Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Inducts Six

The six inaugural members of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame were honored in a ceremony held on March 12, 2009 at Pine Lakes Country Club. W. Cecil Brandon, Clay Brittain, Jr., Carolyn Cassidy Cudone, Jimmy D’Angelo, General James F. Hackler, Jr. and Robert White were recognized for their contributions to the Myrtle Beach golf industry and honored with a permanent monument located in the Pine Lakes Country Club Hall of Fame Garden, adjacent to the newly renovated Clubhouse.

The Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame was created in September 2008 to honor the men and women who were instrumental in all aspects of the Myrtle Beach area golf industry, from teaching to playing, course design and construction to administration. Individuals were nominated by members of the Myrtle Beach golf industry and the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Board of Directors reviewed each nomination before selecting the most outstanding candidates.

“We are excited to debut the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame today and feel that these six individuals really exemplified the objective of the Hall of Fame; to honor the men and women who were trailblazers in the Myrtle Beach area golf industry,” said Bob Swezey, chairman of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Board of Directors, and executive vice president of golf and resort operations for Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. “More than 30 nominations for the inaugural class of 2009 were received and it was very difficult for the Board to narrow the nominees down to six. We applaud the dedication and commitment by these individuals to the Myrtle Beach community.”

Through his tireless marketing efforts, W. Cecil Brandon brought worldwide recognition to the Myrtle Beach area and to the state of South Carolina. One of the founding fathers of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, Brandon has long been credited as the one of the masterminds behind Myrtle Beach’s booming golf industry. He worked closely with the PGA TOUR to build the Tournament Players Club of Myrtle Beach and helped bring the PGA Senior TOUR Championship to the Grand Strand.

Clay Brittain, Jr. played an instrumental role in uniting the golf and tourism industries in Myrtle Beach. Brittain was an important partner in the birth of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday in 1967. In 1971, he founded the Myrtle Beach National Company and developed it into one of the largest golf course and accommodations ownership groups in the Southeast.

Carolyn Cassidy Cudone will long be remembered as the pioneer of the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Association. Cudone was the driving force behind the area’s original junior golf program for more than 20 years. Thanks to her insight and hard work, more than 15 Grand Strand area junior golfers earned college golf scholarships during this time.

Jimmy D’Angelo’s marketing acumen helped brand Myrtle Beach as a major golf destination. His brainchild, the 1954 testimonial dinner for course architect Robert Trent Jones, quickly developed into the annual Golf Writers Association of America Championship, a media tournament tradition held before The Masters that ensured Myrtle Beach an audience with the golf media industry.

General James F. Hackler, Jr. revolutionized the Myrtle Beach golf industry by combining tee times and accommodations to form the first golf package. He was also instrumental in the 1972 opening of Bay Tree Golf Plantation, Myrtle Beach’s first three-course facility, and helped bring the 1977 LPGA Championship to Bay Tree, attracting national media to the Grand Strand area.(Read On The Green's story on General Hackler here)

Robert White was the original architect of Myrtle Beach’s first golf course, the Ocean Forest Country Club, that opened in that 1927, and is now known as Pine Lakes Country Club. He was chosen as the first president of the United States Professional Golf Association of America when it was founded in 1916 and he served in the position until 1920.

“Being inducted into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame is a very special honor,” said Cecil Brandon, one of the six Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame inductees. “To be included in this inaugural class of inductees is very humbling in light of all they have done to make Myrtle Beach the ‘Golf Capital of the World.’ Thanks to Burroughs & Chapin and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday for creating this occasion that will continue to honor others in the future who surely belong in the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.”

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