Jake Benton
Head Professional – Arrowhead Country Club
- Years at the course: 10
- Years in the Myrtle Beach market: 12
- Years in the golf industry: 12
- Birthplace/Hometown: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- College: Clemson University
- Affiliation: PGA of America
- Favorite hole at your course: Cypress nine No. 2, par-5, 571 yards: “The most common answer to this question is likely Waterway #5, which runs entirely along the Intracoastal Waterway. However, my personal favorite is Cypress #2. From the back tee it is a true three-shot par 5. From the white tees it can be reachable for long hitters, however it requires an excellent second shot. It runs along a canal from tee to green and you have forced carries on both your tee shot and your approach shot. The mounding along the right side of the fairway is also unique to the area with rolling hills the entire length of the fairway. It is just a very unique and challenging hole that rewards good shots, but can be very penalizing to bad shots.”
- Favorite thing about your course or club: “My favorite thing at Arrowhead are the Intracoastal Waterway views. There are several spots along the golf course where you get great views of the Waterway and it is always peaceful to watch the boats cruise by. We overseed our course wall to wall, so come April when the grass is bright green and the fairways are striped, it is hard to beat the views overlooking the Intracoastal.”
- Strangest request from a customer: “A group of 16 had a replay scheduled for an afternoon one day and wanted to all play together instead of their designated time slots for four foursomes. After asking if they could do this and being told no, the group decided to try anyway, which we stopped quickly on the first tee. Unfortunately, that is a request we cannot fulfill. I don’t think the groups behind would be too happy.”
- CRAZIEST thing that has ever happened at your course: “We have had quite a few crazy incidents at the course, many of them not good. We have several carts every year that somehow end up in our ponds on the course one way or another. However, I would like to highlight one of the cooler things that has happened. A few years ago there was an air show done by the Blue Angels at the Myrtle Beach Airport, which is very close by. Throughout that entire week, they were practicing right over the top of the golf course and doing their stunts. Obviously what those men and women can do is unbelievable, and seeing it done right over the course while people were playing golf made for a really fun week for everyone. We were even lucky enough to have several members of the Blue Angels play that week.”
