Tourists of all ages come to Myrtle Beach for many reasons.  This is no different for the golfers that come to the Grand Strand.  Whether it’s to escape the weather or the husband/wife for a few days, each person has his/her own reason.  With well over 80 courses to choose from, the Myrtle Beach area can accommodate the needs of most golfers.  From price to incentives and from distance to difficulty, golfers use these determining factors to choose where they want to play each year.  Over time, golfers find reasons to create a list of favorites…whether you scored your lowest round ever at a course, you made your first hole-in-one, or the course and the weather always seemed to be ideal all can be responsible for helping make the list.

Here are my top-5 most peaceful courses to play:

#5) River’s Edge

River’s Edge

River’s Edge located along the Shallotte River. Not only is it a scenic course with spectacular views, you are sure to have relaxing day.  Catching cool breezes off the many water hazards while playing risk reward par 4’s and 5’s will keep you coming back.  If you are anything like me, depending on how you are playing, you might rather be on one of the many boats doing a little afternoon fishing.

#4) Pawley’s Plantation

Pawley’s Plantation

Coming in at #4 is Pawley’s Plantation, a Jack Nicklaus signature course located on the south end of the Grand Strand. The tree-lined front 9 winds through beautiful neighborhoods while playing well-manicured holes.  What sets this course apart are the inlet views and the sound of the ocean that can be heard on 6 of the holes on the back 9.  Par 3’s that play over Atlantic coastal marshes with sometime huge wind gusts challenge golfers of all ages.

#3) Dunes Club

9th Green at The Dunes Club

Coming in at #3 on my list, the Dunes Club never disappoints if you are looking for a relaxing day on the course.   The crashing of the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, the quiet serenity of the historic grounds from previous Champions Tour events, as well as the beautiful layout Robert Trent Jones created easily puts the Dunes in my top-5. The only reason that the Dunes Club is not higher is the fact that 2 golf holes are located right along Highway 17 which takes away from what would make it a perfect afternoon of golf.

#2) Caledonia Golf & Fish Club

Caledonia Golf & Fish

#2 on my list is Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, also located in Pawley’s Island and one of Mike Stranz‘s finest designs.  This amazing layout is an all around quiet, relaxing experience from the time you drive through the 200-year old live oaks lining your path to the first hole until watching golfer’s final approach shots while rocking in chairs on the back porch of the clubhouse.  Nothing says relaxing and Lowcountry like playing the Caledonia Golf &Fish Club.

 #1) Bald Head Island

Bald Head Island in NC

Atop my list is Bald Head Island – a course so peaceful and secluded that you can only reach it by ferry.  If you ever want to take one day out of the year to enjoy life and the game of golf, I advise you spend it at Bald Head Island Golf Club.  Your day starts with a peaceful 25 minute ferry ride to the Island.  Once there, you and your clubs are taken by golf cart to the clubhouse on the other side of the Island.  You then begin your adventure on the George Cobb (and just recently renovated) Tim Cate design.  The sound of the ocean and beach wildlife fill you head and relax you while you play some of the best golf holes the Carolinas have to offer.  Most golfers never want to leave so the course allows free replays.  Most people take advantage of this just to enjoy a sunset cruise before the travel back to civilization and reality.

While not making it into my top-5 personal favorites, honorable mentions go to Tidewater and Cape Fear National – both spectacular, peaceful courses to play while visiting the Grand Strand!

The annual Valentine’s Day Massacre at the Dye Club had to be postponed due to icy weather conditions to the 25th of February.

You may be asking yourself “what is the Valentine’s Day Massacre?”.  Well it’s when the Superintendent of the golf course gets revenge on the golfers!  

The Dye course, which was voted South Carolina’s “Golf Course of the Year” for 2013  already is one of the toughest tracks along the Grand Strand.  From the Platinum, or the back tees, this course measures well over 7300 yards —  but that did not stop Duane Whittle, the Superintendent of the Dye Club at Barefoot Golf Resort.  He stretched the course out to close to 7800 yards, by creating new teeing areas for a select few golfers that wanted to punish themselves on a windy day in February.

Garrett Fonvielle and Hugh Royer, III

The format for the tournament is a 2-man scramble, with groups playing in 4-somes.  Each of the groups swapping scorecards to make sure no one got pencil-whipped.  Some of the groups had to take their scorecards with them to the greens, using a tally system, to make sure the other players were accurately keeping track of their putts.

I can tell you first hand, it’s harder than you think.

My 2-man team consisted of myself and Hugh Royer III.  Hugh played professionally for 14 years, which included 4 wins on the Web.com tour, 1 win on the South African Tour, and 4 years on the PGA Tour.

