prizes including an all-expenses paid trip to South Africa including a safari experience. Raffle tickets are limited to the first 350 people. Some of the other prizes include a Steelers football weekend in Pittsburgh, two entries into the ESPN Radio "Mike & Mike Show" celebrity golf tournament featuring hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, four tickets to attend the PGA Tour Championship and an all-sports weekend in New York City including tickets to a Yankees versus Boston Red Sox baseball game and an NFL game between the Jets and Baltimore Ravens, among many others. Those purchasing raffle tickets do not have to be present at the drawing to win.

Since April of 2008, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday has joined forces with ZERO and supported the annual campaign to fight prostate cancer. The Know Your Score campaign slogan refers to the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test given to men 50 years of age or older to help detect prostate cancer. A low score on the PSA test is good news and is the best screening tool currently available when used with the physical prostate exam, according to ZERO.

So far this year, more than $21,000 has been raised by the Know Your Score campaign to benefit ZERO - The Project to End Prostate Cancer. The Links & Laughs Know Your Score Golf Tournament and Gala is expected to raise more funds to allow the overall goal of $70,000 for the year to be achieved.

For more information about Know Your Score, or to participate in the Know Your Score Links & Laughs Celebrity Tournament and Gala, visit KnowYourScoreMB.com or call 1-800-833-8798.

Myrtle Beach Area Golf Courses Rank High

Golf Magazine has issued its biennial list of the "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" in the US. Caledonia is at No. 28 after being 25th in 2008, The Dunes Club dropped to No. 48 from 47 two years ago, and the Love Course at Barefoot Golf Resort maintained its ranking at No. 86.

Twelve of Golf Magazine's top 20 public courses in South Carolina are on the Strand. In addition to the three layouts that made the top 100 list, the others are Tidewater (No. 7), Barefoot's Fazio Course (8), True Blue Plantation (10), the TPC of Myrtle Beach (11), Legends Resort's Heathland Course (12), Heritage Club (14), Barefoot's Dye Club (16), Glen Dornoch (18), Grande Dunes Resort Course (19) and Myrtle Beach National's King's North Course (20).

In North Carolina, Ocean Ridge Plantation's Leopard's Chase is No. 7 and Tiger's Eye is No. 8, Rivers Edge is 11th and Oyster Bay is 14th. The rankings appear in the September issue of Golf Magazine dated Aug. 10 and can be viewed at Golf.com.

Golf.com - Best Public Golf Courses in South Carolina 2010

1. The Ocean Course at Kiawah, Kiawah Island
2. Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island
3. Caledonia, Pawleys Island
4. Dunes Club, Myrtle Beach
5. May River at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton
6. Barefoot Resort (Love), North Myrtle Beach
7. Tidewater, North Myrtle Beach
8. Barefoot Resort (Fazio), North Myrtle Beach
9. Wild Dunes (Links), Isle of Palms
10. True Blue, Pawleys Island
11. TPC Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet
12. Legends (Heathland), Myrtle Beach
13. Heron Point by Pete Dye, Hilton Head Island
14. Heritage Club, Pawleys Island
15. Daufuskie Island (Melrose), Daufuskie Island
16. Barefoot Resort (Dye), North Myrtle Beach
17. Kiawah Island (Osprey Point), Kiawah Island
18. Glen Dornoch Waterway, Little River
19. Grande Dunes, Myrtle Beach
20. Myrtle Beach National (King's North), Myrtle Beach

Golf.com - Best Public Golf Courses in North Carolina 2010

1. Pinehurst (No. 2), Pinehurst
2. Pine Needles, Southern Pines
3. Linville, Linville
4. Tobacco Road, Sanford
5. Pinehurst (No. 8), Pinehurst
6. Pinehurst (No. 4), Pinehurst
7. Leopard's Chase, Ocean Isle Beach
8. Tiger's Eye, Ocean Isle Beach
9. Sequoyah National, Cherokee
10. Tot Hill Farm, Asheboro
11. Rivers Edge, Shallotte
12. Mid Pines, Southern Pines
13. Duke University, Durham
14. Oyster Bay, Sunset Beach
15. Tanglewood Park (Championship), Clemmons
16. UNC Finley, Chapel Hill
17. Lonnie Poole at NC State, Raleigh
18. Grove Park Inn, Asheville
19. Pinehurst (No. 7), Pinehurst
20. Rock Barn (Robert Trent Jones Jr.), Conover

Combine Golf and Deep Sea Fishing with the Glens Group

The Glens Golf Group, located along the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach, S.C., is now offering a unique golf experience with its Glens Golf & Ocean Fishing Package which starts at just $296 per person. This 4-day/3-night package includes a half day of charter-boat fishing offshore in the Atlantic and accommodations at The Village at the Glens. It also includes one morning or afternoon round at any of the four award-winning Glens Golf Group courses (Heather Glen, Glen Dornoch, Shaftesbury Glen, Possum Trot), plus a free afternoon round of golf at Heather Glen after the day of fishing. Additional rounds of golf at Glens courses will be available at discounted rates.

The half day fishing trip is provided by Shallow Minded Inshore Charters, with Captain Mark Dickson of Little River, S.C. Captain Mark provides a hands-on experience with each guest casting and holding their rod and reel. The fishing boat is a Triton 240LTS and is equipped with the highest quality of fishing equipment. Within the four hour fishing trip guests will be fishing for redfish, flounder, speckled trout, black drum, Spanish mackerel, and bluefish while cruising along the Myrtle Beach and lower Brunswick County beaches.

"With our courses and accommodations so close to the ocean and because so many golfers enjoy fishing, it just seemed natural to combine golf and fishing into one package," said Jason Himmelsbach, director of marketing for The Glens Golf Group. "You can't go wrong with a package like this — especially at this price. And, Fall is a great time to visit the Grand Strand. The weather is perfect for playing a round or cruising the open water."

Accommodations are provided by The Village at the Glens, which is located at the world-famous Heather Glen Golf Links. The villas are Scottish-styled with two bedrooms, each with double beds, two full baths, a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a large living and dining area.

Rates start at $296 and are all inclusive and based on quad occupancy. More information is available by calling 888-999-9520 or online at http://www.glensgolfgroup.com/.Also find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheGlensGolfGroup

About The Glens Golf Group

The flagship of The Glens Golf Group is Heather Glen, which is located in Little River, S.C. on a magnificent, 400-acre historic site. Designed by Willard Byrd and Clyde Johnston, the course opened in 1987.

Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links, often referred to as "Myrtle Beach's Most Talked About Course," was designed by Clyde Johnston in a tribute to legendary course architect Donald Ross. Glen Dornoch is a traditional course and each hole flows with the natural terrain of lakes, live oaks and spectacular marsh and river views.

Known as the "Friendliest Course On The Beach," Possum Trot has an honored place in the history of Myrtle Beach golf. One of the first 10 championship courses built along Myrtle Beach's Grand Strand, which now has more than 100 golf courses, Possum Trot has stood the test of time. The course's Old English design features spacious fairways, challenging par 5's, as well as flawlessly manicured greens and spectacular flower displays.

Inspired by world-famous courses like Winged Foot and Augusta National, architect Clyde Johnston designed a traditional British Isles course at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club, located on the banks of South Carolina's beautiful Waccamaw River. Shaftesbury Glen was recently named 2009 Golf Course of the Year by Myrtle Beach-area golf course owners.

Sandpiper Bay is the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course of the Year

The 2010 Course of the Year is Sandpiper Bay Golf Club. It was chosen by the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association during their July meeting.

Course conditions, contributions to the community, quality of ownership and management, and efforts to improve the growth of the game are all factors that go into selecting the course of the year.

Sandpiper Bay has undertaken several renovations over the past three years including the changing of all 27 greens to Mini-Verde Bermudagrass and work on the clubhouse, cart paths and drainage.

General Manager Tim Tilma has a Master's degree and won the Carolinas PGA's Bill Strausbaugh Award for distinguished service in mentoring other PGA Professionals, integrity, character, and outstanding involvement in charity and community service.

Head pro Richard Kascsak was mentored by Rick Murphy, the 2008 CPGA Professional of the Year and a two-time CPGA Teacher of the Year. Superintendent Jay Varallo has grown in several courses including the Maples Course at Sea Trail Resort, Aberdeen Country Club and the Bay nine at Sandpiper Bay.

Sandpiper is a neighborhood country club with more than 350 members with multiple events in the clubhouse and on the course for members, and including dinner-dances and innovative ideas such as a Murder Mystery tour on the course. The club has a volunteer activities director.

Head pro Richard Kascsak runs complimentary instruction for juniors from 5-7 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays in July. More than $20,000 worth of golf rounds at Sandpiper Bay were donated for charitable golf events last year, and the course hosts several charity events, including the Susan G. Komen Rally for a Cure Tournament with a pairings party and auction. The event has raised $28,000 in the past two years, and they hope to raise more than $20,000 Sept. 29-30, 2010, aided by the addition of a men's division this year.

After Your Round: What To Do In Myrtle Beach In July

By Chris King

Sure more than 100 Myrtle Beach golf courses provide ample entertainment, but the fun along the Grand Strand doesn’t end with the final putt. The Myrtle Beach area is chocked full of good times and here are five of the best off course activities to enjoy throughout the remainder of July.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan - One of the nation’s hottest standup comics, Jim Gaffigan, is coming to Alabama Theatre on July 31. Gaffigan, a regular on the David Letterman show, is best known for his one-hour Comedy Central special, “Beyond the Pale.” If you are looking for a few laughs, don’t miss this one.

Summer Parrot Head Music & Wine Fest – It’s hard to beat Jimmy Buffet music and good wine, and La Belle Aimie Vineyard will have both on Saturday, July 24. The Parrot Head Music & Wine Fest is also the perfect opportunity to discover La Belle Aimie, one of the Grand Strand’s hidden gems.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans – The Atlanta Braves Class A affiliate, the Pelicans will be at home July 19-21 and July 29-31. The Braves top talent comes through Myrtle Beach – does the name Jason Heyward ring a bell? – and this year’s resident phenom is starting pitcher Julio Teheran, one of baseball’s top prospects. The Pelicans play in one of America’s nicest minor league stadiums and you are guaranteed to see a few future major leaguers.

Sprite Concert Series – Broadway at the Beach is the epicenter of Myrtle Beach nightlife and every Tuesday throughout the summer will feature a different Sprite Concert Series band at Celebrity Square. The names aren’t big but the fun will be.  The concerts are free and more than 10 restaurants, nightclubs and bars are located within a pitching wedge of the outdoor stage.

Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre – One of the July highlights of the House of Blues calendar is the Murder Mystery Theatre Dinners (checkout the schedule). It’s an interactive dinner show that provides ample laughs and drama. If you can figure out who committed the “murder,” you might be rewarded.

Two Myrtle Beach Golf Courses Install New Greens

By Chris King

Millions of people make a summer pilgrimage to Myrtle Beach, most of them to enjoy sun, sand and a taste of life on the coast. While area beaches are teeming with people, Myrtle Beach golf courses often use the “down time” for improvement projects, and this summer is no different.

A pair of North Strand Courses – Panther’s Run at Ocean Ridge Plantation and the Bay Course at Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club, home of three nine hole layouts – are closed for the installation of new MiniVerde ultradwarf Bermuda greens and general course refurbishments.
That both courses are installing MiniVerde greens is no surprise. MiniVerde has emerged as the green of choice for many courses throughout the South with a putting surface that is nearly the equal of bentgrass and it’s very heat tolerant.

The installation of the MiniVerde on the Bay Course will complete a three-year overhaul of the Sandpiper’s greens. In 2008 the Sand Course had MiniVerde installed and in 2009, the Piper Course followed suit. The Bay Course, which was sprigged on June 8, is scheduled to reopen on August 23.

The greens on the Bay nine are approximately a week ahead of schedule, but the course’s reopening won’t be moved, according to Sandpiper’s head pro and assistant general manager Richard Kascsak.

Sandpiper knew it had made the right call in installing MiniVerde greens immediately after the Sand Course reopened to the public in 2008.

“The general public loves the greens,” Kascsak said of the reception to the MiniVerde. “They are in fabulous condition and our superintendent has done a superior job on the grow-in. We have had nothing but positive remarks.”

Sandpiper is also using the time to repair the drainage on all of the Bay’s bunkers, in addition to removing trees and enhancing the fairways. When the Bay Course reopens, the Piper Course will close for 10 days to take down trees and repair the cart paths, ensuring the course will be in prime shape for the fall golf season.

In addition to the installation of new grass at Panther’s Run, the greens are being restored to their original size, trees and some railroad ties around tee boxes are being removed, and the cart paths are being repaired.

Panther’s Run will reopen on September 1.

Golfweek Ranks Myrtle Beach Courses Among The Elite

By Chris King

Golfweek magazine’s team of raters fan out across the nation each year, playing America’s best golf courses and filing ratings reports. Out of those reports spring the magazine’s rankings of the country’s top 100 classic and modern courses, in addition to a breakdown of the best layouts in each state.

Golfweek’s 2010 rankings reaffirmed what most already knew: a Myrtle Beach golf trip offers unparalleled quality. Myrtle Beach’s two most decorated courses – Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and the Dunes Golf & Beach Club – claimed top 100 honors, completing their version of the triple crown.

Caledonia and Dunes are Top 100 courses according to three of the  game’s leading national publications – Golf Magazine, Golf Digest and Golfweek.

The Dunes Club is ranked No. 99 on Golfweek’s list of the Top 100 Classic Courses (pre-1960). The list includes both public and private courses, putting the Dunes Club in the company of Pine Valley and Augusta National.

A Robert Trent Jones design, the Dunes Club has hosted the U.S. Women’s Open, the finals of the PGA Tour’s Q-School, and the Senior Tour Championship.

Caledonia is No. 98 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Modern Courses (1960-present) list, taking its place among the best layouts the game has seen over the last 50 years. The Top 100 Modern Courses list included public and private layouts as well.

Caledonia is built on the grounds of an old plantation and the views are stunning. The centuries old oak trees and landscaping reminiscent of a botanical garden make the Mike Strantz design one of the area’s most popular courses.

The number of quality courses Myrtle Beach has was revealed in the magazine’s best in state rankings. South Carolina is one of America’s most golf-rich states, but Myrtle Beach dominated the Palmetto state rankings.

Seven of South Carolina’s top 10 courses reside along the Grand Strand, according to Golfweek.  Caledonia (No. 3) and the Dunes Club (No. 5), were followed by No. 6 Tidewater, No. 7 True Blue, No. 8 TPC Myrtle Beach, No. 9 Love Course at Barefoot Resort, and No. 10 Heathland at Legends Resort.

On the North Carolina side of the border, Leopard’s Chase at Ocean Ridge Plantation was ranked as the Tar Heel state’s fifth best course by Golfweek.

The recognition from Golfweek adds to an impressive run Myrtle Beach golf courses have enjoyed in national rankings. In its biennial rankings, Golf Digest ranked seven Myrtle Beach golf courses among “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.” Golf Magazine ranked four area courses among its Top 100 You Can Play.

Kids Play Free Program Leads Strong Summer Lineup

By Chris King

Memorial Day is in the rearview mirror, marking the unofficial start of summer and an increasingly popular shoulder golf season.  Historically, summer in Myrtle Beach has meant sunscreen, beach toys and swimming in the Atlantic, and that remains true.

But families that make an annual pilgrimage to the Grand Strand are increasingly packing golf clubs alongside their bogey boards. In an effort to grow the game, Myrtle Beach has one of golf’s most aggressive family outreach programs.
More than 40 area courses, including five that have been ranked among America’s 100 Greatest in recent years, participate in a Kids Play Free program, allowing children 16 and under to play for free when accompanied by a paying adult.

“It’s fun to be able to get the kids involved at a young age,” said Brookville, Fla., resident Roger Maharaj after playing a round at Wild Wing-Avocet with his son. “He is going to remember it for the rest of his life.”

“The ‘Kids Play Free’ program is one of our most rewarding endeavors,” said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “We pride ourselves on introducing juniors to the game of golf and creating a family-friendly atmosphere for everyone. This unique program will allow families vacationing along the Grand Strand to play a great round of golf at a tremendous value.”

The  popular “Kids Play Free” program is hardly the area’s only family oriented program. For the 23rd year, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday will be running its Summer Family Golf Tournaments series. The tournaments are hosted every Wednesday from June 23 through August 18 and each event is played at a different Myrtle Beach area golf course.

Some of the best courses in Myrtle Beach and the nation are hosting the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, including the Fazio Course at Barefoot, Caledonia and Grande Dunes. (view tournament schedule)

The Summer Family Golf Tournaments allow all junior golfers, 16 years-of-age and younger, to play for free with a paying adult. Participation in a tournament costs $40 for adults (unless otherwise noted on the schedule) with the fee including a cart and the chance to win one of many contests. Each Summer Family Golf Tournament features a closest-to-the-pin and long-drive contest with prizes awarded to the winners. The tournaments have three divisions – open, couples and adult/youth – and feature a captain’s choice format.

Beyond the family programs, summer offers traveling golfers premium values (checkout summer golf specials). Course conditions are typically ideal, the weather is nice, and course’s aggressively court play.

Summer is a perfect time to sneak away for a golf trip and the elements that make Myrtle Beach so popular in the spring and fall are all still in play.

Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Welcomes Class of 2010

By Chris King

Representatives of Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday inducted two golf industry leaders into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Pine Lakes Country Club today. The Hall of Fame was created in 2009 to honor the men and women who have played significant roles in all aspects of the Myrtle Beach area golf industry, including teaching, playing, course design, construction, marketing and administration.

“The Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame is a focal point for the rich golf history of Myrtle Beach,” said Bob Swezey, executive vice president of resort operations for Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. “From its physical location at the first golf course built in Myrtle Beach, we can reflect upon the area's role in growing both the sport and the economy of South Carolina. We can consider its links to course architect Robert White who went on to become the first president of the PGA of America, and we can envision all the future contributions yet to come.”
 

The 2010 inductees were George W. “Buster” Bryan, one of the founding fathers of the Myrtle Beach golf package business, and Gary Schaal, a local and national golf industry leader for more than 30 years.

Bryan, who passed away in 1969 at the age of 56, helped to transform Myrtle Beach from a sleepy beach town with a 3-month season into a year-round golf vacation destination. After building the Caravelle Hotel in 1959, Bryan and his business partner (and fellow Hall of Famer) Jim Hackler, started promoting Myrtle Beach golf packages. During the 1960s, Bryan created Myrtle Beach's first golf promotion group, Golf-o-tel, consisting of eight courses and eight hotels. The group bought advertising that took Myrtle Beach's golf message beyond the Carolinas and set the community on course to become a world-renowned golf vacation destination.

“I personally think George W. Bryan was the father of golf in Myrtle Beach,” said W. Cecil Brandon, a 2009 inductee into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame. “Buster was the first one who put up the money to promote Myrtle Beach golf packages and he inspired others to join together to promote golf. His efforts ended up creating new markets in new states and extending our tourist season to 12 months.”

Bryan worked closely with another Hall of Famer, Jimmy D'Angelo, to attract the Golf Writers of America's annual championship tournament to Myrtle Beach. It remained an annual pre-Masters event for 50 years. Writers who attended the tournament wrote stories about the golf courses and packages in Myrtle Beach, and enthusiastically recommended the destination. Their support helped catapult Myrtle Beach into the national spotlight and spurred both the growth in the number of annual rounds played here and the number of golf courses built.

Gary Schaal turned a big spotlight on Myrtle Beach golf when he was elected the 28th president of the PGA of America, the largest professional sports organization in the world.  He served in that capacity from 1992 to 1993.

Schaal began his career as an assistant golf pro in Myrtle Beach and became a member of the Carolinas PGA Section in 1976. He quickly became a head pro and, later, co-owner of several local golf courses. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he served the community and his profession as president of the Carolinas Section PGA and as a member of the PGA TOUR's Tournament Policy Board. Along the way, he was recognized with numerous awards, including the CPGA Horton Smith Trophy and CPGA Professional of the Year.

A member of the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame and a designated “living legend” through the PGA of America's “Legends of the PGA” Program, Schaal was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2005.

“Gary has been instrumental in so many things in Myrtle Beach during his career that it's hard to list them all,” said Shelley P. Kenney, PGA head professional at Wachesaw Plantation Club where Schaal serves on the Board of Directors. “He was a founder of the Professional Golf Management Program at Coastal Carolina University. He helped bring the Senior PGA Tour Championship to Myrtle Beach. He helped to bring a Tournament Players Club (TPC) to Myrtle Beach. His name lends instant credibility to any project or golf event in Myrtle Beach and will continue to do so for many years to come.”
 

The Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame, which is located in the Hall of Fame Garden adjacent to the Pine Lakes clubhouse, recognizes individuals whose contributions to the Myrtle Beach golf industry have achieved historic significance. The seven-member Myrtle Beach Hall of Fame Board of Directors reviews membership nominations and selects the most qualified candidates. All seven major Grand Strand golf organizations are represented on the Board.

Each inductee is memorialized with his or her own plaque near the Sports Illustrated monument that commemorates the birthplace of the magazine at Pine Lakes in 1954. Six inductees were honored in the inaugural year (2009).

“The Hall of Fame ensures that the entire Myrtle Beach golf community will remember the individuals who made lasting impressions on our golf industry,” said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “For anyone who loves golf, it's a treat to stop by and spend some time in the garden looking at the memorials and learning about the people who have made Myrtle Beach the golf capital of the world.”

Glens Golf Group Names Facebook Contest Winner

On May 14, 2010, Ed Bohnemann from Plano, Texas was named the winner of the free 3-night/3-round golf vacation for a foursome to the Glens Golf Group. The Glens Golf Group, located at the north end of the Myrtle Beach golf courses that make up the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach, S.C., recently concluded its first ever Glens Golf Group giveaway contest through Facebook. Many more Facebook promotions are planned for the coming weeks.

A new question was posted to the Glens Facebook page three times a week. Over a three-week period, Glens Golf Group Facebook fans had to use their knowledge to answer nine trivia questions about the Myrtle Beach Golf Group. Each participant who answered all nine questions correctly had his or her name thrown into a hat and the winner was picked at random.

Bohnemann and three of his golfing buddies plan to redeem his winnings this fall with a golf trip to Myrtle Beach. He will have his choice of play on Heather Glen, Glen Dornoch, Shaftesbury Glen or Possum Trot, the four courses that make up Glens Golf Group. Accommodations will be at the golf villas located at the Scottish-themed setting called the Village at the Glens, which overlooks the spectacular Heather Glen Golf Links. The free vacation is valued at almost $1,400.

OnTheGreen Magazine Tee Times Now Open!

Myrtle Beach's trusted golf authority for 35 years.

If you need a tee time today, tomorrow or later in the week, call or visit OnTheGreen Magazine's Golf Information Center inside the Golf Dimensions Superstore in North Myrtle Beach!

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Find anything you need to know about Myrtle Beach golf. The staff are all highly knowledgeable golfers, with experience in the golf industry.

While you're there, pick up scorecards, brochures and yardage books to help you plan your golf outing. We also have brochures, menus and discount coupons from area restaurants and night clubs.

Call us TOLL FREE at 877-688-8337
or locally at 843-361-GOLF (4653).

The 19th Hole – Golfers Favorite Myrtle Beach Bars

By Brandon Tucker, Senior Writer for WorldGolf.com

No two Myrtle Beach, S.C. golf groups are alike, but we all agree on one thing: 19th holes are an important part of the golf vacation experience.

Bars of every shape and size line the Grand Strand from Brunswick County to Pawleys Island, and it can be dizzying to figure out just exactly where you should head for the night. We've narrowed it down a bit for you based on your taste. You shouldn't have to drive too far to find your watering hole.

And before we go any further, plug into your cell phone the number of a taxi company. You know, just in case.

Myrtle Beach Dance Clubs

If you're looking for a club scene, the easiest place to do it is at Broadway at the Beach's Celebrity Square (http://www.broadwayatthebeach.com), where you can park the car once and walk around on foot to over a dozen bars and clubs within a chip shot of each other

One cover charge gets you into three different rooms with different tunes at Celebrations. If you're into '70s and '80s tunes, go retro at Revolutions, while you can find a younger, college/spring breaker scene at Senor Frogs.

If you need a break from the Celebrity Square scene, check out 2001 (http://www.2001nightclub.com) in North Myrtle Beach which offers three clubs in one. "2001" has been around since 2001 was a date in the far-off future.

Oceanfront Bars in Myrtle Beach

If you didn't get your beach fix during the day, a couple bars are located steps off the ocean and even have beach access. In North Myrtle Beach, Molly Darcy's (http://www.mollydarcy.com) is an Irish pub that gets pretty rowdy at night with an indoor dance floor and back patio on the beach.

Bummz Beach Cafe (http://www.bummz.com) is located right at the heart of the main drag on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach and has an indoor spot that often hosts karaoke, as well as a back patio and boardwalk to the beach.

You can also head to the collection of bars and restaurants on the Marshwalk in Murrells Inlet. There's no beach, but you're right on the water – which usually has the patrons in good moods. Dead Dog Saloon (http://www.deaddogsaloon.com) is a Bikeweek hotspot on the water where boats frequently pass. Wahoo's Raw Bar & Marina (http://www.wahoosbar.com) is a small, outdoor bar under a tiki hut that has live beach and island music on many nights.

Sports Bars in Myrtle Beach

In the North Strand, Overtime Sports Cafe (http://www.overtimesportscafe.com) boasts a 12-foot video wall and 150 other TVs to watch games. It's big, but still fills up during big events

In the Central Strand, Spencerz Sports Pub & Restaurant is one of the Grand Strand's largest bars with loads of TVs to match. Five O'Clock Somewhere also has numerous TVs and is a popular place to watch Monday Night Football and UFC fights in particular.

To the south, Jimmagan's blends both sports atmosphere (more than 60 TVs) with a beautiful location overlooking the Marshwalk in Murrells Inlet.

Myrtle Beach Bars for Beer Buffs

Some bars in Myrtle Beach underachieve with their tap selections, but these bars keep things interesting at the tap.

At the north end of Myrtle Beach, Liberty Tap Room (http://www.libertytaproom.com) boasts a large selection at the tap, including a handful of its own hand-crafted beers.

At Barefoot Landing, Bully's Pub promises at least 32 beers on tap, including happy hour specials from 4-7 p.m. on all of them ($2 domestics, $3 import).

Next to Dagwood's Deli in Myrtle Beach, small Bumstead's Pub (http://www.bumsteadspub.com) is a favorite local joint that is big on selection: 150 worldly beers to choose from in both bottle and on tap.

Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (http://www.gordonbiersch.com) is one of the newest additions to Myrtle Beach's beer scene at the new Market Common development and serves a healthy selection of unique brews from its California-based brewery.

Myrtle Beach Irish Pubs

Bumstead's and Jimmagan's fall into the Irish pub category, but there are other standouts on the Grand Strand.

Blarney Stone's Pub & Cigar Bar is more than a traditional Irish Pub in Celebrity Square: It features a large main room often with live music, dance floor and tucked-away booths. You may visit twice before even knowing about the dimly lit cigar and martini bar upstairs, offering an entirely different vibe and music.

In Little River, Pat & Mike's (http://www.patandmikesirishpub.com) is a small pub and an ideal 19th hole after you play some of the area's best links golf-inspired courses such as Glen Dornoch Golf Links and Heather Glen Golf Links.

