Sandesh Sharda is quickly becoming a player in the Myrtle Beach golf market.
He closed on the purchase of International Club of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet on Tuesday, giving him a stake in three golf properties containing five courses over just the past three months.
Sharda purchased Rivers Edge Golf Club in Shallotte, N.C., in September, and is among the partners who purchased Sea Trail Golf Resort’s three courses and other property and buildings within the resort in Sunset Beach, N.C., in November.
“I didn’t have anything in South Carolina, so if people are flying into Myrtle Beach they can enjoy this one on one day, then drive to our other facilities at Sea Trail and Rivers Edge,” Sharda said. “That is what we thought. Why not have a mix of audience because Myrtle Beach is a growing area?”
Sharda is new to the golf business and is bringing some ambitious and fresh ideas for his courses and properties.
At International Club, a moderately priced course in the market, he plans to build a pair of Pickleball courts, upgrade the kitchen with a pizza oven, and place a mobile ice cream cart near the clubhouse.
“What drives me to acquire golf courses is it’s a fun business,” Sharda said. “There are ways to modernize the industry. It’s all about upgrading the experience and people will see the value in it.”
Sharda, a 30-year resident of the Washington, DC, area, founded and operated for two decades Miracle Systems, an IT services and consulting firm that contracted with numerous federal agencies including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Air Force.
He sold the company in March, he said, and entered the golf business for the first time on the Grand Strand.
“I feel that it’s a good investment, plus I bring a different perspective, right?” Sharda said. “I worked all along in the DC area and I’m trying to get a country flavor and bring something new to the table. So let’s see what we can do there.”
Sharda’s ideas at Rivers Edge include valet parking and solar energy, and there are a myriad of changes and improvements taking place at Sea Trail.
Changes at International Club
International Club is a 6,850-yard, par-72 Willard Byrd design that opened in 2000.
East Coast Golf Management will continue to manage the course. It manages six layouts on the Grand Strand – all of Sharda’s in addition to Wachesaw Plantation East – and has a total of 23 courses in its Myrtle Beach Golf Trail marketing cooperative.
Sharda will renovate the clubhouse to change the “look and feel” of the interior, install a clubhouse patio with seating for outdoor dining, upgrade the kitchen to change the menu, and begin offering dinner hours for the surrounding community.
“The game plan is to do a complete renovation inside,” he said.
The ice cream cart with four flavors will be generally stationed just outside the clubhouse and be available to the general public as well as golfers.
“There are a lot of things that we are offering or upgrading so we can offer a better food and beverage experience,” he said. “There are over 2,000 residents close to International Club, and I think that a lot of kids around the area that would love to have an ice cream cart out there.”
He plans for the two Pickleball courts near the clubhouse to be available for rent and available to non-golfers.
“We want to create a flexible package where if they want to have it combined with membership there might be a slight increase, but if they want to only do Pickleball and dinner services or food services, we are trying to work out that model,” Sharda said.
Sharda says he hopes to increase what is currently a small membership at the club with the upgrades and new offerings, “but we are open to having more non-membership public to come to our club. There’s more to it that we are offering,” he said.
Cart path repairs and replacement are among the improvements planned, and like at Rivers Edge, he plans to get a new cart fleet from Club Car with the Visage GPS monitors that feature golf course GPS, menus that will allow players to order food on the cart, and Bluetooth connectivity with speakers that will allow music to be played. “We’re trying to create a fun experience,” said East Coast president Mike Buccerone.
Sharda isn’t afraid to fund improvements at his new properties.
“I am not afraid to spend money, that is a correct statement,” said Sharda, who added that he’s interested in acquiring more area golf courses. “You’ve got to put money to make something better and hopefully people see the value in it. It’s an experience for everyone including us.”
Changing hands again
Sharda purchased the course from Grand Strand resident Chris Manning of Chris Manning Communities, a construction, development and realty company. Manning had purchased International Club in November 2020.
Manning closed the driving range last November to begin work on a small 44-home development called The Glasgow Village on the site.
The course joined a few others in the market including Pine Lakes Country Club and Caledonia Golf & Fish Club without an area to practice or warm up before a round.
A building near the clubhouse that had been used for golf instruction was remodeled and a portion has been used as a real estate sales office. Buccerone said that will become a turn house with food and beverage and outdoor seating on a patio, and a boutique convenience store.
Through an agreement with the community homeowners association, Manning committed a portion of the revenue from each home sale to be dedicated to club improvements, totaling $300,000.
“The HOA there has been tremendous to work with and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them,” Buccerone said. “The clubhouse and what we’re doing is to give the community another place to eat and hang out.”
Community amenities for new homeowners include an existing pool and fitness center.
Manning was previously a partner in Diamondback Golf Club in Loris but sold his interests a few years ago.
The 23 courses in the Myrtle Beach Golf Trail are Lockwood Folly, Rivers Edge, Sandpiper Bay (27 holes), The Pearl (27 holes), Crow Creek, Meadowlands, Diamondback, Crown Park, River Oaks, Glen Dornoch, Shaftesbury Glen, Arcadian Shores, Prestwick, Blackmoor, Wachesaw East, International Club, Wellman Club, Wedgefield, Man O’War, The Wizard, and Sea Trail’s Jones, Byrd and Maples courses.
