A new force in the Myrtle Beach golf industry is being created with the merger of the two largest golf package providers in the market.
MyrtleBeachGolf.com and Golf Trek, which operates in part as MyrtleBeachGolf.app, are joining forces.
The merger is expected to be finalized on Sept. 5.
Golf Trek owner Parker Smith will be the CEO of the new company, which will have an initial golf sales staff of 28. The two enduring brands will continue to be used, at least in the immediate aftermath of the merger.
MyrtleBeachGolf.com is owned by Brittain Resorts & Hotels, which was founded in 1943, and Golf Trek has been operating since 1979. The two entities have booked millions of golf rounds on the Grand Strand.
“We’re very excited about what that merger means for us,” Brittain Resorts president Matthew Brittain said. “Parker is good at what he does and we bring certain things to the table.”
Packages combining lodging and tee times for vacationing golf groups are an integral part of the Strand’s spring and fall golf seasons, and package companies can offer golfers a vast array of courses and lodging options.
The marketplace has changed over the past two decades however, as the number of package companies has decreased by an estimated 50 percent from a high of about 140.
“The trend is that it is harder and harder for tee time packagers. If you’re not part of a hotel or golf course company then it is becoming increasingly more difficult to compete in that arena,” Brittain said. “. . . That is the result of higher levels of competition where golf courses are marketing directly to the end customer. That’s made it more difficult for our types of companies. But we still have a role.”
A multitude of assets
Though the merger combines only the golf package aspects of both companies, it brings together conglomerates that include property management, restaurants, websites, proprietary golf software and media entities, and combines their talented teams, cutting-edge technologies and extensive industry connections.
Brittain Resorts & Hotels manages more than a dozen premier resorts encompassing more than 4,000 rooms, suites, condominium units and villas, as well as more than 35 restaurants, tiki bars and coffee shops. It has more than 2,500 employees.
MyrtleBeachGolf.com operates sales and information kiosks at the entrances of both PGA Tour Superstore locations in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach.
Smith’s Golf Trek-affiliated companies and assets include the Affordable Large Properties vacation rental company with more than 200 lodging units with between two to eight bedrooms; a marketing email database of more than 300,000 golf customers; more than 20 live websites; proprietary golf business software; the Myrtle Beach Golf App and its many features; and the On The Green Magazine online and print publication.
The combined managed lodging properties stretch from Sunset Beach, N.C., to Pawleys Island, S.C., and can be combined in golf packages with any of the 70-plus public courses between them.
“Combining these established and respected companies allows us to give our customers a lodging experience that can match the top-notch golf experience that Myrtle Beach is known for,” Smith said. “From oceanfront resorts to golf course villas, we have something for everybody from Pawleys Island to Sunset Beach. We’re now a one-stop shop for anything and everything golf on the Grand Strand.”