Shag Bars in Myrtle Beach

For those of you from the United Kingdom, the Shag is a kind of dance. It's not what you're thinking. North Myrtle Beach is home of the shag, so if you've got your dance partner with you, spend the night in a shag bar.

You can find someone shagging in most bars to practically any kind of music, but the authentic spots are all in North Myrtle Beach at Fat Harold's Beach Club (http://www.fatharolds.com), Duck's Beach Club (ducksatoceandrive.com) and O.D. Lounge.

How Real Is That Golf Course Photo?

By Bill Woodward & Glenn Garfold

Have you ever looked at a photo of a beautiful golf course and wondered, “Is the course REALLY that perfect?” After all, photos can be faked, right? What about this Photoshop thing we’ve heard about?

Enhancing golf photos is probably more common than you think. Let’s discuss it a little and see some examples.

Ethics

Isn’t this whole thing dishonest? It’s natural for a golf course owner to want to portray his course in the best light, but how far can he go before he is guilty of false advertising?

First, understand that all photos need a bit of “adjustment” before they are printed in a magazine or brochure, just to bring them back to looking like the real scene actually appeared when the photo was shot. Film is made with chemicals that have their own color bias, and digital photos need to be adjusted to account for the kind of light that was present when the photo was shot. Usually that adjustment happens automatically using the software built into the camera. When you set your digital camera for “Daylight” or “Cloudy” you are adjusting the software to account for the overall color of the scene. The “Auto” setting allows the camera to make its own judgement. Most times it’s close, sometimes it’s a little off. Sometimes the colors of the photo must be adjusted to account for the ink and paper used in the printing process.

The gold standard in image editing software is Photoshop, made by Adobe Systems. Photoshop allows the experienced user to make changes to photos ranging from minor tweaks in the overall color cast to the complete elimination or addition of any features the photo editor desires.

An adjustment in Photoshop called "curves" was used here to make the dark colors darker and the light colors lighter. This makes the whole scene seem sharper and less hazy.

Most articles in golf magazines are there to tell a story, not necessarily to present the news. It’s rare that a Golf Digest writer shows up in California, with the assignment to “blow the lid off Pebble Beach.” More likely he is there to tell a story that makes the average golfer want to play Pebble Beach, and nice photos are more likely to make that happen.

What Makes a Fake Golf Photo?

How much adjustment can be done to a photo before it goes over the line into fakery? Are there legitimate reasons for faking a photo?

Magazines operate on their deadlines and golf course developers operate on theirs. On The Green may do a story on a new golf course that is scheduled to be open and ready for play in two months, but our deadline is NOW. We know that when the course opens it will be beautiful but right now it has bare spots in the fairway and the greens are a little yellow. It’s normal for us to shoot a photo of the course in its current condition, use Photoshop to fix the bare spots and off-color greens, and go to press. Yes, the photo is greatly enhanced over the reality of the shot when it was taken, but on opening day the course usually looks better than our “fake” photo of it. It would be misleading for the magazine to show photos of scraggly fairways and yellow greens, when the course is nothing like that.

Sometimes even a normally well-manicured course will have a bad place where the mower took bounce and scalped a chunk of the fairway. The scalp mark wasn’t there yesterday, and it will be grown-in in two days. Is it fair to publish a photo showing the scalp mark, when that is only a temporary condition?

What about enhancing a photo that is already good, just to make it better. To me, it’s OK if the enhancement is something that could happen, but didn’t on the day of the photo. Some photos are great, but the sky is washed out. We can put in a more interesting sky, just to make the photo look better.

In the photo above, the entrance to the course is great, but reality intrudes with a fire hydrant and an electrical box. You can't actually erase things without showing a blank place in that spot. Using Photoshop's "clone tool" we can copy some good features over the offending items. In this photo we copied flowers, dirt, grass, and road on top of the fire hydrant. Sometimes everything is perfect but the light is about to change and the mower in the distance just won’t move. I would take the shot anyway and "erase" the mower later. What if the scene looks great, but the fairway has just been mowed and looks a little yellow? I would green up the grass so that it looks the way it will look a day later in real life.

What Crosses the Line?

I wouldn’t add a deluxe clubhouse when the real clubhouse is a double-wide mobile trailer, with no plans to replace it. If there are no plans for elaborate landscaping, it would be wrong to add banks of azaleas, a la Augusta National. If it’s not possible, then don’t do it.

How can you tell when a photo has been enhanced? Here are two giveaways.

Just because grass looks better when it’s green, doesn’t mean that a ridiculous shade of green is better.

When you see a golf course where the grass is the color of a lime lollipop, then it has probably been enhanced. Especially if all of the grass is uniformly the same color. In the photo above, even the weeds in the water have been made the same emerald green.

Can you spot the two identical trees in the forest? Both are on the right side of the photo. The tree on the left is the original. The one on the right has been copied to hide something.

More Examples of Golf Course Retouching

This aerial shows a nice course in town, close to the ocean, but all the buildings and parking lots look too urban and industrial. They need to be toned down a little to keep the mood.

Here is a course that had to be photographed before it opened because of our deadline. As you can see, the grass has been fixed, water has been added to the lake, and a flag is on the green. Once the course opened, this spot actually looked much better than the photo.

This photo had to shot during a severe drought. The lake on the left had almost been totally drained for irrigation, although by the looks of the original grass it still wasn’t enough. After the drought was over, the course actually looked like the enhanced version on the right.

This photo was staged at the request of the course owners. The course was already in good shape the weather was great, and the golfers seemed like a good idea at the time. Afterwards, they changed their minds about the golfers. And they really didn't like the garbage scow going by.

The authors. We're here to "Pump You Up" about photo retouching. When we're not on the course, we're in the gym – seriously!

Go Deep! Five Big-Hitting Myrtle Beach Golf Courses

By Brandon Tucker

Some golfers just can't leave driver in the bag, even on the tightest, tree-lined, O.B.-filled fairway.
For those free-swinging big hitters who never saw a fairway their driver didn't like, we present five Myrtle Beach golf courses where, from the back tees, you'll have plenty of opportunities to hit the big stick, and the phrase "iron off the tee" isn't in the vocabulary.

Shaftsbury Glen Golf & Fish Club
This 2001 Clyde Johnston design is the most straightforward off the tee of the Glen Golf Group courses. There's a lot of turf out there, and on most holes, even if you find the woods, you'll be able to hit a rescue shot out.
And you'll want to blast your drives as close to the green as possible, because Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club's A.W. Tillinghast-inspired greens and splashed, deep bunkers are the true defense to what appears to be an easy course from the tees.
Championship tee yardage: 6,935

Grande Dunes Resort Course
To put your long game to the ultimate test, head to the championship tees at Grande Dunes Resort, Myrtle Beach's longest track at over 7,600 yards (plus five additional sets of tees if your hubris can be controlled).
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr.-apprentice Roger Rulewich, there's a good amount of fairway on most holes to swing away, just beware there's loads of out of bounds and natural wetlands.
Championship tee yardage: 7,618

Barefoot Resort, Love Course
Of the four signature courses, the Barefoot Resort's Love Course is the most free-swinging of the bunch with the most appetizing landing zones.
Along with two very reachable par 5s in two, the fourth hole plays under 300 yards from the championship tees, so swing for the fences here and use the recreated slave quarter ruins behind the green as a backstop. The fun just begins once you reach the greens here, enormous in size and ultra-smooth bentgrass greens.
Championship tee yardage: 7,047

King's North at Myrtle Beach National
The fairways are generous at King's North at Myrtle Beach National, and what's even better, is that it's easy to find your ball in the pine straw if your tee ball finds the Carolina pines lining the holes (though there's plenty of water to navigate, especially on each par 3).
If you play a right-to-left ball flight off the tee, you'll especially love King's North, which has plenty more hook holes than fade holes, including the delightful par-4 third hole that you can drive from the tee (so long as you carry over 230 yards from the tee).
Championship tee yardage: 7,017

True Blue Plantation
It's reputation as one of Myrtle Beach's most penal courses (due largely to Mike Strantz-designed imaginative green complexes) often overshadows the fact True Blue Plantationhas some of the widest fairways on the Grand Strand.
The catch, however, is there's practically no rough here, so if you miss fairway, you're in waste bunker. Even so, it's almost always a good decision to hit the big stick - and there are even five par 5s at True Blue.
Championship tee yardage: 7,062

Man O'War Golf Club in Myrtle Beach: Soak up the challenge

By Josh Hoke

Perhaps no golf course fits better along the Grand Strand than Man O'War Golf Club, featuring a layout with so much water that golfers may believe they are playing on the beachfront.

Dan Maples certainly had water on his mind in the mid-1990s as he designed this par-72 track. The aqua is an omnipresent threat - its 100 acres within view from every spot on the golf course - but it's not domineering to the point of unfairness to any golfer.

Challengers must tee off over water nine times and hit approaches over water that fronts five greens. Still, it's usually more of a mental challenge than physical.

"I think it's the right mix," said Larry Smith, a 7-handicap. "There are times you have to hit over water, but I don't think it's an unfair shot with a long iron. When you do hit over the water, it's usually with a high iron."

Man O'War Golf Club: The course
This golf course, about 10 miles from the beach in the community of Carolina Forest, plays nearly 7,000 yards from the tips and measures a shade over 5,000 for the ladies, allowing each individual to suit his or her needs - depending on the individual's comfort with the water.

Man O'War G.C. is a fair golf course with rolling, medium-width fairways, little to no rough and a sparse number of pine trees, giving even high handicappers a chance to thrive.

"It's a fair challenge," said Lou Tripodi, a 16-handicap. "The setup gives me a chance to shoot a decent score. With the sand and the water - even though it doesn't always come into play - it makes you think."

Since most golfers don't have any problem hitting the fairways at Man O'War, the golf course needs a built-in defense mechanism. The Crenshaw Bentgrass greens, in great condition even in mid-January, are large with an average depth of 40.5 yards, but they are undulating. It makes a two-putt difficult if approach shots do not find the proper part of the putting surface.

Shallow bunkers that front many of the contoured greens provide a stiff challenge with high lips.

Smith, Tripodi and the other members of their playing group believe that while the depth of the greens makes it easier to find the putting surface, it also challenges each golfer in club selection. For example, the par-3 sixth hole features a 47-foot-deep green, providing a tee shot that varies with every pin placement and passing gust.

The wind, in different ways, affects every hole on this golf course, which is privy to ocean breezes despite its distance from the shoreline.

And that beach is never that far from mind; the plentiful water assures that.

For most of the front side, water runs alongside the fairway, but it would take a tee shot well off course to reach it.

Just before the turn, Man O'War Golf Club presents its signature hole, the par-4 ninth. Believed to be the only hole along the Strand that features an island fairway and island green, it invites golfers to first hit over water and then into a green near the tip of the island.

"It's a little intimidating," said Randy Broughton, Man O'War Golf Club's director of golf. "There is ample room to hit, but the longer right you go, the tougher it makes your second shot. There are bunkers down the left that protect the ball from the water but also grab the errant tee shot. With the second shot, it's an open area, and the wind really affects your shot. But you've got to hit into the right part of the green."

Water plays a bigger role on the back side, which opens with tee and approach shots over water on the 10th and 11th holes. Then the par-4 14th and par-3 15th feature island greens. They're tough but manageable.

"A lot women find it intimidating because of the water when they first come," said Vicki Smith, a 6-handicap. "They see all the water and it scares them. But I think, in the long run, if they played this course, it would make them a better golfer. It makes you become aware of the lengths of your clubs. When you're hitting into greens with water, you have to know your lengths. I like this course because of that challenge."

Man O'War Golf Club: The verdict
Man O'War Golf Club's not among the flashiest golf courses in Myrtle Beach, but it's certainly a good value. The golf course offers several package deals that provide a quality experience without a big investment. Included are opportunities to play its sister courses, The Witch in Conway and The Wizard, right next door.

Man O'War Golf Club may not challenge low handicappers as much as others, but the water and the wind impact all players. Depending on the conditions, it could play much differently from one day to the next - or from morning to afternoon. Man O'War extends a worthy challenge, if for no other reason than the chance to spend a day around the water - and hopefully not in it.

Facilities and instruction at Man O'War Golf Club
Fittingly, the Man O'War clubhouse, which includes a grill, is suspended above one of the many lakes on the golf course. It also offers a driving range and putting green.

Lessons are available from the PGA Professionals on staff.

Golf Holiday's Choices for Top 5 Restaurants in Myrtle Beach

By Brandon Tucker,
Senior Writer, Worldgolf.com

Nothing gets the mouth watering and the belly growling quite like 18 holes of golf in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The Grand Strand's dining and bar scene is endless, with something for just about everybody, from upscale dining to wings and sports.

But the Grand Strand golfers have spoken.

Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, the marketing cooperative of the Grand Strand's golf courses has compiled a panel and narrowed the choices into Top 5 lists in four categories: hot wings, bars, steaks and, of course, seafood buffets. Here, according to GolfHoliday.com, then, are the best of the best.

Myrtle Beach's Best Buffalo Wings

1. The Original Fat Jack's Wings & Things (Surfside Beach): Fat Jack's has been around Myrtle Beach since the 1970s. Now just south in Surfside, Fat Jack's offers 15 different sauces. You can try the party tray, which offers up to five different sauces and 50 wings. Lunch goers take note, Fat Jack's doesn't open until 3 p.m. and is closed Sundays.

2. Murphy's Law: Murphy's has three locations (though each especially caters to Pittsburgh "Steeler Nation" on Sundays). Though its wings have a variety of sauces, its specialty is the hot wing.

3. Wing Kings (Myrtle Beach): Off Myrtle Beach's beaten Kings Highway, you'll have to head down Socastee Boulevard for Wing King's fresh, never-frozen wings - along with 20 different flavors.

4. Bully's Pub (North Myrtle Beach): Located at Barefoot Landing, Bully's doesn't have the sauce variety of Wing Kings or Original Fat Jack's, but what it does serve suffices, especially its eccentric (for wings at least) spicy ranch sauce.

5. Hooter's: We all know Hooters, the "delightfully tacky yet unrefined" institution for the ideal mix of babes and wings. Good news for Hooter's fans, with three area locations, you're never too far from the perfect combo.

Myrtle Beach's Best Steakhouses

1. New York Prime (Myrtle Beach): A New York-style steakhouse off 28th Avenue in Myrtle Beach with an upscale ambiance is the Strand's favorite high-end steakhouse. Its menu serves up a whopping 40-ounce porterhouse for two.

2. Angelo's Steak and Pasta (2011 S. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach): Angelo's is known for its all-you-can-eat Italian buffet, but Angelo's steak is a cut above. Big bellies can try the "Big Daddy" - a 24-ounce cut of Ribeye or New York Strip.

3. Martini's (North Myrtle Beach): A diverse menu in this upscale, elegant atmosphere with a piano bar, the food upholds its look, with top dishes such as the steak au poivre, a filet rolled in cracked peppercorn and sauteed with assorted mushrooms in a Dijon and brandy cream sauce.

4. Greg Norman's Australian Grille (4930 Highway 17S in North Myrtle Beach): The Shark's brand is on everything, but this is his only steakhouse, located right around the corner from his Barefoot Resort course design, where you can enjoy wood-grilled steaks overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

5. Thoroughbreds (Myrtle Beach): Open since 1988, Thoroughbreds has made a name for itself by serving nothing but the freshest steaks and seafood, including one of its signatures, the 20-ounce, bone-in ribeye.

Myrtle Beach's Best Seafood Buffets

You'll find almost as many all-you-can-eat seafood buffets along King's Highway as miniature golf courses. Vacationers love indulging on the endless bowls of buttery crab legs and shrimp, but not all are created equal. Here are Golf Holiday's five favorites:

1. Original Benjamin's (9593 N. Kings Hwy. in North Myrtle Beach): The first standout seafood buffet in the Myrtle Beach area remains the Grand Strand's largest, with more than 170 excellent items. Calabash-style seafood, crab legs and shrimp highlight this extensive buffet lineup.

2. Captain George's (Myrtle Beach): Right by the PGA Tour Superstore, Broadway at the Beach and Myrtlewood in the heart of Myrtle Beach on Highway 17 Bypass, you won't pass Captain George's too many times before stopping in eventually. With the area's largest dining room and a buffet to match, waits are seldom.

3. Crabby Mike's (290 Highway 17N in Surfside Beach): Everyone notices Crabby Mike's, thanks to the lighthouse and the "crabmobile" with a giant crab on top. Inside, the atmosphere is good fun, though there's no joking around in the kitchen, which serves up a first-class array of choices on the buffet line.

4. Seafare Seafood Buffet (Surfside Beach): This pirate-themed buffet features live mermaids, but the food will still steal the show, featured in Southern Living twice thanks to its top broiled, baked and steamed seafood.

5. Preston's Seafood & Country Buffet (North Myrtle Beach): An under-the-radar favorite located at the entrance to Barefoot Resort, Preston's features a mountain of crab legs, as well as baby back ribs and prime rib.

Myrtle Beach's Best Sports Bars

In Myrtle Beach, the 19th hole is hardly optional, especially considering its spring and fall seasons coincide with NHL and NBA playoffs in the spring and football season in the fall. Suffice to say after golf, you've got some games to watch. Here are Golf Holiday's five favorite bars for a cold drink and sports:

1. Overtime Sports Cafe (North Myrtle Beach): The biggest really is the best at Overtime in the North Strand, featuring 150 televisions capped with a 12-foot video wall for the main event that day, plus three 10-foot projection screens.

2. Five O'Clock Somewhere (Myrtle Beach): Named after the famous Alan Jackson/Jimmy Buffett tune, this sports fan's paradise in the heart of the Grand Strand serves up 72 TVs, including 60 HD models, surround sound and multiple bar areas. There's also a full menu, both in the kitchen and with its sports network packages.

3. Broadway Louie's (Myrtle Beach): If you're at Broadway at the Beach, the best place to catch the game and a cold one is Broadway Louie's, boasting a mammoth 27-foot projection screen, meaning there's never a bad spot in the house. Its proximity to dozens of clubs and bars at Celebrity Square makes it the perfect "pre-game."

4. Oscar's (North Myrtle Beach): Nearly 100 TVs and a menu with great pub grub makes Oscar's a great Pittsburgh Steelers bar.

5. Dagwood's (Surfside Beach): Dagwood's is the spot for something less TV, sports heavy. It's an inviting atmosphere in the slower South Strand.

Sports Illustrated Golf Group Becomes New Title Sponsor Of The World Amateur Handicap Championship

Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and the Sports Illustrated Golf Group today announced the formation of an integrated marketing and sales partnership as part of the SI Golf Group’s agreement to become the title sponsor of the “World’s Largest Single-Site Amateur Golf Tournament” which will now be called the “Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship.” The 2010 tournament begins August 30.

In its role, the SI Golf Group – comprised of Golf Magazine, SI Golf Plus and Golf.com – will immediately begin working with Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday to develop marketing and sales opportunities to deliver a national client base.  Concurrently, the SI Golf Group will assist in developing social network and digital platforms to drive awareness and participation for the tournament. This is a two-year deal with a mutual option for a third.

“We are excited about working with our friends at Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday to take the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship to unprecedented heights,” said Dick Raskopf, Sports Illustrated Golf Group Publisher. “This tournament is one of golf’s crown jewels, and the opportunity to bring Sports Illustrated back to Myrtle Beach where it all began is exciting.”

The SI Golf Group is a unit within the Sports Illustrated Group. It is the No. 1 media company in golf with a combined audience of 12.6 million avid golfers and fans. Golf.com is the digital engine of the group and is the most visited website in the sport.

The relationship also brings Sports Illustrated back to its place of origin: Pine Lakes Country Club. Back in 1954, Time Inc. executives planned the concept of a national sports weekly magazine during a company outing at the club. Today, Pine Lakes commemorates the birthplace of SI with a plaque, pictures and articles inside the club.

Every August for the past 26 years, Myrtle Beach has been the site where 3,600 golfers from all 50 states and more than 20 foreign countries gather to stake claim to the title of “World’s Amateur Golf Champion.” Only Myrtle Beach, a destination with 102 public golf courses, can host to the world’s largest single-site amateur tournament where a minimum of 50 golf courses are played daily during the 72-hole event.

“This partnership will be a mutually-beneficial relationship for both the World Am and Golf.com,” said Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday tournament division director Dave Macpherson. “Not only is this an opportunity to align with one of the biggest names in golf but the World Am participant’s experience will be enhanced by the Golf.com sponsors who will be introduced to the event. There is no other amateur golf tournament in the world like the World Am and this event will provide a new realm of story opportunities for Golf.com and its readers, in addition to advancing their goal of growing the game of golf.”

The Rawlings Golf Company was the title sponsor for the first two years of the event followed by a 19-year run with DuPont as the lead sponsor, and most recently with PGA TOUR Superstore, who served in that role for five years.

Cape Fear National at Brunswick Forest: Expect big future

By Lisa Allen

Just 45 minutes north of Myrtle Beach, S.C., just outside of enchanting Wilmington, N.C., is Cape Fear National. The 18-hole links-style golf course just opened in December, with a grand opening slated for early 2010.

There are some big names behind Cape Fear National. It's managed by Kemper Sports and sits amid Brunswick Forest, a massive development 10 minutes from Wilmington slated for 8,000 homes owned by Lord Baltimore Properties. That's some major muscle.

The course owners had at their beckoning any number of celebrity designers, but they wanted someone who knew the area. They chose Tim Cate, who has made a name for himself on the Grand Strand.

At Cape Fear National - an intimidating moniker if there ever was one - Cate bandied about 1.5 million cubic feet of earth to hollow out ponds, elevate tees and add undulations to fairways and greens. That's to be expected.

Unexpected is the huge, heather-covered berm that forms a spine along much of the back nine. It is that ridge that sets this golf course apart in the world of flat near the coast. Looking at that mound covered in wind-blown heather, one does develop a hankering for haggis.

Other Cate influences are the three holes lined with tee-to-green waste bunkers, wildflowers growing along most of the course and shades of Cate's landscaping past in the form of waterfalls and rock-lined creeks. A couple of his green-side sand bunkers drop right into the water.

Cape Fear National: Lots of sand and water
Similar themes run through the course: no trees in the way, but lots of sand and water.
There isn't a flat surface on the greens nor fairways, but it isn't overdone. The swales make the course visually interesting. It appears much of the hazards are placed to intimidate you on the tee, but they are fairly easy to avoid because the fairways, covered in tifway 419 Bermuda, are more than generous. Stay on them, though, because the rough is gnarly. Plan a short iron to extract yourself, no matter how far from the green.

Get used to carries over marsh, waste bunkers or water. You'll fire over them on more than half of the holes, either off the tee or on the approach. After a few test rounds, the course is adding forward tees on No. 1 and No. 10 to avoid marsh carries, said Brad Walker, director of sales and marketing.

The greens are super-sized, covered in velvet-like A1/A4 bentgrass, giving them speed, accuracy and smoothness. Go for the pin or else chance a three-putt. Head Professional Ron Thomason, who joined Cape Fear National from Bald Head Island Country Club, said he is impressed with Cate's design, calling it his best yet "I like the elevation changes, but he didn't overdo it with the waste areas," Thomason said. "The rock work he did is unbelievable."

The contrast between the front and back lies in remoteness. The back ventures into the wilderness with long treks between holes among a cypress swamp and marsh. It was interesting to note that on No. 12, each tee position faced a different challenge, from water in the back to a bunker carry at the front tees.

The sand in the bunkers at Cape Fear National is the same diamond-cut variety used by Augusta National. It's so nice, you won't mind trying for a sand save or blasting onto the fairway.

Cape Fear National: Other amenities
The brand new clubhouse is cushy, cozy and inviting, with a broad patio overlooking the 18th green and forest. The menu features imaginative sandwiches, soups and salads.

Not on line yet is the short-game facility that will feature three greens rimmed by rough and sand and room for shots of 100 yards or less. The club invites anyone to come out and use it.

The full-swing driving range will have tee times, a clever approach for a narrow range.

Cape Fear National: The verdict:

• Between five tees laid out between 7,217 and 4,802 yards and six pin placements, there is a combination to entertain golfers of many skills.
• The only time you'll see golfers on other holes are at the start of the nines and a pair of holes on each nine that share water hazards.
• Cape Fear National isn't a rush job. The vegetation on the golf course is well established, and the clubhouse is fully staffed and stocked.
• No matter how you play, it's a peaceful jaunt through a large expanse of yet-to-be-developed North Carolina coastline. Enjoy it while you can.
• This might be the first time you've heard of Cape Fear National, but it likely won't be the last.

Myrtle Beach Golf: Putt for dough on the Grand Strand's toughest greens

By Brandon Tucker

Listen up, masters of the putting game who visit the Grand Strand for your annual golf vacation:
You may have been taken to the cleaners by your long-driving buddies on some of the Myrtle Beach golf courses that don't test the many facets of the short game as much as you'd have liked.

Now its time for payback. Book your group at a golf course where the greens are the real show, up the ante, and take no prisoners.

Some Grand Strand greens require a little more savvy than the rest. If you're looking for a golf course that will put your group's flat sticks to the test, try out one of these five courses that boast some of the area's best, and most challenging greens.

Oyster Bay Golf Links

Legends Golf Group mogul Danny Young designed Oyster Bay Golf Links with course architect Dan Maples, and those familiar with the sloping greens at the Heritage Club (another Legends course) will be in for the same test here. Oyster Bay features not only some of the area's best marsh scenery but some of the most diabolically sloping greens along the coast.

The TifEagle Bermuda greens are kept slightly on the slower side as a result, otherwise they'd be practically unplayable.
Like True Blue in Pawleys Island, there's even a hole here with alternate left-and-right greens, so be sure you're firing at a green with a flag on it - otherwise that'll make one difficult two-putt.

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club
When you miss a putt at the Dunes Golf & Beach Club, arguably Myrtle Beach's most coveted round of golf, you've got no one to blame but yourself. Because this prestigious club is semi-private, rounds are kept down compared to some of the other clubs that rely solely on tourist play, and it means there will be little chances of spike marks or pitch marks sabotaging your roll.

Rees Jones' oversaw a renovation of this classic Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed course from the 1940s, one of Myrtle's oldest, and a big part of the upgrade was the installation of faster, A1 bentgrass greens. Keep this in mind and play your approach shots and chip shots below the hole.

Barefoot Resort's Fazio Course
Putting is loads of fun on Barefoot Resort's Fazio Course, thanks to smooth, usually lightning-fast A-1 bentgrass greens. That's the good part. What's tricky is that Tom Fazio loves his bulldozers, and the greens, with their sheer size, can be difficult to read because its harder to ever feel level on them. Fazio's shaping is usually more gradual, unlike Pete Dye's often sharp tiers and ridges, so seemingly insignificant breaks can end up being severe, and vice-versa.

True Blue Golf Plantation
Critics of the late course designer Mike Strantz say that his greens, while original, don't fit the design of his holes all that often. Whether you appreciate the artistic beauty or loathe the sometimes-bizarre designs of them, you'll be awestruck by the imaginative complexes at True Blue Golf Plantation. Even better, the TifEagle Bermuda turf is kept in firm and fast condition most times of year. No green is like the other here, so give each putt its due diligence.

