Important Tip: Club Up when playing golf in Myrtle Beach

Many golfers that travel to Myrtle Beach and the Southeast always seem to think that their game transitions to which ever course and environment they are used to playing. That is not always the case when playing golf here at the “Golf Capital of the World”.

There are several elements that golfers must consider when teeing up at one of the 90+ courses: weather, including humidity and wind; green elevation and course terrain.  I try to touch on a few to help you beat your playing partners on your next Myrtle Beach golf trip.

Going the Distance – Wind, Sea Level & Humidity

Most area golf courses are affected by the wind coming off the Ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway. Depend on the day, the wind can make each hole seem like you are hitting each shot into the wind. The conditions vary day by day so make sure you take wind into account.  For example: let’s say you normally hit a 7-iron 150 yards. Well, if you are playing into the wind coming at your face at 20 mph, you are only going to be getting 130 yards out of your shot.  What this means is you need to “Club Up”, by using a 5-iron instead.  This will get you that distance you need to make it to that 150 mark.  With the wind in your face, it pushes the ball higher into the air, causing it to not travel as far.

Another note to consider, the Myrtle Beach area golf courses are at sea level.  I don’t want to break out the whole scientific barometric pressure card here, BUT, as a general rule, your ball does not travel as far as when you are at sea level as opposed to the mountains or even inland. To make it worse, humidity also comes into play. General science note here, humid air is thicker so your ball doesn’t go as far.

Raised Greens & Natural Fairways

Keeping that in mind, the majority of green complexes are above the fairways, meaning you are hitting shots up hill onto the greens. Yet another reason to “Club Up”. You will need to actually cover a bit more distance than normally. The greens are raised mainly for two reason: a) Challenge – adds a bit more sport to the game. b) Drainage  (because we are at sea level) – Logically speaking, who wants a soggy green? The water will run off to the side.

Now that you have to worry about the wind, and up hill shots into greens, I want to mention one more swing thought before you hit the shot. Since, most golf course architects design their courses using as much of the natural terrain as possible. With that being said, very rarely are you going to have a flat lie — just something else to keep in mind during your play.

In the video below, Hugh Royer III Director of Instruction at the SC Golf Center, explains how to hit an uphill, into the wind shot off a side hill lie, a very common shot for golf in Myrtle Beach:

Categories: Golf Tips.