Jay Smith
General Manager – Prestwick Country Club
- Years at the course: 25
- Years in the Myrtle Beach market: 36
- Years in the golf industry: 31
- Birthplace/Hometown: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- College: Coastal Carolina University
- Affiliation: PGA of America
- Favorite hole at your course: No. 9, par-5, 537 yards: “It is a risk/reward par-5 with a lake running the entire length on the left side of the hole. It can make your score on the front nine or break your score. Many good rounds have come to die on this hole. It has a wide fairway and is protected by water on the left and rough with lots of mounding on the right. The green is protected by numerous bunkers both short and long. All of them will cause issues especially the one on the back of the green. It is about 12 feet deep and your shot coming out is staring straight at the lake. The green has lots of movement and is always quick. If you reach the green in 2 which long hitters can do, there is a good chance of birdie. if you lay up, your third shot needs to be placed in the proper spot or you could be looking at a three-putt.”
- Favorite thing about your course or club: “The atmosphere and conditioning of the course created by the staff for our golfers to have a wonderful experience. Everyone is nice and speaks to each other. It’s a pleasure to go to work everyday.”
- Strangest request from a customer: “A golfer forgot to put the parking brake on when he parked the cart beside a green. The cart took off and rolled down the path and into a lake. He called the pro shop and asked if we would go in the lake and retrieve his and his partner’s clubs and personal belongings. Of course we ended up pulling the cart out and he got his possessions.”
- CRAZIEST thing that has ever happened at your course: “A golfer was on No. 14 tee waiting to tee off and one of our starters noticed something kept splashing in the lake beside the tee. He rode up on the group and realized one of the golfers was throwing his clubs in the water one by one. He asked was everything OK and the guys in the group let him know the guy throwing the clubs had just made bogey on Hole 13 and was upset so he was throwing his clubs in the water. Our starter asked why one by one and the golfer replied that he wanted to make sure no one could retrieve the clubs and build a full set so he was scattering them all over the lake.”