 

Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club
The A.W. Tillinghast-inspired raised greens at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club are difficult to hit and guarded by large bunkers. They're also usually very large in nature, so lag-putting is a premium. They aren't the most sloping greens in Myrtle Beach like Oyster Bay or Heritage Club, but the A1 bentgrass greens are kept in firm and fast condition and the slopes are subtle, so be sure to get in your Camilo Villegas "Spiderman" crouch and get your read down right.

 

 

Puma announces the launch of Puma Golf North America

Puma announced a new partnership to grow the North American golf business with the formation of Puma Golf North America, as the official distributor and licensee of Puma Golf in the United States and Canada. PUMA Golf North America will become the official licensee, responsible for the North American distribution of the brand's footwear, apparel and accessories to on & off course golf specialty, sporting goods and online accounts. The long-term agreement will include dedicated resources for the golf category across merchandising, sales, marketing and operations. The newly formed organization will begin work on Puma Golf effective immediately, with the in-store launch of the Spring 2010 collections and the sell-in for Fall/Winter 2010 quickly approaching.

Golf is a major priority in Puma's global brand strategy and this new alliance will propel the category in North America as well as expand Puma's distribution in the golf market.

"Puma is committed to the golf business," said Bob Philion, Global Head of Puma Golf for Puma AG. "This move will take our business to new heights, strengthen our reach and focus our efforts with a core, dedicated team. North America is a critical market, and the formation of Puma Golf North America will bring us accelerated growth."

"Golf is an important category for Puma and we are excited with the opportunity to build and develop the business, ultimately making Puma the most desirable golf brand in the industry," said Ted Fletcher, President of Puma Golf North America. "We will build upon Puma's existing success and momentum, maximizing the brand's marketing and sports assets and truly drive the golf category to a healthier and more robust business for the company."

Puma Golf North America has assembled a team of seasoned experts with years of proven experience and success in the sport. Members of the executive team at Puma Golf North America have been directly involved since Puma's entry into the golf industry in 2006, building the category successfully in Canada.

"Golf is a perfect sport to showcase Puma's sportlifestyle positioning," said Jay Piccola, President and General Manager for Puma North America. "And having dedicated resources for the business is crucial. Ted Fletcher's team has the right action plan to nurture and build the golf business to where it needs to be and I'm confident this move will not only help the growth of Puma Golf, but also allow Puma to succeed even more in other sport and lifestyle categories."

Puma entered the golf market in 2006, offering golfers technical performance gear that helped players look better, feel better and play better on and off the course. Catching the eyes of professional and novice golfers around the world, Puma Golf is known for being colorful, stylish, inclusive and fun. Today, Puma Golf athletes include newcomer Rickie Fowler, Geoff Ogilvy, Johan Edfors, Jeff Overton and Anna Nordqvist. For more information about Puma Golf, visit golf.puma.com or http://www.puma.com

Media Contact:
Curtis Begg, PUMA Golf North America - 877-830-3311 -
Heather Bouzan, PUMA North America - 978-698-1227 -

 

Puma
Puma is one of the world's leading sportlifestyle companies that designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Peace, Creativity, and SAFE Sustainability, and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. Puma starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle labels include categories such as Soccer, Running, Motorsports, Golf and Sailing. The Black label features collaborations with renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara and Sergio Rossi. The Puma Group owns the brands Puma, Tretorn and Hussein Chalayan. The company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people worldwide and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston, London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit http://www.puma.com

 

For more press information visit: puma.digitalnewsagency.com

Wild Wing Golf Courses Now Under MBN Management

The Myrtle Beach National Company, one of the Myrtle Beach area’s oldest and largest golf course ownership/management companies, announced that it will assume management of the golf courses at Wild Wing Plantation, located in Myrtle Beach. The management agreement with Myrtle Beach National does not include the Wild Wing Plantation real estate development.

The Myrtle Beach National Company will oversee the outside operations, pro shop, maintenance and marketing of Wild Wing, which consists of the 18-hole Avocet course, designed by Larry Nelson and Jeff Brauer, and the nine-hole Hummingbird course, a Willard Byrd design.

Both Wild Wing courses received four stars in the latest Golf Digest’s “Places to Play” guide and the facility was also named as the “2002-03 South Carolina Golf Course of the Year” by the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association.

“We are excited that Myrtle Beach National has assumed management of the 27 holes at Wild Wing,” said Lawton Benton, general manager of Wild Wing golf courses. “Myrtle Beach National has created great experiences for golfers for many years and we are committed to a long, successful relationship with them to continue this goal at Wild Wing.”

With the addition of Wild Wing golf courses, the Myrtle Beach National Company now owns and/or manages 13.5 golf courses on the Grand Strand; Aberdeen Country Club; King’s North at Myrtle Beach National, SouthCreek at Myrtle Beach National and the West Course at Myrtle Beach National; Waterway Hills Golf Club; Long Bay Golf Club; Litchfield Golf Club; River Club; Willbrook Plantation, Blackmoor Golf Club, and Wachesaw Plantation East, which was added to the Myrtle Beach National family in August 2009. Eleven of the Myrtle Beach National Company golf courses received four stars or higher in Golf Digest’s “2009-2010 Places to Play” guide.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to work with Wild Wing, two courses enjoyed by golfers of all skill levels,” said Jim Woodring, vice president of golf operations and marketing of Myrtle Beach National Company. “Wild Wing will fit well into our current course operations and we look forward to being directly involved with the day-to-day management of the courses.”

Signature Golf Group to Manage River Oaks

Signature Golf Group will be the new management company of River Oaks Golf Plantation, the Myrtle Beach, S.C., -based golf facility management company, has announced.

Signature Golf Group has been hired by River Oaks LLC to be the new management company for River Oaks Golf Plantation. "We are very excited to grow our relationship with River Oaks," said Dave Downing, President of Signature Golf Group.

Signature Golf has already been involved for the last several months overseeing golf course renovations. Signature Golf Group is working with Craig Schreiner of Schreiner Golf, Inc. during the renovation.

"The Otter Course at River Oaks Golf Plantation will undergo a bunker renovation that will dramatically improve the strategy of each hole as well as the playing quality. This enhancement will have a lasting positive impact for all that play the course and set the stage for the future renovation of the Fox and Bear Courses as well. Every shot will have more interest as a result of this thorough master planning project. We are very experienced at this type of work and look forward to giving the Otter Course a much needed upgrade," said Schreiner.

For more information please contact Signature Golf at 1-843-663-FORE (3673) or visit www.signaturegolfgroup.com.

Arcadian Shores Golf Club - A Classic is Reborn

"Return with us now to the thrilling days of yesteryear..." Though the original words were meant to describe a return to the old west of the masked lawman, they could just as easily be used to describe a welcomed message sent by the Burroughs & Chapin Company on June 1, 2009, a day that may very well be looked at as a milestone for Myrtle Beach golf.

On that date, Burroughs & Chapin, for more than a century one of the driving forces in the development of the Grand Strand, renewed an agreement to lease Arcadian Shores Golf Club to FelCor Lodging Trust of Irving, Texas, owner of the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort (which, with its Myrtle Beach sister property the Embassy Suites Hotel all make up the Kingston Plantation), and, perhaps more importantly, for the first time in the course’s celebrated history, took on the responsibility of managing the course as well through its own Burroughs & Chapin Golf Management team. The combination of a golf course with a renowned past and a worldwide hotel brand with vision enough to bring in excellence and experience in golf course management begins an exciting new chapter in Grand Strand golf.

A Storied Past

The Myrtle Beach golf scene had already seen its share of noteworthy course architects by the time Arcadian Shores was being planned. Robert White, first PGA President, in 1927 (Myrtle Beach’s first course, the Ocean Forest Club). George Cobb, the design consultant at Augusta National, in 1960 (Surf Club) and 1972 (Bald Head Island Club in NC). George Fazio, also in 1972 (Bay Tree Golf Plantation). Arnold Palmer in 1973 (King’s North at Myrtle Beach National). The Myrtle Beach Farms Company (who would merge in 1990 with the Burroughs & Collins Company to form Burroughs & Chapin) had built George Cobb’s Pines Course at Myrtlewood in 1966, and was about to complete Edmund Ault’s stylish layout at Myrtlewood’s Palmetto Course. Regional architects had also made their local mark. It was a booming time for Grand Strand golf.

It was against this backdrop in the early 1970’s that the Guilford Mills Co. of Greensboro, NC set out to create an oceanfront resort in Myrtle Beach, which would also include golf. According to Bill Pritchard, now Interim President/CEO of Burroughs & Chapin, the folks at Guilford Mills knew where to turn. “The Burroughs and Collins Co. leased the land for Arcadian Shores to the Guilford Mills Co.,” says Pritchard, “and they went out and hired Rees Jones to design the course. They were building a Hilton Hotel, and the course was built in conjunction with that.”

It was a strikingly perfect hire, for as 1973 approached, one design name stood higher than the others. Robert Trent Jones, Sr. had put Myrtle Beach on the golf map with his course at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club in 1949, an epic course that had since been voted onto Golf Digest’s most prestigious list, “The Top 100 Courses in America.” The Dunes Club layout had not only proven it could stand the test of time, it was a beacon against which other courses were continually measured.

It was also, at the time it was being built, the playground for a young boy who in the early 1970’s was about to put his own stamp on the Myrtle Beach golf landscape.

“I had spent a lot of time in Myrtle Beach as a kid when my father was doing the Dunes Club, so it was very close to my heart,” says Rees Jones today. “It was a terrific experience for me to get a piece of ground so close to the Dunes Club and with so many parallels.”

It was this connection to his own family history, and the chance to strike out on his own after 10 years beside his father at Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Inc., that made Arcadian Shores even more meaningful for Rees. “I was on my own, and just did it myself,” he says. “It was the first time I had my name on the marquis, and it was very special to me. I wanted to build the greatest course I could.” There was no question that he succeeded.

The knowledge, sensitivity, style and design ability that would later be called upon to remodel and to restore some of the world’s greatest layouts for major championship play by the man now known as “The Open Doctor” took root, literally and figuratively, at Arcadian Shores. Jones created a masterful blend of visual beauty and strategically challenging golf course, drawing on the years beside his father and a lifetime of soaking up classic designs, to bring to Myrtle Beach a worthy companion to the Dunes Club he loved. Gene Weldon, now Head Professional at the Thistle Golf Club in Sunset Beach, NC, spent 1973 preparing the course as part of Head Pro Mack Briggs’ superintendent crew before spending the next 6 years as Briggs’ 2nd Assistant. “Arcadian Shores was as pristine and perfect a golf course as you could find anywhere,” Weldon says. “Everybody knew it was special, that it was Rees Jones’ first solo course. People came from everywhere to play it, and the combination of hotel and golf at Arcadian Shores was magnificent.”

Jones’ reward came 3 years after its opening, his first listing on Golf Digest’s “Top 100 Courses in America,” confirming that Arcadian Shores had signaled the arrival of yet another Jones on the architectural superstar roster.

A Track Worthy of Renewal

The design at Arcadian Shores revealed an architect who years later would articulate his philosophy to perfection. “At Rees Jones, Inc., we work to create courses that are fair, challenging, continually interesting to play, and visually exciting,” the designer wrote. Arcadian Shores was, and still is, all of the above. Utilizing the natural landscape of thick woods to define narrow fairways, clearing rolling terrain to create undulations and ground movement, placing bunkers both in the fairways and around green complexes in a manner that changes strategy, and options, on every hole, and using water hazards that include natural ponds and the Singleton Lake that is, amazingly, common to both the

Dunes Club and Arcadian Shores, Jones forged a truly beautiful and subtle masterpiece. Arcadian Shores would gather awards and play host over the next 25 years to a multitude of championships, including the Carolinas Open and as late as 1997 the Senior PGA Tour Grand Champions ProAm, an event at which Sam Snead, Doug Sanders and Charlie Sifford would test their considerable games.

Into The Future

Over the course of the next few decades Arcadian Shores would experience a decline from its lofty Top 100 perch. Though always a Burroughs & Chapin property, the course was always managed by a number of different hotel entities, whose expertise understandably laid elsewhere, and a slow deterioration of course conditioning made it difficult to keep the course at its prior levels of playability and reputation. Over time there was severe thatch build up under the turf, which affected drainage, which in turn affected the quality of every part of the course. And even though in the summer of 1994 Rees Jones came back with original blueprints, redid the greens to their original size, and replaced their bentgrass with TifDwarf Bermuda for ease of maintenance, Arcadian Shores never quite regained its place among Myrtle Beach’s elite layouts. That, thankfully, is about to change.

“With Arcadian Shores having been out of the company’s control, it’s comforting to have us back where we can influence the quality of the experience there,” says B&C CEO Pritchard. Others who are part of B&C and the Golf Management group, which now is involved with ownership and/or management of 10 Grand Strand courses, feel the same, and are extremely vocal about their eagerness to make a difference.

Bob Swezey, Executive Vice-President/Golf & Resorts for B&C, is perhaps loudest among them. “ We’ll be able to bring to Arcadian Shores a renewed vision to maintain the course at a level that’s conducive to the stature it deserves,” he says, “and we’ll do even more than we’ve already done by inserting the people that we have into the product.”

It is indeed an impressive group. 6 highly talented and effective members of a larger team that recently helped to bring B&C’s Grande Dunes Resort Course the highest possible honors: “Myrtle Beach Golf Course of the Year,” “SC Golf Course of the Year,” and in 2009, the “National Golf Course of the Year.”

Led by General Manager Archie Lemon, Head Pro Jason Mitchell and Superintendent Steve Martin, the entire team will be focused on one thing: the rejuvination of Arcadian Shores. “We always realized that it is one of the top layouts, tee to green, you’ll find at the beach,” Lemon says, “and we’ve stepped up and made a commitment to bring it back to today’s standards and expectations.”

Change has come rapidly to Arcadian Shores because of that attitude. Within the first 90 days, 9000 sq.’ of green surfaces had received new TifDwarf Bermuda sod. There’s a new fleet of carts, ground crew equipment, and new or completely renovated signage around the entire course.

The biggest changes, however, will center on course conditioning. According to Swezey, “We have a large agronomic plan that will eliminate the threats to the future deterioration of the turf. We’ll concentrate on drainage around the course, to avoid disease and correct other challenges.” Adds Lemon, “ We’ve eliminated a large number of trees and thinned others out, so the grass can get more sun,” Lemon says, a necessary process of “sunlight enhancement,” which will obviously strengthen the turf.

Add to the changes already made a wellrespected Hilton Golf Academy run by 25- year teaching pro Bill Whitaker (one of only 4 Hilton Academies in the country, and offering great Stay-and-Play packages), and you’ve got the basis for a rekindling of excitement about Arcadian Shores.

Given that B&C recently rescued Pine Lakes International, Myrtle Beach’s first course, from a possible loss to real estate considerations, it’s gratifying to hear Bob Swezey say, when asked about B&C’s position relative to Arcadian Shores, “We feel it’s a responsibility, an inner philosophy that we need to, if possible, protect where we came from, and our ability to lease the property and manage it at the same time is definitely an advantage. Arcadian Shores is absolutely a classic course, and it’s about to become one of our favorites again.”

Five Must Have Items for Your Myrtle Beach Golf Vacation

When it comes to a golf vacation, you’ve got to think about more than just tossing the clubs in the car or plane.  You’ve got to plan for an adventure. Here’s a list of five must have items for your trip.

Deck of Cards
You and your buddies will have some time in the room and around the pool and a game of hold ‘em it’s a great way to win back the cash you lost on the course.

Sunscreen
Yeah, you’re not going to be on the beach all day… or are you? Either way, make sure to toss some sunscreen in the bag. Even in the fall, you’ll be enjoying the 70’s and 80’s in Myrtle and that sun can get hot.

Beverage Repair Kit
Guess what, you’re not 21 anymore and the evening activities may take a toll on your game. Toss in some antacid, aspirin, an anything else that will help you recover from the day before.

Laser Range Finder
You'll spend hundreds in "hopes" of saving a few strokes off your game.  With a laser range finder, you'll KNOW that you're saving strokes.  Just point and shoot to get exact measurements to anywhere on the course.  You're guaranteed to save strokes by eliminating miscalculation.  Though it can't help you if you still think you can get a 9 iron over that pond.

If Lost Call...
Ever try hearding cats?  It's easy compared to keeping up with your golfing buddies.  Create some credientials for your buddies on your computer, print out and laminate.  Stick everyone's numbers on the back and your official group name and barcode on the front.  People will think you really are someone and if you've got a man down, at least everyone will have their phone number, hotel information and other critical trip data.

See something we're missing?

Comment below and well add it to the list.

Golf Dimensions Opens in Barefoot Resort

Golf Dimensions Superstore has opened a third location. The newest is at the Barefoot Golf Resort – one of the premier golf resorts in the Myrtle Beach area. This is not your typical golf retail operation. It is located right on a deluxe golf practice facility featuring a 35 acre lighted driving range, putting green, and chipping area. The main advantage to this location is that customers can actually try out the best equipment from the best manufacturers on the best driving range in the area. No more hitting balls into a net inside a store – take the club outside and hit a few balls “for real” and watch them fly. For a real test, Golf Dimensions offers a club rental program which lets golfers use a test club for a full round of golf. If you choose to purchase, they will credit part of the rental fee towards your purchase. There is no better way to buy golf equipment.

Though smaller than other Golf Dimensions locations, this store is filled with all premium leading manufacturers best-selling equipment. And even though the store is surrounded by the beautiful Barefoot Golf Resort, the prices of the merchandise are exactly the same as they are in the Golf Dimensions stores in North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach. There is no “resort pricing” here.

The practice facility is also the home of the Barefoot Teaching Golf Academy and the Barefoot Resort Sports Bar & Grill. Make a day of it!

Golf Dimensions is  family-owned and operated with three family generations actively involved in the business. They are celebrating their 19th year and feature the Strand's largest "Golf Only" Superstores.

Visit Golf Dimensions on the web at www.golfdimensions.com.

Golf Dimensions at Barefoot Golf Resort
5183 Barefoot Resort Bridge Road (At the Barefoot Resort Driving Range)
843-390-1435

In North Myrtle Beach
2301 Hwy. 17 South
843-272-4630

In Myrtle Beach
3432 Hwy. 501 (Across from Freestyle Music Park)
843-236-5500

Ten Anti-Traditional Myrtle Beach Courses

By Brandon Tucker,
Senior Writer, WorldGolf.com

For daring golf course design in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, check out Grande Dunes Resort Club, True Blue Plantation or King's North at Myrtle Beach National. Some golf courses honor the game's roots, using minimalist, classically-styled, low-budget architecture. Then there are the head-turners that break the mold, utilizing the imagination (and machinery) of modern golf design. Myrtle Beach, which boasts more than 100 golf courses dating as far back as the 1920s, has a design for every taste.

Here are some of the Grand Strand's most dare-to-be-different golf courses:

Grande Dunes Resort Club

The centerpiece of this multi-billion dollar development, Grande Dunes Resort Club has some pizazz to it. Roger Rulewich's design offers dramatic views of both the Intracoastal Waterway and the multi-million dollar, southwestern-themed villas along the fairways. A good amount of land was moved and shaped to get the best waterway views. Grande Dunes has six tee boxes going back to 7,600 yards.

True Blue Plantation

Opinions vary on the Mike Strantz-designed True Blue Plantation course, and for good reason. True Blue is simply one of a kind. The holes are imaginative, and the green complexes are unlike anything you've ever seen if you've never played a Strantz course. There's even a hole with alternate left and right greens (also found at area courses Barefoot Fazio and Oyster Bay).

King's North at Myrtle Beach National

When Arnold Palmer redesigned his King's North course at Myrtle Beach National, he aimed to make it a modern day, resort-style stand-out with plenty of unique holes. The island fairway on the par-5 sixth hole, named "The Gambler," is the first such example, followed by No. 12's par-3 island green (each of the four par 3s require a water carry here) and finally the 18th hole's more than 40 bunkers.

The Founders Club

The Founders Club is set in the historic lowcountry seaside town of Pawleys Island on the former Sea Gull course. But the brand new Founders Club, opened in 2008, is anything but conventional. Sprawling waste bunkers encircle each fairway, leaving little rough; and large, dramatic mounding surround the greens

Oyster Bay Golf Links

Legends Resort founder Danny Young took a hands-on approach to the construction of most of his golf courses, including working with Dan Maples on Oyster Bay Golf Links. The greens here are severely sloping, and some holes are anything but conventional, including the short, par-3 13th. It plays to a green high above the fairway and sits atop a concrete wall over the water.

Prestwick Country Club

The mission at Prestwick Country Club was to create an old-world links, but Pete & P.B. Dye left there stamp as well, moving 1.3 million cubic yards to create 30 feet of elevation change on a once flat landscape just off the ocean. There are 10,000 railroad ties, and Scotland's Prestwick has nothing on this modern version's closing ninth and 18th holes, which wrap around a lake.

Barefoot Resort, Dye

Dye moved a lot of earth in creating the Dye Course at Barefoot Resort. The result is typical Dye mounds, humps, railroad ties and countless bunkers.

Barefoot Resort, Fazio

One of three Tom Fazio-designed golf courses along the Grand Strand, the newest of the bunch - the Fazio Course at Barefoot Resort - is set on expansive acreage, so there are few parallel holes. The course features huge waste bunkering with native trees.

Long Bay Club

Jack Nicklaus got out his chisel on this unassuming piece of land out on Highway 9. Long Bay Club features a lot of mounding, especially around the well protected greens. A vast amount of waste bunkering was used; you'll be driving through them occasionally, including on the signature horseshoe bunker encircling the 10th fairway.

Moorland at Legends Resort

Moorland at Legends Resort, P.B. Dye's stadium-style design, features target golf and penal waste areas. Despite a modest length - under 6,700 yards from the championship tees - Golf Digest ranks Moorland among the 50 most difficult golf courses in America.

Inside the Ropes at the US Open (wrap up)

By Joan Shafer

In real life, Joan Shafer is a global business consultant with a tremendous love of golf. This week she's a volunteer Marshall at the US Open on Hole #5. What follows are her observations from "inside the ropes."

(Editor's note: Each new addition to Joan's report is added to the end of this story, so that new readers can follow it in order, as it happened. Use the links to jump to the parts you haven't seen yet.)

Go to Day 3

The Wrap Up

Day 2:

We did not see Tiger today since our shift started in the afternoon and we decided to miss his morning practice.

So, some highlights of today:

1. We had a massive breakfast at a local diner and got to talking to the guy in the booth next to ours. He is one of the Rules Officials and has presided at all sorts of tournaments including college and seniors events. This guy is a judge by profession and will be working his 13th US Open this week. We peppered him with questions which triggered his telling us things he had witnessed such as: 1) following Sergio here in 2002 when he would grip and re-grip and re-grip and re-grip his club before taking every shot and the NY crowd deciding to count for him "ONE! TWO!! THREE!! . . . etc. " Then when he would fluff the shot, they would yell "ALL THAT? FOR THAT??!!." 2) Another Sergio story when he was clearly not going to make the cut at Winged Foot and asked the Rules Official if there would be a penalty if he threw his club. The official replied that if he threw it like a man over the fence and far into the woods, then maybe. Otherwise if he threw it to the ground, then not. Sergio told him that the woods option sounded good to him and the official said "Wait - let me have it and I'll auction it for charity". Sergio went to his bag, pulled out his driver, signed it, and handed it to him. The official got $1000 for the First Tee Foundation as the result. 3) Ask me to tell you the Jack Nicklaus story whenever I see you. Too long to write. Suffice it to say that the judge had me (and himself) in complete tears after telling it.

2. The NY gallery. I have been to about 20 big golf tournaments in my life in Scotland, Australia and across the USA. I have NEVER ever seen or heard anything like the people who come out here. They hold back no punches or thoughts. They just yell across the fairways and greens what they want to the players, caddies, or anyone else in their entourage. Like at our hole yesterday, Todd Hamilton hit his second shot to the elevated green and it landed short. One of the guys on the sidelines called out "What club did you just hit Todd?" Hamilton voiced back "A 7 iron." The guy cried "That is NOT enough club on this hole!!" At which point Hamilton pulled a 3 iron out of his bag, dropped another ball and struck it to within 8 feet of the flag. The crowd went WILD in applause. Upon reaching the green, Hamilton picked up the first ball, signed it and walked over to the ropes and gave it to the guy who advised him. Nice. The spectators all have strong NY accents. They all wear long khaki shorts, faded golf shirts, golf hats, and hold beers in their left hands and cigars in their right. If you ask them who they want to win this week, they get all soft and genuine and say "Phil . . . especially for what he is going through." If a player is a jerk and does something dumb, they show no mercy.

3. Speaking of Phil. Our hold captain told us that Phil flew home to CA on Sunday night after the St. Jude tournament to be with Amy and will be flying in here tomorrow night. So no practice this week. The marshals at each hole are going to be wearing some sort of pink something in support of him and Amy such as wrist bands, ribbons, or pins on our hats.

4. As Angel Cabrera was walking off the green, he looked up directly into my eyes and gave me the friendliest "Hi!" a girl could get. I was completely star struck for several hours after that.

5. In the merchandise tent, Rocco Mediate was at a table signing his new book co-written by John Feinstein titled "You've Got to be Kidding Me" about last year's US Open match between him and Tiger. I handed him my copy and said that it was for a prostate cancer charity auction in August. Boy - he is another one that looks you dead in the eyes when connecting with you and so could not have been more thoughtful in the words he finally and briefly inked down. These guys are good.

I realized today that golf is like the movies. A topic that universally yields animated conversation with a stranger. It is the best leveler in that one could talk to another for hours out here about this subject and never get into "What do you do for a living" and all those other questions that lead to hierarchical judgments about the other.  Everyone to a person is excited in this event whether the girl scout gals at the concession booth who are donating their time free in exchange for a percentage of the take from the food company as a gift; the volunteer grounds teams 10-strong each who started work at 3 am this morning under lights and came out in full force at the end of the round today to pick up every divot off the fairway, put sand it its place and repair each ball mark.  It seems like everyone wants to talk to everyone and so we are.   Whether it is commenting on the player, the weather, exchanging information, or teasing a stranger uncompromisingly because you know they are from New York and will give it back to you better than you could deliver it.

Day 3:

"Yesterday we were not scheduled to work a shift, so went out to the course to spend the morning in the grandstand at 17 where you can see 4 other holes in play. It was then that Phil played his only practice round of the week and it was more than moving to see and hear the fan support along the way. He is New York's love child.

Before leaving at noon to play 18 ourselves, I spent the smartest $29 of the past 10 years. I bought a golf umbrella knowing that the forecast was for big rain today. No wonder golfers carry umbrellas in the USA. When I lived in Scotland, an umbrella was worthless because rain is not only horizontal, but it becomes a wind sail which pulled you uncontrollably down any path you were walking resulting in joint displacement.

Today marked the first day of official play, so easy banter between the players and gallery was now gone, the relaxed amble of the golfers replaced by focused pacing, and high stakes felt behind every shot. We left our hotel at 6:15 am in all our rain gear in a downpour to get to the course and hike out to our hole. Our hole director is an 'on it' gal named Kathy who gave us a whole series of directives about crowd control, crosswalk management and fore-caddying. Huddled under our umbrellas in the non-stop rain, the question was whether play was really going to start. Word came back "yes" - the first groups had just teed off at 7: 04 am at 1 and 10. We knew that Tiger was teeing off at 8:06 am with Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington. I was sent down the right side of the fairway to be the first of 3 fore caddies and it wasn't long before the first group reached our hole (the 5th). It instantly became clear that today was going to be different from the practice rounds with the rain shortening their drives by 10-40 yards and their nerves affecting their swing and thus ball flight so that they were landing in the front bunkers that they had consistently cleared the 3 days before. The first 4 groups came through composed of mostly unknown players. The marshals were then moved up one place so I was now the middle fore caddy. Vijay Singh, KJ Choi and Jeev Singh teed off and for the first time all week, a ball landed in the high grass on the right side of the bunkers which I saw land near to me and marked with a flag. It is a daunting position to be in since you can't see the ball come off the tee and you need to trust the 2 marshals standing behind the golfer on the tee who raise yellow paddles indicating which direction the ball is coming down the fairway. If you see the yellow boards being waved toward your side, you start madly looking at the sky for incoming with ears on high alert for the sound of the ball thud ding.

Then the tsunami of spectators appeared over the hill making their way down both sides of the fairway to be in position for Tiger and his group's drives off the tee. We could barely see them in the distance walking up to it with caddies, umbrellas, scorers, etc. First ball from the group landed in the fairway not too far along. Then wait. Next player hit the ball and the tee marshals are wildly waving their paddles toward us. We hear a thwack of a ball shooting back off a tree trunk in front of us back into the high grass. I saw it land and trooped hurriedly over to mark it with my flag. I looked down at it and saw the Nike swoosh logo. It was then my heart started thudding like mad and I realized whose ball it was. The third shot was hit over into the short left rough. A mass of media inside the ropes came down my way as I stood protective of that little area. Stevie then appeared with Tiger's bag and I pointed to the flag. Dave, the fore caddy behind me explained to Stevie that the ball had hit the tree in front and thus why it may be scuffed. We reverently stood back a few paces and watched Tiger approach. I realized later that I was breathless. He was not bent out of shape or upset. Came over, looked down at the ball and the lie, went over to his bag and pulled out a wedge, took a moment to look where the other players were, looked down the fairway, took a focused practice swing, and then punched it out down the middle. Walked on and waited for the others. I just have to say . . . it was special. A moment I will never forget. He is as perfect in real life as he is in pictures and on TV. Dave and I smiled at each other after they all left just feeling that warmth of luck. Tiger went on to double bogey the hole, one of the hardest on the front 9, and then birdied the 6th in ever heavier rain. Play was suspended for the rest of the day not long after that.

We are not working tomorrow, but unanimously agreed to meet at 6:30 am to get to the course to follow Tiger for the rest of his round. We want to watch the best player in the world in action at the US Open. Realizing that history is in the making and that no one comes close to his play, we want to see and appreciate as much of him and his game as we can.

A FEW SIDE NOTES FROM TODAY:

1. It was pouring (!) all day. The greens became big ponds. The fairways like 1000 small lakes. You could not walk on the grass paths which had become 6 inch mud obstacle courses that Marine training camps only dream of. Parking lots were closed after the cars emptied out because of all the mud damage. The massive rains of today had been predicted since last weekend. Yet - we saw guys in their late teens and early 20's both on the course and in the gallery wearing only a golf shirt and shorts. No umbrella, rain hat, waterproofs, etc. A lot of outraged mothers are on the corrective action warpath tonight.

2. Tickets were $40 for each practice day and are $100 for each tournament day. 42,000 tickets per day max and they are pretty much sold out. The people who comprised the gallery today were golfers. No one else would have been mad enough to come out in this weather. So crowd control was not needed. We know this game and its etiquette. We play in this weather. Even though it was so wet that play was suspended, we all loved being out there in it.

Can't wait for tomorrow . . . "

The Wrap Up

It is all over now and I imagine you know that Lucas Glover won the US Open yesterday afternoon. A deserving win after a most exciting final hour where any of 5 golfers could have taken it. When Phil eagled #13, you could hear the roar in Philadelphia. Loudest and most excited response of the week. It was just not in the stars for him to win this one. However, I think he had to leave feeling deeply loved and supported by the 1000's and 1000's and 1000's of people who cheered his every step over 6 days.

I learned some things this week.

1. All you have to do to get a successful outcome from a group of people whom you don't know and want their best is just ask them to just use their common sense as the guideline. There were 1000's (not 100's but 1000's) of volunteers who ran this tournament including hole marshals, grandstand marshals, ground crews, transportation drivers, parking lot directors, concession stand servers, cleaners, information guides, ticket takers, security screeners, ticket sellers, merchandise vendors, etc. etc. etc. etc. These are people who love golf, want to be helpful, and be in the thick of action. It all worked like a charm. The amount of responsibility given to these groups is impressive and other institutions could learn a wonderful lesson from this. We don't need controls, manuals, trainings, and micromanagers to make big things work. Just have faith in the people who are already there. There were some 45,000 people on this golf course every day and it flowed beautifully.

2. Give your people all the benefits that make sense and they will deliver in spades. As volunteers, we could attend every day even if we weren't working. For each shift we worked, we were given a voucher good for a sandwich, piece of fruit, bag of chips, and drink of our choice. There were tents set up especially for the volunteers with tables and chairs, breakfast take-away items, snacks, TV's on the wall, and course guides for the taking. In the back of each tent were 3-4 massage chairs and professional masseuses who gave free 5-15 minute sessions for any volunteer who wanted one. We got free parking in a special lot too. That is a lot of giving in my book.

3. I discovered that I could have another career as a fore caddy since I seem to have a talent for spotting incoming balls off the tee that land in the rough. Probably developed as a result of all the hours I have been in there looking for my own ball.

4. American Express knows smart marketing. At the main gate, they had a booth where they gave away little ear pieces for anyone who had an AmEx card. These were little radios that broadcast the tournament via satellite radio (XM and Sirius), so that wherever you were on the course, you heard what was going on elsewhere. Easily 30% of the people had them on and collectively would get excited when hearing that Tiger had birdied a hole or something similar. Everyone wanted one.

5. Golfers are universally great people. Whether they are professional or amateur, from New York or New Mexico, they are ready to talk to you, open to sharing information, wanting to play.

6. It was Father's Day on Sunday and I missed my Dad . . . . He died 8 years ago a few weeks after he and I spent the weekend watching the US Open together with Retief Goosen winning. He was the golfer in our family who inspired his children to learn. He was a life long volunteer at the Greater Hartford Open (in all its various names) since the early 1960's and got a special award in his later years for all that he contributed. He would have been watching it on TV if he were still alive. I think he was watching it from above with an even greater perspective. Part of what makes this sport so heavenly . . .

10 Classic Myrtle Beach Courses That Traditionalists Will Love

By Brandon Tucker,
Senior Writer at World Golf Wire

For many golfers, the blood starts pumping the most when they put the peg in the ground of one of the game's classic golf courses.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a relatively new golf destination, with many of its courses not coming around until the 1980s and 1990s. That said, there are a handful of historic designs, including Pine Lakes Country Club, which dates back to 1927 (and is sporting a fresh new look).

Other courses, while newer, were built with the game's traditional design traits in mind. Little land was moved, and the courses have a timeless look. Here are Myrtle Beach's top 10 best bets for design traditionalists.

Dunes Golf and Beach Club

Dunes Golf and Beach Club - One of the oldest golf courses in Myrtle Beach, Dunes Golf and Beach Club is considered among Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s finest designs. It's also believed to have the first "signature hole," the par-5 13th, nicknamed "Waterloo." Jones' large, splashed bunkers, raised greens and doglegs make the Dunes as timeless a test as any course here.

Pine Lakes Country Club

Of course Myrtle Beach's "Granddaddy" is going to be on this list. Pine Lakes Country Club is the area's first golf course, opened in 1927. It reopened in the spring of 2009 after an extensive renovation by Craig Schreiner, who built new holes and restored originals designed by Robert White, founder of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

"My design challenge was integrating the nine newer holes with White's nine original holes," said Schreiner. "The end result was improved consistency in the strategic play quality and aesthetics of every hole." These improved aesthetics also include views of the historic 80-year-old clubhouse (also restored) from 16 holes.

Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club

The mission of this Glen Golf Group's course was to employ the design style of A.W. Tillinghast, one of the great "golden age" architects. Its setting, with no holes playing through real estate, meaning parallel fairways, gives Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club an old school vibe, while the quick, raised bent grass greens and bunkering are vintage Tillinghast.

Litchfield Country Club

Litchfield Country Club - Myrtle BeachThis 1966 design by Willard Byrd is a step back in time. Litchfield Country Club is on the short side but defends itself with small greens and sharp doglegs through thick Carolina forests. It's also extremely walkable.

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club

The late Mike Strantz is hardly a traditional architect, but he was on his best behavior when building Caledonia Golf & Fish Club. Thanks to natural-looking shaping around the course's most beautiful trees (and there are plenty here), the course feels well advanced of its 1995 debut. Caledonia is also squeezed on a very old school-sized plot of land, under 120 acres.

Legends Resort, Heathland Course

Usually minimalist golf architect Tom Doak will be the first to tell you there was plenty of earth moved for the Heathland Course at Legends Resort, but it was done at the discretion of the Legends Group, who wanted a links-style design. Doak delivered the best faux links on the beach.

West Course, Myrtle Beach National

One of Arnold Palmer's oldest golf course designs (with former associate Francis Duane), the West Course at Myrtle Beach National meanders around the same terrain as the flashier King's North course, but this 1970s design delivers large, bent grass greens, many of which slope severely from back to front. There's no residential development, so you'll find your stray drives on pine straw under the tall pines lining the fairways.

Arcadian Shores Golf Club

Built in 1974 near the heart of Myrtle Beach and just off the ocean, Arcadian Shores Golf Club is "U.S. Open Doctor" Rees Jones' first solo design, and the result is a golf course that defends itself with tight doglegs and strategic bunkering over length.

Tradition Golf Club

The name forebodes a timeless test, the Ron Garl design delivers it. Tradition Golf Club's more understated characteristics in a golf-saturated neighborhood make it a bit of a lesser-known, but the golf course features some of the best green complexes around.

World Tour Golf Links

The World Tour Golf Links replica course of 27 of the world's most famous holes will probably make some traditionalists cringe at the concept. But those who have visited St. Andrews, Augusta National and Cypress Point will be curious to see how accurate - or inaccurate - World Tour's efforts were.

Direct Flights to Myrtle Beach

Several airlines offer direct flights to and from Myrtle Beach.

Low-cost carrier Allegiant Air is beginning nonstop flights to Myrtle Beach from Huntington, W.Va., and Allentown, Pa., marking its first entry into the Myrtle Beach market.

Flights to both destinations will depart and arrive on Thursdays and Sundays. Reservations can be made at www.allegiantair.com, or by calling 702-505-8888.

Travelers between Myrtle Beach and Chicago have an easier way to get back and forth starting today with the launch of a daily, nonstop flight on Spirit Airlines.

Grand Strand tourism leaders herald the new flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport as an opportunity to lure more visitors to the beach, especially golfers from the Chicago area.

Nonstop daily service to the Windy City has been off and on since 2001. United Airlines used to fly the route, but ditched it in 2006, though it kept nonstop weekend service intermittently through September. Spirit Airlines ran nonstop service between Myrtle Beach and Chicago in 2001 and 2002 but ended the service when demand fell after Sept. 11, 2001.

Spirit officials say Myrtle Beach's affordability makes it a likely candidate to do well as travelers search for bargains.

These airlines offer direct flights to and from Myrtle Beach:

• Allegiant Air: Huntington, W.Va., and Allentown, Pa.
• ASA (Delta Connection): Atlanta
• ComAir: (Delta Connection): LaGuardia, Boston
• Continental: Newark
• Direct Air: Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh, N.Y.; Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers, Fla.; Allentown, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Newark, N.J.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Rockford, Ill.; Sanford, Fla.; Toledo, Ohio; Worcester, Mass.
• Delta/Northwest: Detroit, Minneapolis
• Spirit: Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, LaGuardia
• United Express: Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare
• US Airways: Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington National, LaGuardia, Boston

Myrtle Beach International Airport is located at 1100 Jetport Road, Myrtle Beach. For additional info, directions and flight status info, visit www.flymyrtlebeach.com or call 843-448-1589.

Zagat: Pawleys Plantation among top golf courses

One of the nation's leading surveyors of American travelers, Zagat, has ranked Pawleys Plantation among the top golf courses in the United States, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in its recently released 2009/2010 guide, America's Top Golf Courses 6th Edition. Zagat surveyed more than 6,054 avid golfers for the ratings and reviews in the guide.

Those surveyed rated Pawleys Plantation as "very good to excellent" in all categories including the course, facilities, service, and value. Describing the course as "one of Jack Nicklaus' best designs," the guide reports that the course "is an example of true Southern Golf all the way down to the plantation-style clubhouse."

Zagat is the brand name of America's leading guides to restaurants, golf, and hotels. The 2009/2010 golfer's guide contains over 1,000 player reviews of the country's public, semi-private and resort courses. Pawleys Plantation was also ranked very highly in the 2007/2008 edition.

"Pawleys Plantation is very excited and honored to be recognized by Zagat again," said Jann Walker, director of marketing for Pawleys Plantation. "We take pride in our well-conditioned course and are thrilled the raters continue to rank our course so highly. Zagat is known for producing reliable resources for travelers, so we know that when Zagat speaks, travelers listen."

About Pawleys Plantation
Pawleys Plantation, a 582-acre resort and golf course community in Pawleys Island, S.C., is nestled among moss-draped oaks, natural wetlands and salt marshes. Pawleys Plantation is the South Carolina Lowcountry's finest property providing visitors first-class accommodations and amenities, an award winning Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, catering, and an elegant 4,500 square foot ballroom, perfect for banquets.

Pawleys Plantation has been recognized as one of South Carolina's best sites for corporate meetings, private vacations and golf getaways. USAToday.com has called Pawleys Plantation "one of the snazziest resorts on the Grand Strand" and Travel + Leisure Golf magazine named it one of the most underrated golf resorts in the Southeast. Pawleys Plantation also offers one of the Grand Strand's premier meeting facilities, a 6,500 square foot conference center. In 2008, readers of ConventionSouth magazine honored it with a "Readers' Choice" award. And, in 2009, Pawleys Plantation was chosen one of the "Top 50 Golf Resorts" by the readers of GolfWorld magazine.

Conveniently located near a wide variety of cultural and recreational amenities, Pawleys Plantation is approximately one hour from Charleston, S.C., a city well known for its Southern grace and charm; the historic port of Georgetown, S.C., is less than 15 minutes south on U.S. 17. More than 100 golf courses and 1,000 restaurants are in nearby Myrtle Beach.

More information is available online at www.pawleysplantation.com or by calling Pawleys Plantation at (800) 367-9959. On The Green's page on Pawleys Plantation is here.

Zagat: Glens Golf Group courses among best in U.S.

Glen Dornoch and Heather Glen of the Glens Golf Group have been ranked among America's best golf courses in the 2009/2010 edition of Zagat's America's Top Golf Courses 6th Edition. The guide surveyed more than 6,054 avid golfers from the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for the ratings and reviews on over 1,000 public, semi-private and resort courses.

Glen Dornoch and Heather Glen were both rated as "very good to excellent" in all categories including the course, facilities, service, and value. Glen Dornoch was described as the "best three-hole finish on the Grand Strand," with "excellent course conditions, breathtaking views of the Intracoastal Waterway and attentive service."

The surveyors also described Heather Glen as a "gem" that offers a "beautiful, unique Scottish links layout," with "well-thought-out holes" featuring "lots of trees and variation in elevation" along with "great bunkering."

"The Glens Golf Group is excited and honored to have Zagat rate our courses so highly," said Jason Himmelsbach, director of marketing for The Glens Golf Group. "We pride ourselves on outstanding customer service and well- conditioned courses, so to be recognized by Zagat is truly outstanding."

Zagat is the brand name of America's leading guides to restaurants, golf, and hotels. The 2009/2010 golfer's guide marks the 30th year Zagat has been conducting its consumer surveys.

About The Glens Golf Group
The flagship of The Glens Golf Group is Heather Glen, which is located in Little River, S.C. on a magnificent, 400-acre historic site. Designed by Willard Byrd and Clyde Johnston, the course opened in 1987.

Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links, often referred to as "Myrtle Beach's Most Talked About Course," was designed by Clyde Johnston in a tribute to legendary course architect Donald Ross. Glen Dornoch is a traditional course and each hole flows with the natural terrain of lakes, live oaks and spectacular marsh and river views.

Known as the "Friendliest Course On The Beach," Possum Trot has an honored place in the history of Myrtle Beach golf. One of the first ten championship courses built along Myrtle Beach's Grand Strand, which now has more than 100 golf courses, Possum Trot has stood the test of time. The course's Old English design features spacious fairways, challenging par 5's, as well as flawlessly manicured greens and spectacular flower displays.

Inspired by world-famous courses like Winged Foot and Augusta National, architect Clyde Johnston designed a traditional British Isles course at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club, located on the banks of South Carolina's beautiful Waccamaw River.

The Grand Strand's Top Signature Holes

By Brandon Tucker

Each golf trip has one: that special hole which leaves a lasting imprint in your noggin' long after you've returned home.

Myrtle Beach golf courses are chock full of them. And, interestingly enough, the concept of a "signature hole" is considered by many golf architecture historians to have been born in Myrtle Beach at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club. Robert Trent Jones' famous "Waterloo" hole, a par 5 that wraps around Lake Singleton just off the Atlantic Ocean, is the first known hole purpose built to stick out like a sore (well, a very scenic "sore") thumb.

Today's definition of a "signature hole" lies, depending on your tastes, somewhere between the best-designed, most drama-laden, most difficult or most scenic hole on any golf course.

There are roughly 100 golf courses in Myrtle Beach, and most of them have tried to employ their own offering as Myrtle Beach's best golf hole.

Here is just a sample of the headliners:

No. 6, King's North at Myrtle Beach National: Any worthy signature hole has a nickname. In this instance, No. 6 at King's North was christened by musician Kenny Rogers as "The Gambler," thanks to its island fairway that allows the hole to be played close to 100 yards shorter than the conventional dogleg left around the water. The shallow, peninsula green leaves little room for error both front, long and left. For some golfers, it makes their trip. Others call it "gimmicky," but no one deems it guilty of false advertising.

This isn't the only contender at King's North. The par-3 12th hole features an island green with "S" and "C" bunkers to the left, symbolizing "South Carolina," making it a popular favorite spot for aerial photographers.

No. 18, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club: Caledonia's 18th hole is the best closing hole on the Grand Strand thanks largely to its 19th hole.

The club has become infamous for its often rowdy back porch just steps off the 18th green. As players finish up their morning rounds, the porch fills up, and groups tend to stay here longer than most other clubhouses due to the entertainment provided by the 18th hole's approach shot: a long carry over water that sees one wet, embarrassing failure after another. Jeers and cheers echo off the porch long into late afternoon.

Of all the shots in the Grand Strand, this is the one that will most likely be watched by the most eyes and will certainly test your mettle.

No. 13, Pawleys Plantation: Pawleys Plantation's back nine hugs the marsh so close you'll always have the smell of saltwater in your nostrils. Both the par 3s on the back must carry marsh, but it's the short 13th's island green, with a miniscule putting surface jutting out into the marsh, that will have your group talking - or cursing.

And when the tide is out, you can see enough balls sitting in the muck to stock a golf shop for years.

No. 14, Grande Dunes' Resort Course: A handful of courses boast at least one striking hole along the bustling Intracoastal waterway, where anything from jet skis to fishing and luxury leisure boats pass by parallel golf holes at clubs like Arrowhead Country Club, Waterway Hills Golf Links and Myrtlewood Golf Club's Palmetto Course.

But the most distinctive is Grande Dunes' par-3 14th hole. It's a daring shot both over the waterway to a green perched to the left of it - up to 240 yards long if you're a gamer. A weak fade's only hope of finding dry surface is if it somehow lands on a shrimp boat.

No. 16, Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links: If your personal thesaurus has "signature" and "difficult" in the same entry, look no further than Glen Dornoch's 16th hole, which kicks off the North Strand's most sinister trio of finishing holes. It heads straight downhill towards the waterway. Depending on your length, a delicate layup is required to stay short of a perpendicular hazard.

The approach shot plays further downhill, to a green guarded left, right and back by the waterway. Often requiring a medium-to-long iron, few golfers move on to 17 with 4.

No. 6, Barefoot Resort, Love Course: Barefoot went out of its way here to leave a little something extra, recreating slave quarters behind the sixth green. In fact, the structure is so close to this drivable par 4, it isn't unheard of to actually fly the green with your drive, strike the structure and have it kick backwards onto the green.

While this structure is replicated, other courses have authentic plantation remnants. Willbrook Plantation is full of excavated slave ruins and even a cemetery. The Heritage Golf Club's 440-yard fourth is completely encircled with centuries-old oaks and a slave burial ground to the left of the green, which leaves little evidence of anytime later than the 18th century.

No. 18, Farmstead Golf Club: If "signature" means "longest," this hole is the hands-down winner. Those who haven't been to the Grand Strand aren't often aware that there are some golf courses that spill over across the border in North Carolina. But there is only one golf course that plays in both South and North Carolina and only one hole that plays in both. It's Farmstead's endless 767-yard par 6.

That's just a sample of some of the area's most vivid holes. But in the end, it comes down to what the golfer remembers when he's with his buddies a year later in the poker room and the topic of his "trip to Myrtle Beach" comes up.

So what's yours?

GOLF JOKES

By On The Green Group

1) Is there golf in heaven?
I knew this guy who loved golf. He was my dad's friend, Anyway one day he decided to go to this really famous psychic in the area and see if he could tap into the beyond and finally gets some answers to his burning spiritual questions. After a few days the psychic called and he asked if there was any news of the golfing in heaven. Apparently this guy was going to base his whole morality on whether or not he was able to play his favorite sport in the after life. The psychic told him that there was good news and bad news and asked which did he wants to hear first. He said let's hear the good news first. So the psychic said, "Indeed there was a beautiful 36 hole spread up there". The man said "and the bad news". The psychic replied I saw you are scheduled for a round tomorrow at 10am.

                                                                                           

2) Perfect Shot

A man stood over his tee shot looking up, looking down, measuring the distance, figuring the wind direction and speed... driving his partner nuts. Finally his partner says, "What the hell is taking so long? Hit the damned ball!" The guy answers, "My wife is up there watching me from the clubhouse. I want to make this a perfect shot." "Give me a break! You don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of hitting her from here."

 

3) Religious Golf

Moses, Jesus and an old man went out golfing one day. They get to the hardest hole on the course, a par 5, 542 yds. Moses tees up, takes his shot and it lands in the water. He walks up to the lake parts the water and hits in onto the green. Jesus is up next, he takes his shot, it lands in the water. Jesus walks on the water takes his next shot and it lands on the green. The old man is up next he tees up and takes his shot. The old slices the shot horribly it goes over the highway, bounces off a house, off a car, lands on the power lines, is rolling across them gets picked up by a squirrel, then the squirrel gets taken away by a hawk that flies over the green and the squirrel drops the ball right on the green and it goes in the hole. Jesus turns to the old man and says "Nice shot dad, are we going play golf now or you just going keep messing around?"

 

4) I got home from playing golf last Sunday a little later than normal and I was very tired. "Bad day at the course?" my wife asked. "Everything was going fine, until Larry had a heart attack and died on the 10th tee. "OH THAT'S AWFUL," my wife said. "You're not kidding. For the whole back nine it was hit the ball, drag Larry, hit the ball, and drag Larry."

The Crazy Horse: The Ultimate in Myrtle Beach Adult Entertainment

By On The Green Group

The Crazy Horse, located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has been providing the best in adult entertainment for over two decades. In the beautifully designed building located on the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, you will find many dining and entertainment options. Crazy Horse Saloon and Restaurant offers much more than just a gorgeous atmosphere: in addition to the over one hundred beautiful ladies who will wait on you, there are numerous dining and bar choices as well. You can enjoy everything from the finest champagne and top sirloin steaks to the more casual hot wings and beer.

Great daily specials abound, including such specials as three dollar Margarita Mondays, a weekly Tuesday amateur dancer contest with one thousand dollars in prizes, two dollar tequila Thursdays (with 25 cents wings as well!), and much more. Every day Crazy Horse offers a different special, and you can expect to be surrounded by lovely ladies every moment you are at The Crazy Horse. The Crazy Horse is designed to serve every segment of the adult population: Are you seeking a casual atmosphere? You will be right at home here, and might especially enjoy the groups that gather here regularly to watch all the major sporting events on the huge televisions strategically placed for the ultimate viewing. Looking for a high class champagne and caviar type experience? The Crazy Horse has you covered. After all, you have the finest dining available right here, and you will of course find that the fine food simply tastes that much better when served by such stunning women. Perhaps you wanted the perfect venue for your next party.

Crazy Horse is the ideal environment for that as well! You will be the hero of your crowd when you plan a party here- every single person will have a blast, and it's a safe bet that everyone will be back to visit again. The Crazy Horse features a huge two level arena, but still manages to maintain the intimate feel of a much smaller club. You will find live performances seven days a week, with special featured guest performers regularly scheduled as well. The Crazy Horse Myrtle Beach boasts four different stages, and a high tech state of the art sound and light system. Should you be interested in a more personal one-on-one experience, you will love the jacuzzi suites: take a dip in one of the posh jacuzzi tubs, kick back and enjoy a glass of wine while you interact with the stunning ladies of The Crazy Horse.

Hours of operation were decided to help you get the ultimate experience from the night hours: from four p.m. to four a.m, seven days a week! Regardless of the type of gathering place you are seeking, The Crazy Horse will be able to meet your needs. Ideal for everything from a simple night of watching the big football game with pals (on the high definition large screen televisions all over the club!) up to a tightly planned bachelor party or birthday celebration, everyone who visits The Crazy Horse Saloon and Restaurant will have a great time.

 

 

Brunswick Isles Golf Trail Featured in the Sun News

[by Alan Blondin, Myrtle Beach Sun News]

Some courses in Brunswick County have for years felt a little overlooked and neglected when it comes to the general marketing of Grand Strand golf and distribution of play from golf packages.

The creation of the Brunswick Isles Golf Trail will likely assuage that sentiment.

The trail features 19 courses from Brunswick County and the northern tip of Horry County, as well as three package and accommodations providers. Some area restaurants and attractions are also trial partners in the trail.

The Brunswick Isles Golf Trail gives the Strand two of the ever-popular golf trails. About a dozen courses joined forces a couple of years ago to form the Waccamaw Golf Trail on the South Strand.

"I've been thinking about this for quite some time," said Sea Trail Golf Resort president Tom Plankers, who coordinated the formation of the golf trail along with Glens Group partner Paul Himmelsbach. "The reason we thought about it is to try to get more play up this way in the southern part of Brunswick County and the northern part of Horry County. We're promoting the northern end's attractions and golf courses. We think it's going to do pretty well."

Member courses include: Bald Head Island Club, Lockwood Folly Country Club, Rivers Edge Golf Club, four courses at Ocean Ridge Plantation, three course at Sea Trail, Oyster Bay Golf Links, Sandpiper Bay Golf Club, The Thistle, Brunswick Plantation, Meadowlands Golf Club, Farmstead Golf Links, Heather Glen Golf Links, Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links, River Hills Golf & Country Club, and Tidewater Plantation & Golf Club. "We've got some pretty sporty golf courses in there," Plankers said.

The trail's accommodations providers include Coastal Golfaway, Brunswick Plantation Resort and Village At The Glens. The Web site www.brunswickislesgolftrail.com has been up about a week and was created by Fuel Interactive, an interactive-only advertising agency that is creating a marketing campaign to drive traffic to the site.

Plankers said Wilmington International Airport is including the trail in its advertising campaign, and several restaurants and attractions are not yet contributing to the trail's collective marketing fund.

"[Courses and packagers] have all chipped in to make this work and agreed that being new we wanted to show the businesses we were for real and we'll live up to our end of the deal," Plankers said. "At the end we'll go back to them ... and request a small contribution for the advertising."

Despite the tough economy and fact that most if not all of the courses were already dues paying members of the marketing cooperative Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, Plankers said courses were eager to join.

"It was not that hard a sell for the golf courses up this way because there isn't anything up this way," he said. "We rely heavily on the hotels in the Myrtle Beach area so this is another way to promote the courses up here."

Pine Lakes Reopens

Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. introduced the new Pine Lakes Country Club on March 12, 2009 after a 20-month, $15 million project restored the golf course and clubhouse to its former status and early 20th century grandeur as a premier golf resort. Pine Lakes officially opened to the public on Saturday, March 14th.

The Pine Lakes renovation began in November 2006 with the vision of restoring the golf course as closely as possible to architect Robert White’s original 1927 specifications for the course, then known as the Ocean Forest Country Club. White designed 18 of the 27 Ocean Forest holes, and it is believed by golf historians that he also designed the third set of nine holes, that was later closed in 1946 for real estate development. Over the next 50 years, White’s original nine holes remained intact (holes 10-18) while the front nine holes were redesigned by numerous golf course architects. (Read On The Green's story about the renovation here)

Nationally-known golf restoration architect Craig Schreiner, who had previously collaborated with 1994 British Open champion Nick Price on another Burroughs & Chapin course in 2005, The Members Club at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, was chosen to direct the course restoration and blend the two routings of the remaining front and back nine holes. Schreiner established continuity between White’s remaining holes, where two holes were eliminated for a new entry into Pine Lakes, and replaced them with his own newly-created two holes, thereby offering golfers with an authentic visit back to early 20th century Scottish golf.

Schreiner preserved 16 of Pine Lakes’ original 18 corridors. Following instructions from Burroughs & Chapin Golf Management, Schreiner designed Pine Lakes Country Club in a strategic golf architecture style similar to White’s philosophy; the more risks taken by the golfer, the better the scoring opportunities. Schreiner and his staff made many improvements to enhance the playability the playability and enjoyment for golfers of all skill levels. Because of Burroughs & Chapin’s desire to make the turf more environmentally friendly, the owner and architect incorporated planting SeaDwarf® Seashore Paspalum grass; utilizing environmentally-friendly irrigation; enlarging tee box areas; and adding native waste areas, similar to White’s original drawings.

“My design challenge was integrating the nine newer holes with White’s nine original holes,” said Schreiner. “This task was made easier by Burroughs & Chapin Golf Management’s vision, which gave me the opportunity to reshape the entire golf course. The end result was improved consistency in the strategic play quality and the aesthetics of every hole, while preserving the historic-view corridors of those original 16 holes. Remarkably, the 80-year old clubhouse can be seen from all 16 of these holes; unlike most golf courses today.”

Throughout the restoration project, Burroughs & Chapin also envisioned conveying the grandeur and regal stature of the once-great Ocean Forest Hotel to the new Pine Lakes Clubhouse. Featuring a Dorothy Draper “Great Gatsby-esque” design, the clubhouse is an ideal setting for golfers to relax with a beverage after play, as well as hosting lavish weddings, receptions, birthday celebrations, holiday galas, family reunions and business or social functions.

An antebellum clubhouse designed by Henry Bacon McKoy after he completed the Lincoln Memorial, the design and integrity of the Pine Lakes Clubhouse was saved including the Snug Pub, the meeting place of the Time Inc. editors in 1954 when they visited Pine Lakes to play golf and plan for a new weekly sports publication, Sports Illustrated. The two magnificent Pine Lakes ballrooms, the site of countless weddings and parties since 1927, were restored and will again host a variety of social events. The rich history and tradition of Pine Lakes is now on display in the new History Hall, which features memorabilia and artifacts from the club’s first days.

A new 6,000 square foot wing was added to the perimeter of the clubhouse to house the pro shop and locker rooms, the Robert White Pub, the grill kitchen, an outside patio, the cart barn and swimming pool. Just off the clubhouse is the Garden at Pine Lakes, a private area that will also be used for weddings and events, with the golf course as a backdrop. Recently established is the new Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame that honors those that helped build Myrtle Beach into the “Golf Capital of the World.”

At the opening ceremony Jim Rosenberg, president and CEO of Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. said. “Restoring and preserving Pine Lakes to its former glory days and history as a premier golf destination on the East Coast was important to Burroughs & Chapin as not only an investment for the future, but also as a place for many generations will enjoy. Pine Lakes not only holds a special place as a golf legend but also in sports history as the birthplace of Sports Illustrated and the Myrtle Beach community.”

Master's Club In Myrtle Beach Cater' To Multiple Tastes And Both Genders

By On The Green Group

Many gentlemen's clubs are following a new trend and trying to appeal to a couples market and employ male dancers as well as females at least part of the time. Many clubs now offer discounts on entry to couples, amateur male dancer night as well as ladies, and discounted couples lap dances where the couple can share time with a dancer. Master's Club in Myrtle Beach is a large tasteful establishment that caters to both gender's and offers a wide range of adult entertainments.

Special events such as professional dancing competitions and parties can draw a large crowd but can be a lot of fun. Attending a strip club as a couple may seem strange but many couples find it invigorating. It seems to be a good way for them to openly explore feelings that have until recently been taboo or shameful for them. Many couples have toyed with the idea of inviting a third party into the bedroom but this can be dangerous and almost always awkward. There is the issue of disease and jealousy can occur if anyone feels the relationship is threatened. Spending an evening in a club can be a good alternative for some.

Many female dancers enjoy dancing for other women and will go through trouble to make sure everyone is comfortable and offer equal time, or even pay more attention to the female if the couple prefers it. Many people, both men and women, enjoy seeing the athleticism displayed by good professional pole dancers and tip according to the difficulty of a well-performed routine. Master's Club also has a women only Ladies Night Male Burlesque review. Such shows have been popular in Las Vegas for many years and can be a great deal of fun for a group of friends to attend together. Overall many clubs such as Master's Club are making an effort to shake off any negative connotations associated with the business in the past and offer services they can be honest and proud about.

Master's Club is a rather large club with high ceilings and adequate lighting. The club serves a variety of alcoholic beverages and has comfortable seating throughout and a wide range of dancers to suit multiple tastes. Featured Guest dancers, events, and nightly specials vary so check ahead and plan your evening accordingly. Master's Club can help you plan your His, Hers, or Couples bachelor party so it's an event to remember.

 

Leopard's Chase at Ocean Ridge

Big, bold, and beautiful is the best way to describe the new Tim Cate course at Ocean Ridge. Leopard’s Chase is an architectural accomplishment of gigantic proportions. Every twist and turn presents unparalleled challenges and bountiful scenery. This par 72 layout is a pleasure to play and is already receiving rave reviews. It certainly deserves to be a part of the Big Cats family at Ocean Ridge.

It was difficult to top the highly acclaimed Tiger’s Eye, but the Leopard has done just that. The 7100+ yard layout features TifSport Bermuda fairways and perfectly manicured bent grass greens. The level of detail for this spectacular layout with its natural elevations, scenic landscapes, native grasses and that beautiful white coastal sand used for the waste areas, creates a series of flowing picturesque holes. Each one is different and demands the best shot making possible. Natural wetlands are used in such a way to enhance each holes beauty and playability.

A magnificently placed waterfall on number the 18th green can make an approach shot seem menacing but adds to the total golf experience. Cate’s latest accomplishment was flawlessly designed on more than 220 acres of prime coastal land. The large lakes, significant mounding and elevation changes make it visually awesome. The course incorporates a big bold design with very distinctive features including the outstanding island green fourth hole. The finishing holes on each nine are brilliant. The “wow” factor is everywhere. It’s the perfect combination of all the land’s natural elements and Cate’s unique design.

Hole # 1 par 4, 303 from the white tees.
Large lake on left, great visual with traps on right. Short but dangerous hole. Fade it to about 80 yards to the green. Sand wedge to a small undulating green that banks from left to right.

Hole # 2 par 3, 141 from the white tees.
Again plenty of large tees. Can be difficult depending on the pin placement. The large undulating green is very receptive. It can play anywhere from 120 to 160 yards.

Hole # 3 par 5, 503 from the white tees.
A beauty, dogleg to the right. Waste bunker with that white sugar sand runs all the way down the right. Keep it away from the bunker on the right. If you stay in play it’s an easy par. Large receptive green.

Hole # 4 par 3, 156 from the white tees.
Water, water everywhere. Classic par three. Plenty of big tees, big bunker in front, small undulating green, make sure you hit enough club.

Hole # 5 par 4, 365 from the white tees.
Rock and roll, great tees, tons of nicely placed mounds and native grasses frame out this impressive par 4. Green is huge – over forty yards long.

Hole # 6 par 4, 382 from the white tees.
Lake and trap on left, great set up. Must keep it on the right of the fairway. Once again a large receptive green.

Hole # 7 par 4, 385 from the white tees.
Straight and long, plenty of dangerous traps. This is a tough par 4 with undulated green. Be careful, this green is easy to three putt.

Hole # 8 par 3, 157 from the white tees.
Great long par 3 water left, draw it into the hole, and hit plenty of club to avoid the trap butting the green on the front right. Nice hole.

Hole # 9 par 5, 532 from the white tees.
Killer hole, with wetlands running all the way down on the left. This will take all of your best shot making to par. Keep it in play is a must if you expect to par it.

Hole # 10 par 4, 345 from the white tees.
Slight dogleg left with gigantic waste bunker down the right side, heavily trapped on the left with a small green. Place your drive between the two traps where you have about 120 yards into the green.

Hole# 11 par 5, 485 from the white tees.
Breathtaking hole, with plenty of forced carries over the wetlands. Accuracy and superb shot making are a must. One of my favorite holes, a real challenge.

Hole # 12 par 4, 356 from the white tees.
Plenty of big elevated tees, which is one of the great characteristics of this golf course. Rolling fairway, small undulating green, a sweet hole

Hole # 13 par 3, 151 from the white tees.
Down hill, the green is in the middle of the wetlands. Whatever you do, don’t hit it right into the deep bunker like I did. Bail out to the left if necessary.

Hole # 14 par 5, 486 from the white tees.
Big dogleg left, visually awesome, my favorite hole. Elevated tees give you a great look. Traps and wetlands everywhere. Play it smart, this not a hole where you want to take any chances.

Hole # 15 par 4, 381 from the white tees.
A brief relief, straight away with a huge green that you can’t miss.

Hole # 16 par 3, 147 from the white tees.
The perfect little par three, another beauty. Stay clear of the big bunker on the right and you should pick up an easy par.

Hole # 17 par 5, 527 from the white tees.
Another one of those big bold holes, huge mounds left, at all cost keep it play.

Hole # 18 par 4, 369 from the white tees.
What can I say, great finishing hole. Elevated green on top of this magnificent waterfall. Huge lake on the left frames out this wonderful signature hole. The perfect ending to a terrific golf experience.

My congratulations to Tim Cate for another job well done. He has certainly made his mark at Ocean Ridge with Panther’s Run, the highly ranked Tiger’s Eye and now the much heralded Leopard’s Chase. Leopard’s Chase is certainly destined to be one of the highest ranked courses in the Myrtle Beach area. We look forward to his next effort, Jaguar’s Lair, presently under construction in Sunset Beach for a opening in 2008 It is sure to be another great addition to the Big Cats family.

Ocean Ridge Plantation is located in Sunset Beach. It features 90 holes of superb golf. Conveniently located between Wilmington N.C. and the exciting Grand Strand of S.C. this community offers the best in coastal living. Numerous amenities include: walking /biking trails, a private oceanfront beach club, two grand clubhouses, with two more planned, spa and fitness center, swim and tennis centers, nature parks and more. It is a unique master planned community and one of the Carolinas’ most exclusive and luxurious golf and beach communities.

General Jim Hackler Championship College Tournament

By L. J. Gainer

The General Jim Hackler Championship is fast becoming a top-rated collegiate tournament.

For the last seven years, some of the best collegiate golf teams in America have been coming to the TPC of Myrtle Beach to compete in the General Jim Hackler Championship. In 2007, eighteen teams came to play in the 54-hole event that is emerging as one of the top-rated tournaments in college golf. Hosted by Coastal Carolina University, the field included seven teams that competed in the NCAA Championships and another seven that played in the NCAA Regionals. National golf powerhouses Duke, Lamar, Pepperdine, East Tennessee State and Southern California all came. Players included some of Golfweek’s top-ranked amateurs like Southern California’s Jamie Lovemark whom golf writers call “the next Tiger Woods.” After playing in the Hackler, amateur Lovemark racked up two top 20 finishes on the PGA TOUR.

(Note: General Hackler passed away in 2008. He will be missed.)

Through every round since the Championship began, the tournament’s namesake has been there to closely observe the competition. At 87, retired General James Franklin Hackler Jr. is as much a fixture at the Championship as he has been in Myrtle Beach for half a century.

The General first made his mark on Myrtle Beach in 1956 when he returned from duty in Europe to command the 354th Fighter Day Group at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

But even before he arrived — and decades before he entered Myrtle Beach golf history as one of the pioneers of the golf package — Hackler had already accomplished more than most men do in their entire careers.

And golf was always part of his plan.

“I’ve been involved with golf since I was a little boy,” he says enthusiastically. ”I went to the finals of the junior championship of the Carolinas. I played on the golf team at UNC Chapel Hill while I was there for one year and on the golf team at West Point. I played golf all the time, except for three or four years during WWII.”

As a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he was the captain of the golf team, as well as a member of the first graduating class to get their wings. In 1943, he headed off to war, serving as a fighter pilot, group operations officer and squadron commander in England, France and Germany.

In 1947, he did some time at the Pentagon then moved to the headquarters of the Ninth Air Force at Pope Air Force Base in N.C. as chief of the Fighter Training Division. Later, he commanded a squadron with the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing in New Mexico. He then returned to Europe, becoming director of operations and training for the Twelfth Air Force.

Along the way, he attended the NATO Defense College in Paris, and was awarded the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 20 oak leaf clusters, both the Army and Air Force Commendation Medals, and the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star. As a command pilot, he checked out in more than 45 types of aircraft, including several from other countries.

By the mid-1950s, Hackler was back in the states assuming new challenges at the Myrtle Beach base. He became director of operations for the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing and, as part of Tactical Air Command's Composite Air Strike Force, helped develop a worldwide deployment capability.

With so many contributions to national defense under his belt, involvement in the local golf business was far from his mind.

Just as he was called back to Washington to attend the National War College and work with the Secretary of Defense, Hackler received a call from his friend George "Buster" Bryan, a local developer who was a founder of the Dunes Golf & Beach Club.

“Buster asked me to come by his office,” Hackler recalls. “He said he would like to have me participate in building a motel called the Caravelle. My wife and I got together the resources and invested. Then I left for D.C. and Europe.”

Over the next decade, Hackler kept in close touch with Bryan. With partners, they built two golf courses, Robber’s Roost and Possum Trot. Then, on a golf trip to Pinehurst, Hackler had an idea that would change golf in Myrtle Beach forever.

“I was on a golf package from D.C.,” he says. “I called Buster and said ‘we should have stay and play golf packages. We have everything in Myrtle Beach except the Pinehurst tradition and we have more entertainment, restaurants and there’s that beautiful ocean.’ Once we put it in place, the package plan took off like topsy and created a need for more golf courses.”

Bryan started Golf-o-tel to promote packages with the two golf courses and the Caravelle. He planned to keep the golf package idea exclusive, not letting any other hotels or golf courses participate. That situation motivated local hotelier Clay Brittain and advertising executive Cecil Brandon to start a marketing cooperative with all the other golf courses and accommodations. Named Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, today that cooperative is universally recognized as putting Myrtle Beach golf on the radar screens of golfers worldwide.

“After a fairly short period of time, Buster and I saw Golf-o-tel was a duplication so we went into Golf Holiday,” says Hackler.

In 1968 while serving another tour at the Pentagon, Hackler received a phone call that would alter his life radically. Bryant had died suddenly of Hong Kong flu. The General took emergency leave and headed for Myrtle Beach.

“It was then that I decided to get out of Air Force,” he recalls. “When I arrived here, I could see what was going to happen in Myrtle Beach with golf and tourism. I got out of the Air Force even though I had about 9 years left.”

Back on the Grand Strand, Hackler remained involved with the management of the Caravelle for a few years before selling his interest to Bryan’s family. He set his sights more on golf and started putting his available resources into courses.

He served two years as president of Golf Holiday, helping the fledgling group to establish itself. He pioneered the building of golf courses in then-distant parts of the Strand where conventional wisdom said they would never succeed. Skeptics said a successful golf course couldn’t be built across the waterway, but Hackler and his group built three profitable layouts at Bay Tree. He reached farther north with new partners to create Heather Glen. In the south, another partnership built Indian Wells.

Ever keen on “stay and play,” he invested in condo projects at Bay Tree and Heather Glen.

In 1983, he cast an international spotlight on Myrtle Beach when he persuaded the World Championship of the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians to hold their event on the Strand. A long-time member of Rotary, Hackler had played in the 1979 tournament at Pebble Beach for the first time and immediately resolved to bring the event home.

“It took a few years, but we finally brought it to Myrtle Beach where it was a tremendous success. Everybody in town pitched in,” says Hackler.

Through the years, golf has been a family business for the Hacklers, as well as a personal passion. The General is proud that his family has won several Dunes Club championships. His grandson won the junior championship; Mrs. Hackler has been Women’s Club Champion; and both the General and his son are club champions.

So it’s no surprise that CCU wanted to name their invitational event for this golf icon. Yet, with typical modesty, he admits “I told them I didn’t think it’d be good to call it by my name but they did it anyway.”

Starting with college teams from South Carolina, the event added North Carolina teams, then those throughout the Southeast, and ultimately nationwide. And General Hackler wants everyone to know that it could not be possible without the contributions of the TPC and its owner Chip Smith.

“Chip and the TPC have really helped the college tournament and have gone all out,” he says. “That’s a great, great assist for the event.”

At CCU’s graduation 2007, Hackler received an honorary doctorate degree. Reflecting on the honor, the General expressed his gratitude, yet could not resist a wry observation: “If any of my teachers in college found that out, they’d say ‘what!’ How’d he do that?’”

But, in fact, he did it all — from exemplary military service to pioneering the golf package concept that built the Grand Strand. They would be proud.

Call To Book Myrtle Beach Golf Tee Times

Not all of the golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area are set up to allow online booking of tee times. To book the courses listed below, you'll need to call On The Green's Golf Information Center directly. You can use the phone numbers below to book all of the courses you want to play in the area, or just the one's that don't book online.

• Bald Head Island Club
• Brunswick Plantation
• Carolina National
  
• Dunes Club
• Lockwood Folly
• Whispering Pines
  

 

To book these courses, call one of these numbers:
Toll Free: 877-688-8337
Local: 843-361-4653

Golf World Magazine Honors Local Golf Resorts

The readers of Golf World Magazine have chosen the 50 best public, private and resort facilities in the country for 2009. Three Myrtle Beach area courses – Shaftesbury Glen, Pawleys Plantation, and Sea Trail – were selected as part of the “Resort” list. These local courses share list with other resort courses like Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, Harbour Town, Innisbrook, and Doral. There is a condensed version of the list at the end of this article, and you can read Golf World’s entire article here.

According to Ryan Herrington, the article’s author,

“Golf World spent nearly six months gathering data on golf establishments throughout the country, evaluating them across multiple criteria to identify the nation's premier facilities. When all was said and done, we received more than 21,000 individual golf course ratings and more than 252,000 criteria evaluations.”

This is more than just another ranking of golf courses. The Readers' Choice Awards considers the quality of the golf, but also considers more of the overall “golf experience.” Some of the criteria evaluated were the quality and condition of the course, the clubhouse, the speed of play, the service, and, for resort courses, the lodging accommodations. Both Sea Trail and Pawleys Plantation offer on-site condominium rentals, while Shaftesbury Glen features five luxurious suites right on the top floor of the golf course clubhouse.

Golf World plans to make the Readers' Choice Awards an annual event.

The Restoration of Pine Lakes

The Awakening of "The Granddaddy"

By Mitch Laurance

As Myrtle Beach grew to become the seaside golf capital of the world over the last half of the 20th century, one of its most enduring draws was Pine Lakes Country Club, the first golf course built on the Grand Strand almost 90 years ago. The combination of its historic position in the evolution of Myrtle Beach golf and its famed hospitality brought golfers back time and time again to enjoy a truly unique experience.

Over that same period, ownership of the property changed hands a number of times, and the demands of business sometimes made for uncertain times for Pine Lakes. But as the first decade of the 21st century nears its completion, a once proud icon now finds itself poised to regain its rightful place as the true foundation of Myrtle Beach golf, once again backed by Myrtle Beach’s most prominent development company, and in the hands of two talented, passionate advocates.

A Visionary Beginning: The Ocean Forest Hotel and Country Club

A little more than 80 years ago, Greenville, SC textile magnate John T. Woodside had a dream.

Arcady was to be its name, and it was Woodside’s vision that a fantastic resort with spectacular amenities, built on the shores of a relatively uninhabited section of the South Carolina coastline named Myrtle Beach, would be far beyond the scope of any other spot on earth, a place, according to Dino Thompson, long-time Myrtle Beach resident and local historian extraordinaire, that was to be  “the most desirable haven of rest and recreation in the world…. the most complete playground ever contemplated.” Miles and miles of white sand dunes and forests would be a perfect backdrop for this retreat for wealthy vacationers moving up and down the East Coast between New York and Miami. So in 1926 Woodside purchased 65,000 acres from the Myrtle Beach Farms Co. (which would later become Burroughs & Chapin Co., Inc.), and began building an extravagant summer resort, whose centerpiece would be the glorious 10-story Ocean Forest Hotel, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and its adjacent 27- hole golf course, the Ocean Forest Country Club.

Work quickly began on the Ocean Forest Club golf course. Hired to bring Myrtle Beach’s first layout to life was the esteemed golf course architect Robert White, a St. Andrews’ native and the first President of the then decade-old PGA of America. White was considered one of the top architects of the day, a contemporary of, and closely tied to, the legendary Donald Ross. After consulting with Ross, White laid out 18 true linksland holes along the dunes of the Grand Strand, in a non-returning layout (9 out and 9 back, a la The Old Course at St. Andrews and the courses of his youth) that were routed to the south and east, with holes 19-27 routed away from the dunes, to the north and west.

The Ocean Forest Country Club, complete with a magnificent 62-room antebellum clubhouse designed by Lincoln Memorial architect Henry Bacon McKoy, opened in 1927, the same year that construction began on the elegant Ocean Forest Hotel, with noted architect Raymond Hood at the helm (Hood had already designed the Tribune Tower in Chicago and would go on to design New York’s Rockefeller Center in 1933). The biggest national names in golf course design and building architecture had come to the Grand Strand, instantly signaling Myrtle Beach as a player on the list of the country’s elite resort destinations. Plans for Arcady were well on their way, and the future looked as bright as the radiant sun on a summer afternoon.

Then came Black Friday in October of 1929, and the collapse of the stock market that would signal the beginning of the Great Depression. For all intents and purposes, that day would put an end to John Woodside’s Arcadian dream, along with the dreams of so many others. Woodside would feel the effects of the troubled times, and the rest of Arcady would never materialize.

Luckily for Myrtle Beach, the truly wealthy were less affected by the Depression, still needed places to play, and the Ocean Forest Hotel would have its grand opening in February of 1930. After the opening Woodside, unable to make the mortgage payments on the hotel and country club, would see the property revert back to Myrtle Beach Farms. The hotel would close for 2 years, but would survive until 1974, and become one of the East Coast’s most beloved vacation and entertainment stops. With visitors the likes of the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts, and entertainers and performers from Frank Sinatra and Count Basie to Tallulah Bankhead, the early belief that Myrtle Beach was a desired vacation spot would begin. More importantly, Woodside, Robert White, and the Ocean Forest Country Club had brought to Myrtle Beach a relatively new game that would change the course of the development of the Grand Strand forever.

Pine Lakes Country Club: The Next 50 Years

In 1944, Frederick A.W. Miles took over and reorganized the Ocean Forest Country Club. The Miles family was well known as owners of some of the south’s finest hotels, including the famous Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, VA, and  the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore. Fred Miles changed the name to Pine Lakes Country Club, and in 1946 sold 18 of the original 27 holes for real estate development. He brought back Robert White to redesign the original 9 remaining holes and to add 9 more. At this point, the original 9 holes were almost 20 years old, and needed updating. Technology had changed, the game was starting to catch on, and Miles probably saw an opportunity to utilize White’s abilities one more time to energize his new property. It was a pattern that would reoccur at Pine Lakes as the years went by.

The foundation Robert White laid at Pine Lakes Country Club in 1927 and in 1946 would undergo numerous changes and course revisions over the next five and a half decades, owing to increased play and to general decisions to try to stay ahead of the competitive business curve. In the 1960’s, according to Tom Slavish, Pine Lakes’ longtime superintendent, areas of the course were shifted for housing interests and riding trails, and some changes were made to the course by Fred Miles himself. In the mid- 1990’s, work was done on the Pine Lakes bunkers, and 1999/2000 saw former Jack Nicklaus Senior Designer Rick Robbins put his stamp on roughly half the holes at Pine Lakes as well.
One constant remained through it all. It was obvious over the course of time that Pine Lakes was something special, to Myrtle Beach and to the history of golf in America. On November 7,1996, the United States Department of the Interior agreed, placing Pine Lakes Country Club on its most prestigious list, the National Register of Historic Places, citing its historical and architectural significance. It is the only South Carolina golf course to be so honored.

Into The Future

In 2001, the Miles Family sold Pine Lakes back to Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc., by then Myrtle Beach’s largest commercial development company, and the original owner of the Ocean Forest property. Business can be a cold game, and for the next few years, B&C attempted to decide what to do with their obviously valuable piece of property.

Both the golf course and clubhouse now held genuine historical significance, but both needed quite a bit of scrutiny. The course, though a favorite with golfers for years, had grown somewhat unsafe, with features that were just “too tight for each other, especially on the back 9,” said Randy Allen, B&C’s Senior Director of Golf and Grounds Maintenance.  Older turf on the greens was seriously outdated. Shade on greens and fairways where trees had evolved, inconsistent green soils, differences between the ‘newer’ back 9 and the historical Robert White- designed front 9, inadequate irrigation systems, older cart paths in need of repair, the list went on and on. According to Allen, Pine Lakes “needed work, and a lot of it.”

The clubhouse, a prime example of classical revival architecture, had also drifted into a less-than-sparkling state, and questions remained about what to do to with what was once such a stylish and graceful hub of social activity.  Options ranged from completely doing away with the golf course in favor of increased real estate development, to leveling Pine Lakes and building an entirely new golf course. Finally, in 2004, B&C decided to restore Pine Lakes Country Club to its magnificent roots, and, after a demanding preplanning stage, in 2006 began an extensive, multi-million dollar project to “restore Pine Lakes to its 1927 glory days.” It seems only fitting that the company that grew out of Myrtle Beach Farms, the original holder of the property bought by John T. Woodside in 1926, should make that crucial decision.

Craig Schreiner and The Shrouded Lion

The most obvious concerns would be, “What to do with the golf course?” and “Who should do it?” Given the new B&C mission, there was no question that as much as possible the original Robert White design should be utilized. But to what extent, and on what holes? How much to keep, how much to change?
When it came time to pick the agent of that change, B&C had already had the chance to work with an architect who had impressed them with his creativity, his work ethic, his knowledge of environmental and budget issues, essentially his ability on all fronts.

Nationally renowned architect Craig Schreiner had recently worked on the Members Course at Grande Dunes (a B&C property), in collaboration with Hall of Famer Nick Price. Schreiner’s impressive resume featured not only new course designs in 13 states, but renovations and restorations on 28 courses, 9 of them by Donald Ross, at some of the most well-known tracks in the country, including Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY, site of the 1995 Ryder Cup. The challenge of creating a playable and interesting course for today’s golfers, with their modern equipment and abilities, on the framework of a course created almost a century ago was right up Schreiner’s alley, and the chance to restore a layout with historical significance, a “shrouded lion” as he puts it, had to add fuel to his fire. After 2 ½ years of preplanning, working with the State Historical Preservation Office, the City of Myrtle Beach (to conform with tree ordinances), Randy Allen and Bill Pritchard of B&C, and finally, in 2006, with B&C Pine Lakes Senior Project Manager Tom Fous, and going through, according to Schreiner, “12 or 13 different routing plans,” the new layout of Pine Lakes was determined.

What was the front side of Robert White’s original 18-hole links course would remain as the new, restored back 9, holes #10-18. 7 holes of the old back 9 configuration, that had gone away from the dunes and bore no resemblance to White’s original style of design, would be reworked into a new front 9 in the initial White style, with 2 completely new holes (#4 and 5) created to replace the old #17 and 18, which were removed to make way for the brand new public entrance to Pine Lakes off Grissom Parkway (the old entrance on Woodside Ave. will now be a gated entrance for the use of Pine Lakes’ community residents and social club members).

Schreiner worked from researched material of the old Ocean Forest Country Club, committed to staying as true to White’s original drawings, and to the spirit of the Ocean Forest links course, as possible. He restored the greens and bunkers to their original size (they had shrunk over the years, amazingly, to 1/3 of that size), and expanded the course from a 6,600- yard par 71 to the new 6,700- yard par 70, putting in over 650 hours on the shaping bulldozer on the fairways of Pine Lakes (“It was so important to spend the time there,” he says. “It gives you a chance to really feel the golf course, to adjust to your creative instincts”).

He cleared trees and opened up the beautiful vistas on 16 of the original 18 hole corridors. He retained a classic Scottish element of fairways without bunkers (only 3 of the new Pine Lakes’ holes present that obstacle), virtually eliminated cart paths where possible on holes other than the par 3’s, and carefully brought back to the mix the feel, the movement of the land, and the shotmaking options on every hole that characterized the old game. Designed to build in dramatic intensity as the golfer moves through the round , Schreiner is literally like the conductor who takes you through the rise of drama of a round of golf (“By the time you get to #15, the symphony is really building!”),  while at the same time enhancing the experience for every level of player (“We want golfers to come out here and have fun, not lose a bunch of balls”).
On the environmental front, no one understands the relationship of the game to nature more than Schreiner He has done everything from using the native coastal grass Seashore Paspalum on fairways and greens (tremendously tolerant of salt water that might kill other grasses, drains incredibly well, “environmentally the future of golf”), to recycling as much as possible of the plants, trees, and flowers (a temporary nursery was built to hold them until they could be replanted) and even using native sand found in the original bunkers and in other parts of the course. Schreiner may be proudest of all of the drainage capability he created (“We can get 4 or 5 inches of rain and there won’t be a puddle on it”), of the harnessing of the self-sufficient irrigation power of the reworked lakes and pumps he has produced at Pine Lakes, “an enclosed golf course” as he calls it, capable of delivering 16 times more usable water to the course than before, in an efficient and ecologically responsible manner (“We’re making a statement”). It is a stunning example of the marriage of modern technology in the service of golf course design and restoration.

Tom Fous and A Classic Era Reborn

When you ride into Pine Lakes Country Club from the new entrance off Grissom Parkway, you feel as if you’re leaving the modern age of Myrtle Beach development and are suddenly approaching a scene right out of The Great Gatsby. An elegant white building, a lavish fountain, dormers, columns, and cupolas reminiscent of a bygone era… Is this Pine Lakes today or the Ocean Forest Club in 1927?

If B&C  VP/ Senior Project Manager Pine Lakes Tom Fous has anything to say about it, that’s exactly the connection you’ll make. In 2006, Fous had come to the Grand Strand from Traverse City, Michigan, where he had a flourishing career developing high-end residential/golf course projects (including 8 of Golfweek’s Top 100 Golf Residential Communities). While in discussion with B&C about coming aboard for their Grande Dunes project, he toured Pine Lakes, and had seen a clubhouse already gutted, about to be renovated, but basically kept the same. A keen golfer himself, and very much a traditionalist (“ I played persimmon clubs until very recently”), Fous realized, after moving to Myrtle Beach, that Pine Lakes had gotten under his skin, and with his wife Kim’s exhortation early on that “you need to take over this project” lingering in his mind, he set his course.

Fous, charged with managing all details of the golf course restoration and residential community construction process, did a lot of research on the origins of the Ocean Forest Hotel project. He realized how drawn he was to that 1920’s “Gatsbyesque” era, and to all the lore attached to it. The feeling of grandeur that came with a vacation at Ocean Forest, the hospitality of an exciting, yet relaxed, customer-oriented destination. “I wanted to lift the entire project, from preserving the best golf holes, to truly restoring the historic nature of the property,” he says, and proceeded to put together, literally, a picture of the times for others to see. Little by little, they began to see Fous’ vision of a place he called “too precious to lose.”

Working to bring the regal stature of the Ocean Forest Hotel to the Pine Lakes clubhouse, what was a decaying structure was restored using elements and materials that reflect a bygone time….. milled trim work, 10” siding, interior plaster molding, and even a spectacular chandelier from the original Ocean Forest Hotel. The clubhouse reflects, aesthetically, other great buildings of the times…… The colors, the patterns, the prints, all in the style of the Greenbriar in W. Virginia, Pinehurst in NC, and other resorts of the Gatsby era. The old stable from the 1920’s, which housed the donkeys used to clear the land for the original course and clubhouse, has been restored to look like the old barn, and houses Pine Lakes’ golf carts. 2 beautiful ballrooms have been returned to their earlier splendor. A “Great Event Lawn,” with the golf course as a backdrop, offers full catering facilities for weddings and events, bringing the clubhouse alive once again.  The Robert White Pub will provide a wonderful respite after a round of golf, joined by an open and airy pro shop, and men’s and women’s locker rooms. What was formerly The Governor’s Apartment now offers a fitness center, locker rooms, snack area, and an outdoor pool, open to Pine Lakes’ social members.

History will, of course, be well served at Pine Lakes. Fous’ face lights up when talking about the restored Snug Pub, a private gathering spot, a “whisper room,” as he calls it, said to be the original meeting spot, in 1954, of Henry Booth Luce and the 67 executives of Time Life, Inc. who traveled to Myrtle Beach and Pine Lakes for the meeting that would give birth to a new weekly magazine, Sports Illustrated. And if you want to really get an idea of the history of The Ocean Forest Hotel and Country Club and of Pine Lakes and the famous people (Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead all made appearances) and events that make it such a treasured place, a stroll through the new History Hall and Library will provide that experience.

It was also only fitting that the newly created Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame would reside at Pine Lakes Country Club, and when the first inductees are enshrined, in conjunction with the reopening of Pine Lakes in the spring of 2009, and every subsequent year, it will be at the new Hall of Fame Garden, next to the Pine Lakes clubhouse.

“Ocean Forest and Pine Lakes is on the National Register of Historic Places as a ‘Geographic Area of Particular Concern,’” says Fous. “Not the clubhouse, not the golf course, but the entire area. This whole thing is about the experience, about the camaraderie and the convivial nature of golf.”

The members of the Pine Lakes community, old and new (a just-added 282-acre exclusive gated community), and all who love the game will be the beneficiaries of a bountiful project that is destined to be a milestone, in every way, for the Grand Strand. You can be sure Robert White would be proud.

Waccamaw Golf Trail

For avid golfers, the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area has long been one of the most popular destinations in the world, and for good reason. Here you’ll find more than 100 championship courses designed by some of the greatest names the game has ever known. Included among this fabulous collection of courses are 10 of the “Top 100 Greatest Public Courses in America,” with the highest concentration of awarded courses located along the Grand Strand’s southern shores between Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island, a region recently designated as the “Waccamaw Golf Trail.” Courses along the Waccamaw Golf Trail include:

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club – Mike Strantz’s first solo design that has captivated golfers since its fairways were opened in 1994.

Blackmoor Golf Club – Gary Player’s only layout in the Myrtle Beach area. This gem was gently carved along the shores of the Waccamaw River.

Founders Club at Pawleys Island – one of the area’s newest courses, Founders Club opened in the spring of 2008 to rave reviews.

The Heritage Club – a perennial Top 100, the Heritage Club’s marshfront setting is one of the area’s most unique.

Litchfield Country Club – this Lowcountry classic just celebrated its 40th birthday in style with a newly awarded 4.5 stars from Golf Digest.

TPC of Myrtle Beach – carrying on the tradition of fine TPC facilities all over the country is no problem for this Murrells Inlet course. TPC of Myrtle Beach is one of three Southeastern United States designs to receive a 5-star rating.

Wachesaw Plantation East – no trip on the Trail is complete without a round on the 2007-2008 Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Of The Year, Wachesaw Plantation East.

River Club – one of Tom Jackson’s finest works is located in Litchfield Beach at River Club. Featuring some of the area’s finest bent grass greens.

True Blue Plantation – as Caledonia’s sister course, True Blue’s heady design showcases Mike Strantz’s wonderful imagination.

Tradition Club – another member of the Golf Course Of The Year club, Tradition Club is the quintessential Lowcountry club.

Willbrook Plantation – renowned architect Dan Maples calls it “one of my best,” and we will not disagree. Willbrook Plantation is a consistent 4.5-star and Golf For Women Top 50 course.

Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club – a waterfront gem located on the south end of the Trail. Wherever Jack Nicklaus makes his mark, golfers flock to play and Pawleys Plantation is no exception.

All 12 Trail courses offer fabulous layouts built upon the sites of 18th century plantations, where mosscovered oaks stand tall as reminders of the rich history of this region. Among them are three of “America’s Top 100 Public Courses,” one of Golf For Women’s “Top 30 Courses in America,” six 4.5-star courses and one of only three 5-star courses in the Southeastern United States. Many of the courses bear the names of the original plantations – True Blue, Caledonia, Willbrook, Pawleys, Heritage, Wachesaw and others.

The golf along the Waccamaw Trail is complemented with numerous award-winning restaurants, scores of unique specialty shops and a beautiful, wide stretch of pristine beach. Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort is the official host accommodation of the Waccamaw Golf Trail, with golf vacation packages that include preferred tee times on all of the Trail courses. Guests at Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort enjoy a wide selection of amenities and accommodations that range from plush oceanfront condominiums and hotel suites to spacious fairway villas. For more information about the Waccamaw Golf Trail, visit us online at WGolfTrail.com or call 888-293-7362.

World Amateur Handicap Championship - 2008 Results

Paula Morton stood 60 yards from the 18th pin at the famed Dunes Golf & Beach Club with a sand wedge in her hand and the realization that her dream of being crowned World Champion at the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship was on the verge slipping away.

Morton, who had just dumped her third shot in the water, took a drop in the rough on a downhill lie and told herself to get the ball close. She did even better, delivering the most dramatic shot in the 25-year history of the World Amateur.

The Greenbrier, Tenn., resident landed the ball on the front of the green, clearing the hazard with ease, and watched it role into the cup, prompting her to throw her arms in the air and scream with delight. The magical shot gave Morton a gross score of 91 and a net 67, good enough for a one stroke victory over Percy Hayes of Granbury, Texas who shot a gross 80 and a net 68.

“I had a pretty good lie, but I still had all that wonderful water in front of me, so I said just don’t leave it short,” an ebullient Morton said.  “There must have been angels on my hands because next thing I know that thing went in.”

Morton, the second consecutive woman to be crowned world champion and the fourth overall, is no stranger to making clutch shots at the World Amateur. In 2004, she won a condo at Barefoot Resort in a putting contest, draining a 10-footer to clinch the prize.

J.P. Holt of Cleveland, Tenn., Dennis Monahan of Largo, Fla., Keith Gehlman of Johnstown, Pa., Kevin Wirth of Crestwood, Kent, and Robert Reynolds of Arab, Ala., all shot a net 69 to finish tied for 3rd.

The World Championship Playoff field consisted of the 41 golfers who won their flights at the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship, a 72-hole event that annually attracts more than 3,600 golfers from all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries to the Grand Strand. More information about the tournament is available at www.WorldAmGolf.com.

Brunswick Isles Golf Trail

Imagine a golf trail that stretches out along the coast of the Carolinas, offering some of the South’s most award-winning golf courses.

You’ve discovered the Brunswick Isles Golf Trail.

When the Brunswick Isles Golf Trail debuted in 2008, golfers started talking. For the first time ever, outstanding accommodations were bundled with a select group of the Carolina coast's most award-winning courses, and the Trail's partners created packages that made experiencing the Trail extremely affordable.

If you haven't stayed and played on the Trail, you need to pull your group together and book a vacation soon. No other golf trail offers 432 awe-inpiring golf holes and nearly a dozen layouts that are on Golf Digest's list of "America's Top 100 Greatest Public Courses," and Golf Magazine's lists of "Top 20 Courses in North Carolina" and "Top 20 Courses in South Carolina."

The Trail stretches 60 miles from Southport, N.C. to North Myrtle Beach, S.C., winding through the unspoiled coastal area known as the Brunswick Islands. Along the Trail, the golf courses are in such close proximity that golfers can easily play two or more different courses within a day. In fact, you can travel the Trail from end to end in just a little over an hour.

 

The northernmost course on the Trail is The Bald Head Island Club, a layout that Golf Digest calls “one of the Top 50 Courses In Myrtle Beach.” This 18-hole beauty was designed by architect George Cobb who created The Par 3 Course at Augusta National and was charged with tweaking Augusta’s championship course for more than 20 years. A 20-minute ferry ride transports golfers from Southport, N. C. across the Cape Fear River to the island where you’ll be treated to a picturesque layout that roams over dunes and along the oceanfront.

Lockwood Folly Country Club is the next stop on the Trail. This course near Holden Beach, NC,  was designed by Willard Byrd and offers Tifdwarf Bermuda greens. Set on a former seaside hunting preserve, this visually grand layout with salt marsh and freshwater hazards offers an exciting day of golf in a beautiful setting. It's no wonder that readers polled by Myrtle Beach Golf Magazine called it the area's "Most Picturesque Golf Course."

Rivers Edge in Shallotte, N.C. is the next stop on the Trail, and one you won’t want to miss. An Arnold Palmer Signature design, this visually stunning course has 7 holes that play along the Shallotte River and the surrounding marsh. With generous landing areas and large greens, it delivers a tough but fair challenge. After you tee it up at Rivers Edge, you’ll understand why Golf Digest calls it one of  “America’s Top 100 Greatest Public Courses.”

Seven miles south of Rivers Edge in Sunset Beach, N.C. is Ocean Ridge Plantation, home of the 4 “Big Cat” courses: Lion’s Paw, Panther’s Run, Tiger’s Eye and Leopard’s Chase.

Taming the cats begins with Lion’s Paw, one of  Golf Digest’s “ Top 50 Courses In Myrtle Beach.” A Willard Byrd design, it features boldly-contoured bent-grass greens and mounds of sugar-white sand marking deep bunkers and high embankments.

Different challenges are served up by the other three cats, all designed by architect Tim Cate. Panther’s Run, ranked by Links Magazine as one the “Top 30 Courses in Myrtle Beach,” offers wide, open fairways with little mounding. Tiger’s Eye — one of “America’s Top 100 Greatest Public Courses” (Golf Digest) — challenges golfers with abundant natural waste areas, dazzling scenery and elevation changes reminiscent of the North Carolina sand hills. Leopard’s Chase, which debuted as one of Golf Digest’s “Best New Public Golf Courses $75 and Over” for 2007, and Golf Magazine’s “10 Best New Public Golf Courses in the United States,” features undulating greens, varied terrain and striking natural vistas.

Ride the Trail another six miles and you can enjoy three distinctive and classic courses at Sea Trail Golf Resort. Sea Trail’s three courses have been praised as “America’s Best Residential Courses of Distinction” by Golfweek; ranked among the “Top 50 Courses In Myrtle Beach” by Golf Digest; and rated among North Carolina’s Top 20 courses by Golf Magazine.

Sea Trail’s Maples Course is named for its architect, Dan Maples. It features subtle bent grass greens, water on ten holes and massive waste bunkers; five holes lead along the scenic Calabash Creek, home to nesting ospreys and other native wildlife. The Jones Course, designed by “The Open Doctor” himself, Rees Jones, is an exciting layout with elevated bent grass greens, generous fairways, dramatic mounds and water on eleven holes. The (Willard) Byrd Course is built around several man-made lakes that come into play on 13 holes. It also offers bent grass greens, plus a scenic 18th hole that snakes between two beautiful ponds to a picturesque finish at the Jones/Byrd Clubhouse.

Nestled along the marsh next to the Lake Shore entrance to Sea Trail is Oyster Bay, another Dan Maples gem. Named “Best New Resort Course” when it opened 20 years ago, this innovative course serves up wickedly undulating greens and cavernous bunkers along with spectacular water views. The layout is a par 70 that will test your mettle.

Sandpiper Bay is a 27-hole course located in Sunset Beach. With its rolling contoured fairways and naturally sculptured bunkers, Sandpiper has become known as one of the best groomed courses in the area. The newly renovated clubhouse, including Piper’s Restaurant and Lounge, offers a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding pines and lakes. Sandpiper Bay is rated 4 Stars by Golf Digest  “Places to Play” based on course condition, pace of play, and overall experience.

A short drive away, The Pearl serves up a spectacular twosome of courses. Both were Golf Digest nominees for "Best New Public Course" when they opened. The East Course plays through pristine forests and finishes along the banks of the Calabash River. The links-style West Course is known for its dramatic 18th hole perched on the bluffs overlooking the river. These courses are regularly rated 4 to 4 1/2 stars by Golf Digest "Places to Play."

Just north of the state line near the village of Calabash, the Thistle Golf Club offers one of the most beautiful and challenging 27-hole layouts on the Grand Strand. Thistle takes its name from an ancient Scottish golf society dating back to the early 1800’s, and the course layout posses a distinct Scottish links feel, with wind-swept fairways, large bentgrass greens and surrounding hillsides covered in heather and wild flowers. Designer Time Cate’s skillful blending of natural elevation changes and wetlands with carefully carved bunkers and large green complexes is visually stunning. For 2008 – 2009, Golf Digest awarded The Thistle 4 ½ Stars.

Next up, take a short seven-mile drive to Brunswick Plantation where you’ll find 27 holes that meander through tall Carolina pines and around expansive lakes. Architects Willard Byrd and Clyde Johnston collaborated on these golf courses which are best known for their quick, smooth and challenging Champion bermuda greens. An official Trail accommodation, Brunswick Plantation is listed among both the “Top 50 Golf Resort Communities in the U.S.”  and “America’s Best Master Planned Golf Communities” by Where To Retire. It offers spacious greenside villas on a compact and convenient campus. There are indoor and outdoor swimming pools, as well as the driving range, practice green and a pro shop housed in an ante-bellum clubhouse that is the very definition of Southern charm.

Just three miles west of Brunswick Plantation, the Trail leads to Meadowlands Golf Club, a classic Willard Byrd layout that twists through groves of large native hardwood trees, over meadows, and along natural wetlands. North Carolina Magazine called this course one of the “Top Ten Best New Courses” when it opened.  It rapidly became a favorite with women golfers, capturing a spot on Golf for Women’s prestigious list of “Top 100 Women Friendly Courses.”

Right next door to Meadowlands is its sister course, Farmstead Golf Links. A Willard Byrd design, Farmstead literally straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border and features the only par 6 on the entire Grand Strand. The mammoth 767-yard, 18th hole begins with a drive to a wide swee ping fairway in South Carolina and concludes on a large undulating green in North Carolina. It’s no wonder that North Carolina Magazine put Farmstead on its “Mighty 90” list.

A mere 4 miles south, Trail travelers will be transported to a place that evokes the best of Scottish-style golf. Heather Glen Golf Links and an official Trail accommodations choice, The Village At The Glens, are just outside the scenic town of Little River, S.C. From the unique British design of the Heather Glen Clubhouse to the Scottish-themed Pub with its spectacular views of Heather Glen’s finishing holes, the environment is tailor-made for a special and memorable golf vacation. Stay here and you’ll enjoy on-site amenities like a heated outdoor pool; a putting green right outside your villa; and a practice facility complete with driving range and a chipping/bunker area.

The three nines that make up Heather Glen Golf Links are the icing on the cake. Crowned “America’s #1 Public Golf Course” by Golf Digest when its first 18 opened, Heather Glen is known for its pristine conditioning. Designed by Willard Byrd and Clyde Johnston as a homage to traditional Scottish golf, Heather Glen has all the right Old World touches from stacked sod pot bunkers to ornamental plants like Scotch Broom. Each of the three nines is unique with ever-changing elevations, heather-laced dunes and winding streams that combine to create a golf experience that will stick in your memory for years.

Right across the street from Heather Glen is Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links. This course is architect Clyde Johnston’s tribute to legendary architect Donald Ross, who was born in the north Scottish coastal town of Dornoch.

Glen Dornoch’s honors are many. It’s on Golf Digest’s list of the Top 10 Courses in Myrtle Beach and Top 25 Courses in South Carolina, as well as Golf Magazine’s Top 20 courses in South Carolina. Step up to the first tee and you’ll soon find out why. Glen Dornoch is a real heart-stopper that has panoramic views of the Intracoastal Waterway, wide fairways that roll naturally over the sandy terrain, centuries-old live oaks, massive magnolias, and 35-foot elevation changes. Its final three holes are among the most unforgettable and exciting closing holes on the East Coast.

The setting at Glen Dornoch is so pristine and beautiful that you’ll want to pause for a post-round drink on the back porch of the clubhouse. Watching players finish on the course’s unique double green that serves both 9 and 18 is the perfect way to end a day of golf.

Just south of Glen Dornoch, the Trail leads to River Hills Golf & Country Club, also in Little River. A blend of old and new design ideas, this scenic course by architect Tom Jackson takes players through heavily wooded, rolling terrain with frequent 40-foot elevation changes. Golfweek named River Hills to its list of the “Top 50 Courses in the Southeast.”

The Trail ends six miles south of River Hills at the spectacular Tidewater Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Known as “the Pebble Beach of the East,” this superb test of golf sits high on the bluff of a magnificent seaside peninsula. It stretches out alongside the Intracoastal Waterway and saltwater marshes of Cherry Grove Beach Inlet, offering views of the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

As the most decorated course along the Grand Strand, Tidewater’s rankings are almost too numerous to recount and include Best New Public Course In America and America’s Top 75 Golf Resorts (Golf Digest); Top Ten Public Courses in America, Top 100 Public Places You Can Play and Top 20 Courses In South Carolina (Golf Magazine); and Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Golfweek). You won’t want to miss this classic design modeled after storied courses such as Merion and Pine Valley. It delivers an exciting conclusion to the Trail.

Easy To Reach, Easy To Travel

Reaching the Brunswick Isles Golf Trail is easy. It’s within a day’s drive of most major East Coast and Midwestern cities, and a quick trip down Route 40 from North Carolina cities like Raleigh. Convenient air service is available via Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) located in downtown Myrtle Beach, or Wilmington International Airport (ILM). Located just minutes from the first stop on the Trail, the Wilmington, N. C. airport is one of the most dynamic, hospitable, and progressive airports in the Carolinas. The Wilmington Airport offers nonstop service to a variety of cities.

Golf Packages

Accommodations and golf can easily be arranged by one of the Trail’s exclusive golf packagers.
Brunswick Plantation • 800-332-8576
Coastal Golfaway • 866-781-7252
Village at the Glens • 866-259-0558

Wilmington International Airport • www.flyilm.com

Ed and Judy

Ed and Judy met while on vacation, and Ed fell head over heels in love with her.

On the last night of his vacation, the two of them went to dinner and had a serious talk about how they would continue the relationship.

"It's only fair to warn you, I'm a total golf nut," Ed said to his lady friend. "I eat, sleep and breathe golf, so if that's a problem, you'd better say so now."

Judy responded, "If we're being honest with each other... Well, here goes......I'm a hooker."

"I see," Ed replied, and was quiet for a moment.

Then he added, "You know, it's probably because you're not keeping your wrists straight when you tee off.

CONTRIBUTED BY BART DEFORREST

The PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship

All that you have come to love about the event will stay the same for 2008. About 4,000 Amateur golfers all competing for the chance to become World Champion regardless of age, gender, or playing ability, the USGA Handicap system makes us all EQUAL.

BUT?? there will be some great additions and changes that will enhance your enjoyment of the event..

PRIZES will take on a whole new meaning with PGA TOUR Superstore as your title sponsor, in fact the event will distribute over $130,000 in gift certificates for the Top Ten finishers in each flight! THE WORLD'S LARGEST 19TH HOLE will be a great new experience with the addition of a 40,000 sq. foot store that could only be described as a "Tour Van" for amateur golfers. There you will find rows of the newest equipment from the top manufacturers ready for demo, apparel from top designers, high tech swing simulators and launch monitors, putting greens, games and contests, all creating an entertaining, interactive atmosphere second to none.

Of course all of the food, drinks, and live entertainment that have come to define the tournament's nightly functions will be there for everyone's enjoyment. Whether you have played in the event for years or thinking about it for the first time, we guarantee you will have a golf experience like no other at the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship. To receive your free brochure or to enter online please visit the website www.WorldAmGolf.com.

To receive your free brochure or to enter online please visit our website www.WorldAmGolf.com.

 

Fast Facts:

• For More Information - Visit www.WorldAmGolf.com or call at 800-833-8798
• Dates - August 25 - 29, 2008
• Location - Tournament is held on over 70 coursesin the "Golf Capital of the World", Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

What's Included:

• Four rounds of golf (cart included) on four different golf courses
• Matched handicap flights for Men, Senior Men, Mid Senior Men, Super Senior Men, Women, and Senior Women
• Four evenings of food, drinks, golf expo, games, contests, and camaraderie at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for you and a guest
• A final day championship playoff on Friday, August 31st. (Flight Winners and ties)
• $500,000 in prizes and awards - a gift bag on arrival, trophies, top-ten prizes in each flight, and random drawing prizes

Tournament Format:

• Four rounds of net stroke tournament play
• Divisions: Men (49 and under), Senior Men (50-59), Mid Senior Men (60-69), Super Senior Men (70 and over), Women (49 and Under), Senior Women (50 and over)
• Flights assigned based on verified handicap index
• Winners (and ties) of each flight after four days of competition advance to Championship Round
• Nightly entertainment/score viewing

 

Linda Hartough Once More, With Feeling

As the 2005 United States Open came again to Pinehurst's famed #2 course, it marked the 16th consecutive Open immortalized by painter Linda Hartough. No one is more passionate about her work or captures the spirit of the game quite like this renowned golf landscape artist.

I am transfixed.

Standing in the sun-splashed studio of Linda Hartough’s glorious home on Spring Island, off the coast of South Carolina, I have found myself drawn, trance-like, to an easel in front of a large bay window.

My wife and I have strolled through Hartough’s home, getting a first-hand tour of a house and studio that are as comfortable and gracious as is our hostess, a fairy-tale setting of country manor and fenced pastureland, horses grazing outside, light and brick and warm wood inside. As we’ve moved into the studio area, where Hartough spends so much of her time, painting, watching golf and movies on a state-of-the-art flat-screen TV, the heart of her workplace has become increasingly apparent, and I feel as though I have a entered a sacred space. Not only a master artist’s sanctuary, but the emerging world of one of the most famous of the game’s Par 4’s, Ballybunion’s 11th hole, two-thirds completed, waiting for Hartough’s touch, her brush, her inspiration, to bring this Irish paradise to life. It is an incredible moment, especially to those of us who don’t share The Gift. The scene’s top portion completed, vibrant and alive. The bottom section stark, blank white, save for a line drawing of basic composition. It is then that it really hits home, the exceptional, elusive ability Hartough, and all great artists, possess. Having stood on that spot at Ballybunion myself, I get chills looking at a partially finished painting.

Linda Hartough’s ability to ellicit a golfer’s deep emotional connection to the game and its great courses has characterized her work in golf over the last two decades, and has made her the most sought-after golf landscape artist in the world. Her official paintings of the 2005 U.S. Open (one for the USGA series, one for Pinehurst’s official poster) long since completed, her enormous body of work includes not only paintings that hang in the halls of the most exclusive private clubs (Augusta National, Pine Valley, Laural Valley), and in the homes of some of the most famous names in the game (Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Rees Jones), but also as reproductions in the living rooms of golf lovers around the globe. The myriad paintings of courses both public and private, by the only artist ever commissioned by both the R &A and the USGA to paint the official series of Open championship courses, have evolved, onto coasters and placemats, greeting cards and pillows, and one of the most beautiful coffee-table books you can own, “Hallowed Ground”. They have appeared on two ABC Golf Specials on the “World’s Most Dramatic Holes,” hosted by Nicklaus, and Hartough’s travels have taken her from her South Carolina home to the far corners of the earth.

As a child, there was no inkling that golf would play the central role in Hartough’s life. Though her father had a passion for the game, the young girl did not. Her lifeblood was tied to seemingly traditional outlets, horses and art. Her career timeline seems natural enough, marked by life’s usual assortment of fortuitous meetings, coincidences, and decisions. One can find all the particulars of Hartough’s path on her website or in her gallery on Hilton Head Island.

What isn’t available in either place, however, is the rare opportunity to get a first-hand feel for her process, to watch her work, to talk about her approach to each painting. It is in those moments that you begin to understand why the paintings seem to truly live. It is in those moments that you can feel her passion.

The process is time-intensive and laborious, and can stretch out to 2 years or more for a given painting. Whichever course is to be painted, Hartough begins by discussing with the people at each course their thoughts. “They have their opinion, I have mine, and we’ll come to a consensus,” she says as she stands next to her chair. “I of course want to pick the one that would make the best landscape and give the best feeling of the course,” she continues, and it is the first time of many that the word “feeling” will be used.

Hartough goes on, sitting in at the easel. “Once I make a selection of the hole, then it’s a matter of finding the light that will make it do what I want it to do,” and now, surrounded by literally hundreds of photos of Ballybunion’s 11th , part of a her “Courses of Ireland” series, you get an idea of the commitment it takes to do what sounds a seemingly simple thing, “finding the light.” Up to 40 rolls of film per painting are a testament to the days, the weeks, the different times of year, the varied conditions, changes in shadows and angles, all a part of Hartough’s initial stage of preparation. “When I’m at the course, I don’t really know exactly what I’m going to do,” she says, but once she returns home, she continues the analytical part of the process, moving toward a final composition. “I’ll take the best parts of everything I’ve got in pictures. I’ll use a different sky, a single cloud, the green at one time of day, the fairway from another. I’ll find the best parts that work with that composition.” She has said before that when she looks at a golf hole, she tries to “see it as a golfer sees it, how a golfer would play it, then as a landscape, as a work of fine art.” It has proven to be a stunning combination of ideals.

Once she’s decided on the form, the artistic brain kicks in, and listening to Hartough speak, you sense that this is where the magical part of the routine really begins. “The compostion is so important in what I do,” Hartough says, staring at Ballybunion’s elegant landscape. “I see the painting completed, before I ever put a mark on the canvas, and as close as I can get to that initial vision, the better.” A very thin blue line will go on the blank canvas, as a guide. And then it happens, in front of me.

Hartough picks up her brush. Colors mix. Back and forth her eyes go, from the hand-held picture to the canvas, brush moving now, impulses and creation taking over. Working from the top of the painting down, what can be done in one day will be the next section painted, as “I like everything to be wet when I’m working on it.” And so it goes, minute detail by minute detail. Try as one might, unless you live in this world, this is the part we can only imagine, the miraculous unfolding of art, which in some cases, can take up to 6 months.

Hartough’s single most telling comment comes as she fleshes out Ballybunion. “The work reminds me of being there, which is what I hope happens to a golfer, too. I try to achieve that perfect moment, where you feel like you’re there, by yourself, at the most perfect time. Most people who are really into the game, think of it as a spiritual thing. Once I got into the spiritual side, I was hooked. It’s what I try to convey, the sense of timelessness and spirituality.”

As I let myself drift into the painting in front of me, I once again understand where my place of worship is.

On Pinehurst and the Open

On the challenge of painting Pinehurst: “It is a difficult course to capture, from a design perspective, as there are obviously lots of pine trees, shade, and similar hole designs, with little dramatic lighting. Finding the right lighting is really the key to showing off Pinehurst.”

On The 2005 Open

Linda Hartough chose the convergence of # 2’s 16th and 17th holes as the USGA official painting of the 105th US Open, because “so many dramatic events happened at 16 and 17 at the last Open.” The 18th hole, scene of the late Payne Stewart’s dramatic, walk-off putt, is her subject for the official Pinehurst poster for the Open, which captures the Sunday pin placement from 1999 (used every Sunday now), and the commemorative statue of Stewart’s now-famous gesture after making his historic putt.

On the USGA and The Merchandising of Linda Hartough

Chris Johnson, Director of Licensing and Merchandise at the USGA, recently retired after 29 years of service, who was involved in the original deal in 1989 that brought Linda Hartough to the USGA, recalls that Hartough’s friend and agent at the time, Bob Pringle, a Scottish artist himself, “stopped by the USGA Museum, asked to see me, and suggested using Linda to do a US Open painting. It just took off from there.” The USGA, according to Johnson, had a catalog at the time, but no specific marketing plan, and says “The USGA has always been extremely proud to offer her work.”

What They Say

“Linda has a gift for capturing the world in a wonderful and captivating way. I’m the proud owner of several of her paintings, and each time I look at one, I see something new. What Linda paints is the essence of a hole, and in it, the essence of the entire course. A Linda Hartough painting makes me want to play golf.” - Jack Nicklaus, owner of 7 original works.

“Whenever you see a Linda Hartough golf course rendering, you have to resist the urge to grab a club and drop a ball.” - Robert Trent Jones, Sr., who, when asked what he would save in a fire at his home, said it would be Hartough’s U.S. Open painting of the 16th hole at Hazeltine National.

“I first saw one of Linda’s prints at the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. It was on the restored 9th of the Open Course, and it captured our restoration work perfectly.” - Rees Jones who purchased Hartough’s U.S. Open painting of Congressional Country Club, and commissioned Hartough to paint the 15th at Haig Point.

“I think of Royal County Down, which I’ve visited virtually every year for 25 years. To me it’s the greatest course in the world, and to be able to sit in my house and look at that painting of the 9th hole, I can feel the course, the mountains, the beach. I think it’s the most wonderful painting I’ve ever seen.” - John Runette, neighboring resident on Spring Island, owner of 3 original works, including Ballybunion #11.

“Ever since I saw the first one Linda did here of the 10th hole at Winged Foot for the Open in 1984, I’ve wanted to collect them. I can’t wait for the next one to come out.” Tom Neiporte, Head Golf Professional at Winged Foot, collector of Hartough Limited Edition Prints.

For a complete listing of Linda Hartough’s biography and work, available originals and reproductions, a virtual studio tour, and contact information, visit www.Hartough.com.

The Striking Viking Ewa Mataya Laurance

Since her early teens, Ewa Mataya Laurance has been relentlessly pursuing the act of hitting a ball with a stick. First in billiards, and now in golf, that pursuit has brought the woman known around the world as “The Striking Viking” from a small town in Sweden to Myrtle Beach, and a life that for her, becomes more perfect with every passing day. For more than two decades, much has been written about the Hall of Fame billiards career of Ewa Mataya Laurance, a career that started in the city of Gavle, about 2 hours north of Stockholm, on a day when then 14 year-old Ewa Svensson followed her older brother Mats into a poolroom. Always a good athlete, she had excelled in soccer, basketball and skiing, but after a second trip to the poolroom, a different game grabbed her heart. “All other sports paled by comparison,” she once told the Swedish Scanorama Magazine, adding that she was “fascinated by the mystique surrounding the game, and the silent intensity with which players tried to solve the layout of the rack.” With a new focus, she dreamt big dreams, of becoming the best in the world at billiards. Though her family was supportive, many others laughed at the idea of a small-town female player, in a man’s game, who thought she could compete on the world stage. Those who did could not have known the fire that lived inside the schoolgirl who did her homework between racks for hours on end.

The combination of world-class talent and relentless work started to pay off quickly, and Ewa’s goal began looking like a real possibility when she won the Swedish National 9-Ball title at 16 and the European 9-Ball Championship the following year. That victory brought with it a chance to compete at the prestigious World 9-Ball Championship in New York, and in accepting that invitation, at 17 years of age, Ewa’s world would change forever.

A move to Lansing, Michigan, a short-lived first marriage to pool pro Jim Mataya, a daughter Nikki, all within a few years of moving to the States. The difficult work of pursuing her passion in an intensely competitive sport, rigorous hours of practice and long spells of life on the road, all while trying to single-handedly raise a daughter, in a sport that at the time offered almost no monetary reward, especially to women, for such a drive to excellence. All of it forging a determination and inner drive that characterize all great champions.

“Back when I started,” she says, “no one was really making any money. Only a couple of the guys, like Minnesota Fats and Steve Mizerak, made any kind of a living at pool, unless you gambled or hustled, which I wasn’t into. Then slowly but surely I found a way to turn my passion for the game into a way to make a living.”

That “way” began with an increasingly stunning tournament record, an undeniable certification of her talent and of her steady rise to the top of her sport. Two World Open 9-Ball titles and numerous tournament championships led Laurance, in 1988, to a sponsorship agreement with Brunswick Billiards, then as now the preeminent name in the sport, and to a level of stability for herself and for Nikki. For the first time she had a more stress-free opportunity to chase the world’s top spot.

Laurance did not let the chance pass her by, and with animal-like intensity, began a run that included two US Open 9-Ball titles, the US National 9-Ball title, two Player-of-the-Year seasons, a world high-run record set at the US Open Straight Pool Championship, and a case full of tournament trophies. More importantly, she had finally reached the much-coveted and long dreamt of ranking of World #1. The Best Player in the World.

With a record among the best in the game’s history and consecutive years with the #1 ranking, the stage was set for Laurance to truly become the face of billiards on an international level.

An articulate and passionate spokeswoman for the game, with head-turning good looks and a down-to-earth, good-natured sense of humor, The Striking Viking, in one quick strike, was all over the media. In 1992 she became, and still remains, the only pool player to ever appear as the feature cover story in the prestigious “New York Times Magazine,” in which she talked about cleaning up a much-maligned sport and her desire to have people see the beauty of the game in the same way she did. That article, and an ability to entertain a national audience by doing captivating trick shots, led to appearances on a broad range of national TV shows, including “The David Letterman Show,” “Live with Regis and Cathy Lee,” “The Today Show,” and many others.

Profiles in Sports Illustrated, People, Glamour Magazine and other national publications added to Laurance’s expanding presence, as did the 1994 WPA World 9 Ball title. All of it bringing as well an increasing demand for her corporate trick shot exhibitions (which continues stronger than ever), and a client list that now includes JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Pepsi, Sony, and automobile software giant OEConnections.

It was at one such corporate outing, at the Vantage Golf Championship in Winston-Salem, NC, that she met actor and golfer Mitch Laurance. It was the beginning of a relationship that has turned into 11 years of a storybook marriage, and a life on the Grand Strand that includes, for Ewa, an adventurous combination of pool and of golf, of frenetic business travel and tranquil home life with family and animals.

“Mitch and I got married in Charlotte, NC in 1994, and golf was not only responsible for our meeting, but for our move to Myrtle Beach,” Laurance says. When she began to do a lot more corporate trick shot exhibitions, she realized that golf was a good way to tie into that world. The fact that Mitch was an avid player and could offer his celebrity event connections the chance to invite Ewa to events, allowed Ewa not only the ability to enjoy the game with her husband, but the opportunity to pursue golf with almost the same zeal as she had her pool game, and to expand her ties to the golfing world in her own right.

As with pool, she has found a way to turn another passion into an interesting and rewarding part of life, in what she considers golfing heaven. “Mitch was already the host of ‘On The Green Golf Video Showcase’ in Myrtle Beach, and we had come down to the Grand Strand so many times while we lived in Charlotte that we both decided to make the move to a place we love. It’s the best of all worlds, with an incredible variety of courses, fantastic people and entertainment, and a wonderful quality of life,” Laurance says.

Ewa was just featured in “Golf For Women” Magazine, and plays in a multitude of celebrity Pro Am and charity events, including the ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic in Los Angeles, the Jimmy V Celebrity Classic in Raleigh, NC, and The Crosby in Winston-Salem, NC. She has competed in the LPGA Skins Game Pro Am (paired with Laura Davies), and this fall will participate in the PGA Tour Skins Game Pro Am in La Quinta, CA, with a couple of golfers named Tiger Woods and Fred Couples, among others.

And after hiring Ewa to perform trick shots and play pool as a way to draw golfers to their booth at the World Amateur Handicap Championship in 2004, Grand Strand developer Burroughs & Chapin recently hired Ewa to be the spokesperson for their “MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com” brand and its golf courses. It is a relationship, and an opportunity, that Ewa takes seriously. “I think America is the only country in the world where you can have a dream and then create a way to truly live it,” she says, adding that she relishes the chance to help increase awareness for Myrtle Beach golf.

“Myrtle Beach, for a golfer, is a dream, a golf mecca. Where else can you play a different, great course every weekend for two years, and not play the same course twice?”

Ewa still competes full time on the WPBA Classic Tour and does billiards Color Commentary for ESPN. She is the President of the Women’s Professional Billiards Association and the Co-Host of GSN’s “BallBreakers” TV show. In 2004 Ewa became only the fifth woman in the history of the sport to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame. You can find more information on Ewa Mataya Laurance at www.StrikingViking.com.

Golf - A Passion and a Business

Dramatic population increases have occurred in the past decade in the three-county area that comprises the Grand Strand region. North Carolina’s Brunswick County, as well as Horry and Georgetown counties in South Carolina, are all among their states’ fastest-growing areas, with often-explosive increases in lot sales and building permits.

Nearly all of the 14 area golf courses that have already closed or are wrapping up operations this year will be the setting of future residential development. Most notable on that list are the three courses at Bay Tree Golf Plantation, a family-run operation for 30 years in North Myrtle Beach, and three of the four layouts at Wild Wing Plantation in nearby Conway.

“Wild Wing had a great run as a four-course public golf facility,” said Tim Tilma, General Manager and Director of Golf for the Wild Wing Company. “Our new owners are very successful local developers who recognize the need for a first-class residential community in the Conway area. We’re going to have about 700 single-family homesites with a great selection of waterway lots with boat slips.”

Tilma also noted that plans envision three additional communities of townhomes and condominiums at Wild Wing. By the end of this year, only the Avocet course will remain open for public play, with golf membership programs offered for new Wild Wing community residents.

Sweet Home Carolina

Not all new real estate initiatives have resulted in course closings. The large, multi-community residential developments at Grande Dunes and Barefoot Resort & Golf, which arguably helped to ignite the current boom, have contributed top-rated courses that are available for visitor play. Even “The Granddaddy” hasn’t been immune to the trend: Pine Lakes Golf Club and owner Burroughs & Chapin recently received approval to build 322 new residences adjacent to the historic course, which itself will get a major renovation.

“Overall, I think that the golf industry in Myrtle Beach will be healthier and better than ever in terms of quality,” said Archie Lemon, Director of Golf Operations for B & C, which owns five local courses and manages an additional three. “I think what we’re doing at Pine Lakes is a good example.”

Lemon noted that the 80-year-old Pine Lakes course will close this November and reopen in 2008 after a total renovation that will include all-new grass surfaces on the tees, fairways and greens. “We want to offer the player a fresh experience on the course,” Lemon said, “while retaining the site’s history and tradition. The historic clubhouse will remain, but we’re going to add new facilities for better service and convenience. The changes at Pine Lakes are part of a natural evolution in the life of any great golf course. Our goal is to make sure that ‘The Granddaddy’ will always be ‘The Granddaddy’.”

“It’s supply and demand,” said Jim Woodring, a 14-year veteran of the local golf business and Vice-President of Marketing and Golf Operations for the Myrtle Beach National Company, which owns and operates nine Grand Strand golf courses.

“We’ve still got 100 courses open for public play in the area,” Woodring continued, “so we have plenty of ‘supply’ for visiting golfers. And our total rounds and revenues have actually increased in the past year. But I think those dozen or so courses that are closing got hit by the ups and downs we’ve had in recent years, and they all had very attractive real estate offers on the table. What would any of us do?”

“I frankly think it’s a win-win situation,” said Tom Plankers, the President of Sea Trail Golf who’s been a part of the Grand Strand golf industry for 19 years. “For the course owners that sold to developers, I’m glad that they had an opportunity to make some money for their families and investors. They had ‘the right place at the right time.’ So if the rest of us can absorb their bookings and continue to improve the quality of our product, then everyone, including our customers, will come out ahead.”

“Myrtle Beach will always be a vacation destination, especially for golfers,” said Bill Golden, Vice-President of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, the region’s marketing cooperative that includes 85 golf courses and 54 accommodations hosts. “As the recent Golf Digest article points out, we not only have the most courses, we also have the most top-quality courses.”

The article which Golden cited came with a national accolade that reflects the changes in the local golf market. In its June 2006 edition, Golf Digest ranked the Myrtle Beach area No. 1 on the list of “America’s Greatest Golf-Home Towns.” The overall top rating was based on a combination of golf and non-golf criteria. The Grand Strand scored a nation-high point total in the golf category, with the magazine noting the unique quality of the region’s courses: 28 with ratings of 4 1/2 or better of a possible five stars in the current “Best Places to Play” guide and nine of those ranked among “America’s Top 100 Public Courses,” both the most for any US golf destination. Low course congestion and a high number of “golfable days” also contributed to the region’s superior golf score.

But what earned the Myrtle Beach area the No. 1 ranking among all residential communities in America was its strong showing in the non-golf category, with factors that included home prices, living costs, local amenities, crime rates and other lifestyle variables.

“What the No. 1 ‘Golf-Home Town’ rating acknowledges,” Golden said, “is that many of our vacationing players are becoming seasonal and even full-time residents. They’ve looked around and decided that the Grand Strand is a great area to invest in a villa or condo, or they’ve bought a home for retirement or relocation. And if they’re golfers, the very reasonable prices for golf-oriented lots and residences make Myrtle Beach a great place to live.

“But the tourists who come to the Grand Strand, whether they’re families in the summer or golfers in the spring and fall, will always be the engine that drives our local economy. So those of us in the golf business need to keep improving the quality of Myrtle Beach golf and creating new opportunities to grow our share of the market.”

Upgrading the Links

The most recent reports of Grand Strand “golf numbers” seem to paint a somewhat contradictory picture. While overall play in the spring this year was down about 3.7 percent from 2005, the average paid rounds per course in March, April and May were at their highest levels since 1999. Fewer courses to factor into that latter number probably accounts for the increased average.

“While increasing total rounds is our objective, the underlying trends are positive,” Golden said, reflecting an optimism that seems to be shared within the industry.

“We’re bullish on Myrtle Beach golf and we’re putting our money on it,” said Wayne Weldon, Director of Marketing for the five-course Classic Golf Group. He noted that major improvements at Classic Golf’s Indian Wells and Burning Ridge clubs had resulted in MBGCOA “Course of the Year” awards in 2004 and 2006, respectively.

“Sometimes a golf course closes for the right reasons,” Weldon said. “Take Black Bear, for example. We closed it earlier this year to make some important upgrades and we’ve gotten great feedback on the improved quality since it reopened in August, especially about the new Champion Bermuda greens. And we’ve closed the old Sea Gull course so that we can completely refurbish that great layout and I think people will be really impressed when we reopen next fall as the Founders Club of Pawleys Island.”

Legends Golf Group recently acquired the Tournament Players Course (TPC) of Myrtle Beach, expending its roster of local layouts to six. Director of Marketing Jim O’Neil said his company sees future demand in the visitor and residential market. “Legends has earned a great reputation for putting money back into our courses to keep them among the top tier in Myrtle Beach. And we’re moving ahead with work on our new conference center, which we expect to open by the end of next year.” The Legends facility will have 196 hotel rooms, extensive meeting space, an indoor pool, a spa and health club and a fine-dining restaurant.

“And our residential community is also continuing to grow,” O’Neil added, “so were building new townhomes to meet the demands of people who want to work or retire here.”

Brunswick Golf Plantation & Resort has also been serving both markets for over 15 years and isn’t resting on its reputation. “The time was right for a facelift on our course,” said Resort Director Billy Bernier of the 27-hole layout he manages, “for the benefit of our members and the public.” He noted that, in addition to resort accommodations and services, Brunswick Plantation has about 300 homes (with room for another 500) and 200 non-equity golf club members.

“We closed for 10 weeks this summer,” Bernier said, “to refurbish all of our greens with the Champion Bermuda, which plays like the bentgrass we had, but tolerates the heat much better. The course has a great new look with expanded tee boxes, wider landing areas, new cart paths and some very lush new landscaping. We needed to make those improvements to stay competitive among the area’s high-quality courses. And our members love the changes, which can only help to drive our real estate component.”

The Glens Group owns four golf courses, including the centerpiece of the growing Shaftesbury Glen residential community in the West Myrtle Beach area. President Jack Himmelsbach noted the need to invest in people, as well as layout improvements. “We’re committed to building a reputation for great customer service and top-quality course conditions,” he said, “because those are the factors that bring visiting players back year after year. We’re in this business for the long term.”

“Pawleys Plantation debuted in 1988 and we’re proud to say it has matured into a wonderful property," said Laura Rippy, general manager for Pawleys Plantation. "Our real estate sales have remained strong over the years and we will soon introduce some new luxury townhomes. We have a full-service conference center that recently helped Pawleys Plantation capture a prestigious 'Best of the South' award as one of the best meeting places in the Southeast. And, with the recent addition of ValleyCrest as our golf course maintenance company, we have seen our Jack Nicklaus signature course taken to new levels of conditioning, improving the entire golf experience at Pawleys Plantation."

Changes at World Tour Golf Links appeal to dual demands of daily-fee players and the local housing market, according to Director of Golf Dennis Nichol: “We’re closing the International Nine, but we still have 18 holes open to the public, with significant course and clubhouse improvements on the way. And we’re actually reworking the International into a private executive walking course that will be a unique amenity for our residents. We’ve already pre-sold about 200 condos and we’ve got plans for up to 800 more.

“At the same time,” Nichol said, “we’ve had our busiest summer ever this year, with many of those rounds booked by local golfers. I think that more year-round and off-season residents will eventually help us and other public courses, especially if we continue our resident-discount programs.”

MBN’s Woodring echoes the need for reinvesting in the quality of local courses. “At Willbrook, for instance, our company has made a major commitment to what we think is one of the best designs in on south end of the Strand. We totally upgraded the drainage system and expanded the greens back to their original sizes. And we installed the new Champion Bermuda hybrid that’s proven to be so great at Caledonia and Long Bay.”

“So you really have to get beyond the headlines,” Golden said, “when you read about a course closing. Yes, we’ve lost some for good in the past few years, but when owners shut down courses temporarily to make millions of dollars in upgrades, that’s a sign of a healthy, forward-looking industry.”

Come One, Come All

One of the ways that Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday attracts new visitors to the Grand Strand is through the promotion and management of the region’s impressive list of annual golf events. From the weekly Summer Family Golf Tournaments and instructional clinics to the Spring and Fall Palmetto High School Golf Championships, Myrtle Beach has established itself as a regional magnet for junior players from beginners to top-ranked competitors. Events like the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Outing draw participants from around the country to tournaments that support their favorite causes.

Local charities also benefit from the annual Hootie and the Blowfish Celebrity Pro-Am Tournament. Golf Holiday’s signature event, formerly the DuPont World-Am, had a new title sponsor and the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship remained the world’s largest on-site tournament with more than 4,000 players.

“The golf events that Golf Holiday is involved in, along with dozens of others sponsored by individual clubs or resorts,” Golden said, “are a gateway for Myrtle Beach golf. The goal is to give that first-time visitor a positive experience so that he or she will come back, hopefully with some friends and family members.”

Two new events on the Myrtle Beach golf calendar highlight efforts by local companies to expand the market’s reach. In cooperation with sponsors of the Fall Harley-Davidson Rally, Classic Golf will host a one-day tournament event specifically for bikers on October 4 at Indian Wells. “We’re planning a party with golf and great music,” Weldon said, “and if it’s successful, we’ll do it again for the spring rally.”

Golfweek magazine and the Georgetown Country Visitor and Convention Bureau are sponsoring a new themed event set for May 2007 and called the “Glory Days Alumni Challenge.” Golfers will be invited to put together teams of college and university alums to represent their schools in a full-handicap tournament with gross and net divisions. The four-day event will highlight courses on the county’s “Waccamaw Trail” with rounds at Pawleys Plantation, Caledonia, Willbrook and the TPC of Myrtle Beach.

Woodring also stressed the importance of continuing successful initiatives like the “Kids Play Free” programs now offered by many Myrtle Beach area courses (which waive fees for juniors 16 and under when accompanied by a paying adult), as well as discounts and golf-only packages for locals and non-resident homeowners. “Making golf more affordable for families and newcomers,” he said, “will help to keep everyone operating on the positive side of the balance sheet.”

Access Points

Local golf leaders were unanimous in their support for improved access to the Grand Strand as a major way to boost business.

“We’re all watching the expansion plans at the [Myrtle Beach International] Airport very closely,” Golf Holiday’s Golden said. “Our members appreciate the importance of having the ability to handle more passengers and non-stop flights. The new Spirit schedule is a great step in the right direction because it puts all of New England just two hours away.”

Spirit Airlines on August 15 began daily, non-stop flights from Boston’s Logan International Airport. The addition brings the total to 13 US cities with direct flights into Myrtle Beach International.

Road improvements all over the region also won praise from local golf executives. Many cited the Carolina Bays Parkway (Highway 31) for relieving traffic on Highway 17 Bypass and hoped that the extension to Surfside Beach can be completed soon. Also noted were the new Veterans Highway (Highway 22) and the realignment of Highway 501 that both have thinned congestion for arriving and departing drivers. Next on the agenda is the Interstate 73 connection between 1-95 and the Grand Strand. A final route is expected to be chosen soon, with completion currently projected for 2010. The Myrtle Beach area is one of the largest in America without direct interstate highway access. Golden also noted ongoing improvements in “virtual access” to Grand Strand golf. “Many of our members, as well as Golf Holiday,” he said, “are enhancing their web sites with better content, more streamlined booking and features like downloadable video. And we’re working together with aggressive marketing in print and on TV.”

Future Developments

The golf and real estate industries in the Myrtle Beach area, once mostly separate entities with different markets, seem destined to become even more intertwined in the years ahead.

“New golf courses in this area will definitely be real-estate driven,” Plankers said. “I don’t think we’re going to see any new stand-alone public courses built for quite a while. Those days are gone.”

“The real-estate market will continue to be the biggest factor in our local golf business, Woodring said. “I think that over the next three to five years, you’ll see plans for new courses in golf communities all over the region. Some may be private clubs from the start, but others will be semi-private to generate revenue and attract potential buyers. It’s a natural progression for an area where so many people want to live.

“Golf in Myrtle Beach is a passion and a business,” Woodring said. “We love to play the game, and we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. So, sure, we’re all sad when a golf courses closes down permanently, but we understand it as a business decision and part of what was probably an inevitable transition in our area. And it reminds us to all work a little harder to keep our golf customers happy.”

Tiger Woods drives his Volvo into a Petrol Station

Tiger Woods drives his Volvo into a Petrol Station in Cork during his tour of Ireland. The attendant at the pump greets him in a typical Irish manner, unaware as to who the golf pro is, "Top o the morning to you young fella!"

As Tiger leans over to get out of the car two tees fall out of his top pocket onto the ground. "What are dey son?" asks the attendant.

"They're called tees" replies Tiger Woods.

"And what would dey be for then?" enquires the Irish man.

"They're for resting my balls on while I'm driving" says Tiger Woods.

"Jaysus", says the Irish man, "Dem boys at Volvo just tink of everyting!"

Top 10 Things That Sound Dirty, But in Golf Aren't

TOP TEN THINGS THAT SOUND DIRTY BUT IN GOLF AREN'T:

10. Damn, my shaft is bent.
9. After 18 holes, I can barely walk.
8. You really whacked the hell out of that sucker.
7. Look at the size of his putter.
6. Keep your head down and spread your legs a bit more.
5. Mind if I join your threesome?
4. Stand with your back turned and drop it.
3. My hands are so sweaty I can't get a good grip.
2. Nice stroke, but your follow-through leaves a lot to be desired.
And the number 1 thing that sounds dirty but in golf isn't: 1. Hold up! I need to wash my balls first!

18 Reasons Why Golf is Better Than Sex

18 REASONS WHY GOLF IS BETTER THAN SEX

18 - You don't have to sneak your golf magazines into the house.

17 - If you are having trouble with golf, it is perfectly acceptable to pay a professional to show you how to improve your technique.

16 - The Ten Commandments don't say anything about golf.

15 - If your partner takes pictures or videotapes of you golfing, you don't have to worry about them showing up on the Internet when you become famous.

14 - Your golf partner won't keep asking questions about other partners you've golfed with.

13 - It's perfectly respectable to golf with a total stranger.

12 - When you see a really good golfer, you don't have to feel guilty about imagining the two of you golfing together.

11 - If your regular golf partner isn't available, he/she won't object if you golf with someone else.

10 - Nobody will ever tell you that you will go blind if you golf by yourself.

9 - When dealing with a golf pro, you never have to wonder if they are really an undercover cop.

8 - You don't have to go to a sleazy shop in a seedy neighborhood to buy golf stuff.

7 - You can have a golf calendar on your wall at the office, tell golf jokes and invite coworkers to golf with you without getting sued for harassment.

6 - There is no such thing as a golf transmitted disease.

5 - If you want to watch golf on television, you don't have to subscribe to a premium cable channel.

4 - Nobody expects you to promise to golf with just one partner for the rest of your life.

3 - Nobody expects you to give up golfing if your partner loses interest in the game.

2 - You don't have to be a newlywed to plan a vacation primarily for the enjoyment of golf.

1 - Your golf partner will never say, "What? We just golfed last week! Is that all you ever think about?"

Stranded on a Deserted Island

A fellow has been stranded on a deserted island for 10 years, and this one fine day while relaxing on the beach, he looks out onto the water and notices something different, but can't quite make it out, he keeps looking and wonders to himself ...

Is that a ship .....

maybe a boat .....

no I think it's a raft......

Then out of the water comes this beautiful blonde in a scuba diving suit and walks right up to him and says " When was the last time you had camel cigarette.... and he say's.... "10 long years ago".....

And she unzips her wet suit and reaches in and pulls out a waterproof container and gives him a smoke.

Then she looks at him and say's " When was the last time you had a drink of scotch.... He say's "10 long years ago "...

She unzips her wet suit a little further and reaches in and pulls out a flask and gives it to him.

Well now he's sitting there all smiles puffing on his smoke and drinking scotch and she slides right over and uzips her wet suit down to her navel and say's "When was the last time you played around...

And he say's " Your kidding me, you got a set of clubs in there too !"

- Contributed by W. C. Bistritan

A Golfer in Ireland...

A golfer in Ireland hit a bad slice into the woods. Looking for His ball, he discovered a leprachaun flat on his back, a big bump on his head and the golfer's ball beside him.

Horrified, the golfer took his water bottle from his bag and helped the little fellow to drink, eventually reviving him.

"Arrgh! Wha Happen?" the leprachaun asked.

After the golfer's explanation, the little fellow continued, "Oh, I see. Waal, ye got me fair and square so ye gets three wishes. Whaddya want?"

"Thank God you're all right!" the golfer answers in relief. I don't want anything, I'm just glad you're okay and I apologise. I didn't mean to hit you." And the golfer walks off.

"What a nice man," the leprachaun says to himself. "But it was fair and square that he got me and I have to do something for him. I'll give him three things I suspect he would most likely covert, a great golf game, all the money he needs and a great sex life."

A year goes by and the golfer is back, hits another hideous slice into the same woods and finds the leprachaun waiting for him.

"Twas me that made ye slice in here. I wanted to ask ye, how's yer golf game?"

"That's the first bad ball I"ve hit in a year! I'm a famous international golfer now," the golfer replies. "By the way, it's good to see you're alright"

"Oh I"m fine, thankee. I did that fer yer golf game. Now tell me, how's yer money?"

"Why I win huge amounts playing golf but if I need cash, I just reach in my pocket and pull out $100 notes all day long."

I did that fer ye too. Now, how's yer sex life.?

The golfer blushes, turns his head away in embarrassment and says shyly,"Err, alright, I suppose."

"C'mon, c'mon now. I'm wanting to know if I did a good job with the third wish. How many times a day.?"

Blushing even more, the golfer whispers, "Once, sometimes twice a week."

"What!" exclaims the leprachaun, obviously shocked, "Is that all? Once or twice a week?"

"Well," says the golfer, " I thought that wasn't too bad for a Catholic priest in a small parish."

A Pastor, a Doctor and an Engineer

A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.

Engineer: What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!

Doctor: I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!

Pastor: Hey, here comes the greens keeper. Let's have a word with him.

[dramatic pause]

Hi George. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?

George: Oh, yes, that's a group of blind fire fighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime.

The group was silent for a moment.

Pastor: That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight.

Doctor: Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them.

Engineer: Why can't these guys play at night?

A Quick Round of Golf

Sid and Barney head out for a quick round of golf. Since they are short on time, they decide to play only 9 holes.

Sid offers Barney, "let's say we make the time worth the while, at least for one of us, and spot $5 on the lowest score for the day." Barney agrees and they enjoy a great game.

After the 8th hole, Barney is ahead by 1 stroke, but cuts his ball into the rough on the 9th.

"Help me find my ball, you look over there," he says to Sid. After 5 minutes, neither has had any luck, and since a lost ball carries a four-point penalty, Barney pulls a ball from his pocket and tosses it to the ground. "I've found my ball!" he announces triumphantly.

Sid looks at him forlornly, "After all the years we've been friends, you'd cheat me on golf for a measly five bucks?!?"

"What do you mean cheat? I found my ball sitting right here!"

"And a liar, too!!!" Sid says with amazement. "I'll have you know I've been standing on your ball for the last five minutes!"

I cannot tell a lie. My secretary and I are having an affair.

A married man and his secretary were having a torrid affair. One afternoon they couldn't contain their passion, so they rushed over to her place where they spent the afternoon making passionate love.

When they were finished they fell asleep and didn't wake up till 8 o'clock. They got dressed quickly. Then the man told his secretary to take his shoes outside and rub them on the lawn.

Bewildered, she does as he asks.

The man finally gets home and his wife meets him at the door. Upset, she asks where he's been.

The man replies, "I cannot tell a lie. My secretary and I are having an affair. Today we left work early, went to her place, spent the afternoon making love then fell asleep. That's why I'm late."

The wife looks at him, takes notice of his shoes and says, "I see those grass stains on your shoes. You've been playing golf again, haven't you!?"

Free Clubs

A retiree was given a set of golf clubs by his co-workers. Thinking he'd try the game, he asked the local pro for lessons, explaining that he knew nothing whatever of the game.

The pro showed him the stance and swing, then said, "Just hit the ball toward the flag on the first green."

The novice teed up and smacked the ball straight down the fairway and onto the green, where it stopped inches from the hole.

"Now what?" the fellow asked the speechless pro.

"Uh... you're supposed to hit the ball into the cup," the pro finally said, after he was able to speak again.

"Oh great! Now you tell me," said the beginner in a disgusted tone.

Union Strike

Negotiations between union members and their employer were at an impasse. The union denied that their workers were flagrantly abusing their contract's sick-leave provisions.

One morning at the bargaining table, the company's chief negotiator held aloft the morning edition of the newspaper, "This man," he announced, "called in sick yesterday!"

There on the sports page, was a photo of the supposedly ill employee, who had just won a local golf tournament with an excellent score.

The silence in the room was broken by a union negotiator. "Wow," he said. "Just think of what kind of score he could have had if he hadn't been sick!"

You've been playing off the red tees all week

A fellow has a week off and decides to play a round of golf every day.

First thing Monday morning, he sets off on his first round and soon catches up to the person in front. He sees that this is a woman and, as he catches up to her on a par 3, that, in fact, she's very attractive. He's interested and suggests that they play the rest of the round together. She agrees and a very close match ensues.

She turns out also to be a very talented golfer and she wins their little competition on the last hole. He congratulates her in the parking lot then offers to give her a lift when he sees she doesn't have a car. All in all it's been a highly enjoyable morning. On the way to her place, she thanks him for the morning's company and competition and says she hasn't enjoyed herself so much on the course for a long time. "In fact," she says, "I'd like you to pull over so I can show you how much I appreciated everything."

He pulls over, they kiss and she shows him her appreciation...

The next morning he spies her at the first tee and suggests they play together again. He's actually quite competitive and slightly peeved that she beat him the previous day. Again they have a magnificent day, enjoying each other's company and playing a tight, competitive round of golf.

Again she pips him at the last hole, again he drives her home and again she shows her appreciation.

This goes on all week, with her beating him narrowly every day. This is a sore point for his male ego but, nevertheless, in the car home from their Friday afternoon round, he tells her that he has had such a fine week that he has a surprise planned: dinner for two at a fancy candle-lit restaurant followed by a night of passion in the penthouse apartment of a posh hotel.

Surprisingly, she bursts into tears and says she can't agree to this. He can't work out what the fuss is about but eventually she admits the reason. "You see," she tearfully sobs, "I'm a transvestite."

He is aghast. He swerves violently off the road, pulls the car to a screeching halt and curses madly, overcome with emotion.

"I'm sorry," she repeats.

"You bastard," he screams, red in the face, "You cheating bastard. You've been playing off the red tees all week!!"

Father Phelan was an avid golfer.

Father Phelan was an avid golfer. Every chance he could get, he would be on the golf course. It was an obsession.

It was 4:00AM on Sunday morning and it looked like it would be a picture-perfect day for golf. The sun was rising, no clouds were in the sky, and the temperature was pleasant and rising. The good Father couldn't resist. He called a Parish assistant to tell him that he was sick and could not say Mass, packed the car up, and drove three hours to a golf course where he felt no one would know him.

He was first there and first out by himself, another good break.

Happily, he began to play the course. An angel up above was watching Father Phelan and was quite perturbed. He went to God and said, "Have a look at Father Phelan. He should be punished for what he is doing."

God nodded in agreement. After a double on the first hole, the good Father teed up on the second. He swung at the ball, and it sailed effortlessly through the air and landed right in the cup 260 yards away. A picture-perfect hole-in-one.

He was amazed and excited.

The angel was a little shocked. He turned to God and said, "I beg your pardon, but I thought you were going to punish him."

God smiled. "I did. Think about it; who can he tell?"

- Contributed by Hal Kupchak

The Saturday Round

Two of my young buddies, Mark and Ron called and said they wanted to play golf on Sunday morning. All three of us knew it would take some special maneuvering to convince our ladies to let us do it but we all agreed to try.

On Sunday morning everyone arrived at the course at 7:00AM.

Mark said, "I had to take my lady out to dinner to get here guys."

Ron said, "That's nothing. I had to endure dinner and the opera to get out here today and the opera lasted four hours!!!"

I said, "Youth is wasted on the young. I didn't have to do anything to get here."

Mark and Ron were amazed.

Mark said, "Tell us your secret."

I said, "It was easy, when I got up this morning, at 6:00AM, I looked my wife straight in the eye and asked, "Golf course or intercourse?"

She threw me a sweater and said, "Take this, it might get chilly out there!"

- Contributed by Hal Kupchak

Hello, Senor Lucky? This is Ernesto, the caretaker at your country house.

"Hello, Senor Lucky? This is Ernesto, the caretaker at your country house."

"Ah yes, Ernesto. What can I do for you? Is there a problem?"

"Um, I am just calling to advise you, Senor, that your dog died."

"My dog? - Dead? - The one that won the international competition?"

"Si, Senor, that's the one."

"Damn! That's a pity! I spent a small fortune on that dog. What did he die from?"

"From eating spoiled meat, Senor"

"Spoiled meat? Who the hell fed him spoiled meat?"

"Nobody, Senor. He ate the meat of the dead horse."

"Dead horse? What dead horse?"

"Your thoroughbred, Senor Lucky. He died from all that work pulling the water cart"

"Are you insane? What water cart?"

"The one we used to put out the fire, Senor"

"Good Lord! What fire are you talking about, man?"

"The one at your house, Senor! A candle fell and the curtains caught on fire."

"What the!!! But there's electricity at the house!!! What was the candle for?"

"For the funeral, Senor."

"What funeral?!"

"Your brother's, Senor... He showed up one night out of the blue and I thought he was a thief, so I hit him with your new Taylormade Driver."

silence . . . .

"Ernesto, if you broke that driver you're in deep shit!!!"

- Contributed by Hal Kupchak

Her Diary

Her Diary,

We played golf together today. On the way home conversation wasn't flowing so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed but he kept quiet and aloof. I asked him what was wrong. He said nothing. I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said it had nothing to do with me and not to worry. When we got home I felt as if I had lost him, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there watching the golf channel. He seemed distant and absent. Finally, I decided to go to bed, about ten minutes later he came to bed. To my surprise, he responded to my caress and we made love, but I still felt that he was distracted and his thoughts were somewhere else. After I took my makeup off, I decided to confront him with the situation but he had fallen asleep. I started crying and cried until I too fell asleep. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

His Diary

Awful day at the golf course today! Shot a 94 - can't putt worth a damn! Got lucky though.

- Contributed by Hal Kupchak

Two Priests are Having Lunch...

Two priests are having lunch. One priest says to the other priest, "I have sinned. I have used profanity."

Startled, the other priest tells him it might be ok in reference to the text it was used.

He tells him that he was playing golf. The following conversation ensued...

Priest 1: Well, I drove the ball 350 yards right onto the green and right next to the cup.

Preist 2: You used profanity for that?

Priest 1: No. Just as I was walking up to putt, a bird swooped down and picked up my ball, carried it off, and dropped it in the pond.

Priest 2: So then you used profanity?

Priest 1: No. Then a huge snapping turtle came out of the pond with my ball and dropped it almost in the same spot it had landed in the first place.

Priest 2: Well, you must have said whatever you said then?

Priest 1: No. Then this twister came, I ran, and when I came back my ball was gone again.

Priest 2: You got to be kidding? I would have sworn then. Did you?

Priest 1: No. Then that same bird came back and he had my ball in its mouth and dropped it back on the green, 6 inches from the hole. So i ran up to the ball so I could knock it in...

Priest 2: Don't tell me you missed the fucking putt...

Life in the Trap

Great Golfisms

My body is here, but my mind has already teed off.

Here are two things you can do with your head down - play golf and pray. - Lee Trevino

A little girl was at her first golf lesson when she asked an interesting question: 'Is the word spelled p-u-t or p-u-t-t?' she asked the instructor. 'P-u-t-t is correct,' he replied. 'Put means to place a thing where you want it. Putt means merely a vain attempt to do the same thing.'

Art said he wanted to get more distance. I told him to hit it and run backward. - Ken Venturi, on Art Rosenbaum

The only thing in my bag that works is the bug spray. - Bruce Lansky

Golf is a game in which the slowest people in the world are those in front of you, and the fastest are those behind. I've had a good day when I don't fall out of the cart. - Buddy Hackett

Relax? How can anybody relax and play golf? You have to grip the club, don't you? Ben Hogan

I found out that all the important lessons of life are contained in the three rules for achieving a perfect golf swing:

1. Keep your head down.
2. Follow through.
3. Be born with money.

You can make a lot of money in this game. Just ask my ex wives. Both of them are so rich that neither of their husbands work. - Lee Trevino

Play Where You Stay: Myrtle Beach is Four Golf Destinations in One

The Myrtle Beach area and The Grand Strand are synonyms for a 60-mile stretch of the Atlantic coast that straddles the state line between North and South Carolina. As a golfer, if you know only one thing about the region, it’s probably this: There are more than 100 golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area. That’s a lot of golf. In fact, that’s over 2,000 separate golf holes by the time you factor in the 27-hole layouts. If you’re lucky, that’s about 4,000 total putts, plus the roughly 4,000 swings that you’d need to reach all of those greens. If you played non-stop and finished every hole in 10 minutes, it would take you a little over 333 consecutive hours or just shy of 14 whole days and nights without a break. That’s a lot of golf. Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit organization formed in 1967 to promote golf vacations and golf events.

Our membership now includes 96 Grand Strand golf courses with the recent addition of Bald Bead Island Club. There are also 77 resorts in the Myrtle Beach area that are Golf Holiday members and more than 50 of those are located directly on the oceanfront. That’s a lot of rooms and a lot of views. When school’s out in the summertime, those rooms and suites and villas are full of vacationing families. During the other nine months of the year, they offer the same sweeping views of the Atlantic to golfers at big discounts. And since most golfers during the fall, winter and spring seasons in Myrtle Beach would rather spend their days on the golf course than actually swimming in the ocean, that deal works out pretty well for everyone. And since many of our resort members now have heated pools and hot tubs and lazy rivers, visiting golfers should pack their swimsuits for any Grand Strand trip - in any season.

If you think that sounds like a lot of fun, you’re going to like the golf-package part a lot more. A Myrtle Beach golf package usually includes at least three accommodations nights and three or more rounds of golf. All of the 77 Golf Holiday resort members offer complete vacation-package deals that include multiple room nights and golf rounds. Some have special super-savings offers with particular courses, but all will book you on any Grand Strand layout that you request, including all of the Golf Holiday member courses. That’s 77 resorts and 96 golf courses. You do the math. (OK, it’s 7,392.)

That’s a lot of choices. Actually, if you’ve never been to the Myrtle Beach area or haven’t been back to visit us in a while, that might even seem like too many choices. Like getting a whole pie when you really just wanted a healthy slice. At Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, it’s our job to get you the information you need to plan a successful Grand Strand golf vacation, but we recognize that we’re serving up a lot for you to digest. So we’ve gotten together with our friends here at On The Green magazine to break it all down and let you know something about the Myrtle Beach area that you probably didn’t know: The Grand Strand is actually four major golf destination in one. At just about any other major American golf destination, you might have 15 or 20 courses from which to choose and those might be pretty spread out. In the Myrtle Beach area, we have four distinct regions that each have 22 or more courses usually located within a 15 minute drive of one another. Pick the adjacent places you want to play in a long weekend or full week of golf and then book your rooms nearby. Or decide on your accommodations first, then schedule tee times at you choice of layouts located in the immediate area. And don’t think that you have to compromise golf quality for vacation efficiency.

In each of the four Grand Strand regions, you’ll find one or more courses on Golf Digest’s list of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses 2003-2004” and at least seven rated at an “outstanding” four stars or above in Best Places to Play 2004-2005. All of the remainder that are listed earned a “very good” rating of three stars or more. That’s a lot of quality golf where your only short drives are to the next clubhouse. Every one of the four regional destinations on The Grand Strand has its own unique character and featured attractions. Pick the one that appeals the most to you and your golfing companions. Select an accommodations host and golf courses that are in the same general area and you won’t spend that part of your vacation on the road. At the same time, all four regions are easily accessible if you want to make a special trip to play a particular layout or visit an inviting attraction. And that makes a lot of good sense.

THE SOUTH STRAND

Pawleys Island, Litchfield Beach, Murrells Inlet, Garden City and Surfside Beach are resort communities located on the South Strand, along with 22 golf courses that include some of the Myrtle Beach area’s best. Pawleys and Litchfield are part of the historic Waccamaw Neck, a peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Waccamaw River that was known as America’s “Rice Empire” in the 18th and 19th centuries. Murrells Inlet has its own unique history that’s still tied to the bountiful sea, while Garden City and Surfside Beach are oceanfront communities with scores of low-rise condominium properties that are spacious favorites for golf groups. The pace of life is a bit slower on the South Strand and the golf courses reflect that laid-back ambiance. Most could fairly be called “Lowcountry-style” layouts, a label that suggests generally flat, sea-level terrain with marshlands often in play and fairways lined with moss-draped hardwoods. Quite a few South Strand courses are actually located on the sites of those former rice plantations and provide rich winter habitats for migrating waterfowl. Brookgreen Gardens is just such a site and home to America’s largest collection of outdoor sculpture in an awesomely beautiful setting with thousands of flowering plants. Murrells Inlet bills itself as “The Seafood Capitol of South Carolina” because of the fresh catch that arrives on its docks every day to be served up in the many local eateries every night. Scores of additional fine and casual restaurants are located from Pawleys to Surfside along Highway 17 South and Business 17. You’ll also find quaint specialty shops, big golf stores, fun miniature-golf centers, small arcades, full-service marinas and seaside fishing piers.

THE CENTRAL STRAND

The Central Strand region includes the famous oceanfront heart of the City of Myrtle Beach and the Highway 501 corridor west towards Conway. The majority of the Golf Holiday resort members are found here along the beach, including high-rise hotels that feature sweeping ocean views and complete vacation hosts that have on-site dining and other great amenities. As a result, golfers who visit in the “off-season” between September and April find an astounding variety of lodging choices at prices to satisfy every taste and budget. The Central Strand golf courses offer their own distinct variety. Dunes Club and Pine Lakes are the most historic sites in Myrtle Beach golf history, but along nearby Highway 501 and Bypass 17 are a collection of more than 20 modern classics. Most have been built during the “modern era” of Grand Strand golf that began in the early 1980s and many boast big-name architects who were given plenty of land to create their roomy designs. Some are “links-style” layouts with few trees and frequent mounding, while others could be called “parkland” courses because of the abundance of trees along the fairways. In addition to the wonderfully old-fashioned pavilions, arcades and novelty shops on Ocean Boulevard, the Central Strand region includes Broadway at the Beach, a complete entertainment complex that includes restaurants, nightclubs, retail stores, the SC Aquarium and an IMAX movie theater. There are also dozens of superb restaurants along Kings Highway, great shopping at the new Coastal Grand Mall and unbeatable deals at name-brand discount outlets and golf superstores. And the big oceanfront fishing piers can hook you up with all the equipment you need to rent for the day.

THE NORTH STRAND

The growing city of North Myrtle Beach, which incorporates several seaside communities, plus the towns of Little River and Longs, make up The North Strand area. The variety of available accommodations here ranges from oceanfront resorts and hotels to fully furnished and equipped high-rise condos by the sea to spacious golf villas and townhomes. The two dozen North Strand golf courses are an inviting mix of old and new, including a number of classic resort layouts built in the 1970s that have been lovingly maintained ever since. You’ll also find several courses located right along the Intracoastal Waterway and a number of others with water-and-woodland settings that defy singular classification. Some are Scottish-style links, while others bear the signatures of the game’s most respected designers. Restaurant Row is a highlight of any North Strand vacation, with miles of sit-down and buffet-style restaurants that serve up hearty meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nearby Barefoot Landing has additional eateries, plus shops, nightclubs and entertainment theaters. There are also designer outlets and big golf shops on the North Strand, plus a host of after-hours attractions and a year-round calendar of themed events. There are also several full-service North Strand marinas where you can charter a boat for deep-sea fishing or coastal sightseeing.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY

Just north of the state line between the two Carolinas is Brunswick County, the “youngest” of the four Grand Strand golf regions, but by no means the least. The friendly towns of Calabash and Shallotte are part of Brunswick County, as well as the oceanfront communities of Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle, Holden Beach and Bald Head Island. The quiet accommodations here include full-service golf resorts and large single-family homes on the barrier islands. Many of the best new Grand Strand golf courses are located in Brunswick County. Some feature countryside settings with a rural character, while a number of others are set in maritime forests that open up to spectacular waterfront views. Famous designers have left their marks in Brunswick, in addition to some of golf’s best young architects. Their natural styles are as varied as the terrain itself. Calabash is Brunswick County’s “Seafood Town,” with a tempting host of restaurants lined up for your dining pleasure. But while there has been some commercial development in recent years, including new movie theaters, restaurants and retail stores, Brunswick’s main attraction is the small-town lifestyle that the locals have worked hard to retain. So if you want a choice of 24 great golf courses without the arcades, nightclubs and neon lights, then a stay-and-play Brunswick vacation might be a good choice. Besides, the multitude of attractions and entertainments found in the Central and North Strand regions are just a short drive south if you want to enjoy a little day trip or a big night on the town.

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