Tough Pin

After 2 great shots, we were putting for eagle and ended up making a 10.  This may give you an indication of the pin placements on some of these swift greens!  The greens that day were rolling around a 14 on the stimpmeter and the pin placements, if there was a pin in the hole at all, were in some of the most vicious places.  Two of the holes had the cup cut on the front of the green with the pin located off of the back of the green. Certain holes had no pins, only holes cut so when approaching the green you had no idea where to hit the ball.  To top it all off, the wind was gusting up to 20-mph which always seemed to be in our face.  On the other hand it was a beautiful sunny day in Myrtle Beach with the temperatures reaching 72 degrees that day.

By the way, we finished in 4th place carding a 92 for the day.

If you would like to play in this event feel free to come down in February and try your luck.  The event is open to the public.

If you would just like to play the course normally, we can accommodate that as well.  You can play a single round at the Dye Club if you like with the best pricing given on Wednesday’s of each week with the “Thank Barefoot It’s Wednesday” deal. You may also play the Dye Club along with its sister courses.. the Love, Norman, and Fazio discounted in our Barefoot 4-round Special.

Beautiful view of The Clubhouse at Prestwick

In late August, I had the opportunity to play a course that I had not played in quite some time.  Jay Smith, the Head Professional at Prestwick Country Club in Myrtle Beach, SC, invited me and a few other golf directors to play at his course.

Pete Dye Deep Bunkers

The Pete and P.B. Dye links-style designed course is a beautiful layout that is complimented by undulating fairways and some of the fastest greens in Myrtle Beach thanks to the Tifeagle Bermuda.  The day we played, temperatures and humidity were high and the greens were rolling a 15 on the stimpmeter.  Yes, that is correct, a FIFTEEN!

I played with Jason Corneau, the 1st assistant, and he gave me a ton of knowledge about the course and how it was built. When playing, you may be able to see the differences, but supposedly 9 holes were designed by the father, Pete Dye, and 9 holes were designed by the son, P.B. Dye.  Each of their 9 hole layouts winds through manicured neighborhoods adorned with amazing homes throughout.

A majestic clubhouse overlooks a massive lake that was constructed using the fill dirt to create the rolling fairways and slick greens as well as the elevated teeing areas.    Jason also told me the lake, once dug out and before it was filled with water, had banks created on the interior walls and P.B. would drive his Cadillac around pretending it was a race track.  Just like most Dye designs, the course tends to start off fairly easy with the difficulty level increasing as the course progresses.  This is apparent on the 451 yard par-4 14th hole in addition to hole number 16, which is a 200 yard par-3 with a multi-tier green that if played incorrectly is bound to ruin your round.  If you make it through these two holes unscathed, awaiting you will be a 551 yard par-5 and the finishing hole is a long par-4 where the green is protected to the left by a large lake and to the front, back, and right by deep bunkers.  GOOD LUCK!

Prestwick Entrance

Prestwick can be played as a single round or it can be played in two different packages.  Click the links below to view the discounts on package pricing you can receive.

Strand Elite

18th Tee

The 114th U.S. Men’s Open Championship was just completed a few weeks ago with as many stories coming in about the winner as there were about the course itself.

With a pair of 65’s the first and second day of the tournament, Martin Kaymer, 29, of Germany, jumped out to a 6-shot lead and never looked back.  After a tough round of 72 on Saturday, he righted the ship, and shot 1 under on Sunday to win the tournament by 8 strokes.  This was the largest margin of victory in the U.S. Open since 2000 when Tiger Woods won by 15 strokes.  Kaymer did not make a double bogey during the entire tournament.  Based on the conditions and the speed of the greens, this was a victory in itself.

Congratulations for 4 great rounds of championship golf, but let’s find out a little more about the course.

Transformation Hole 9

Architect Donald Ross is responsible for designing the famous Pinehurst No. 2.  The course was completed in 1907, but Ross continued to make changes to the course that is considered his masterpiece until his death in April of 1948.  In a 2011 renovation project by  Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, plans were implemented to restore the native sandy areas which were once a large part of Ross’s original design.

Pinehurst No. 2 has hosted two previous U.S. Opens: in 1999 (won by Payne Stewart) and in 2005 (won by Michael Campbell).  Pinehurst No. 2 has served as the site of more single golf championships than any course in America.  It also makes history this year by becoming the first to host the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships in consecutive weeks.

Some of the viewers watching the tournament turn to social media to voice their opinions about the conditions at Pinehurst.  There were mixed opinions about the course, especially the natural areas, and how the players had to adapt their game to the conditions.   On TV, the course looked brown in many areas that in most traditional professional events were always green and plush.  The PGA and the USGA differ in how  courses should be set up.  Just look at how plush Augusta National is during Master’s week, then turn around and look at Pinehurst this year.  From my personal standpoint, I enjoy the difference in the course conditions.  Pinehurst seemed long, quick, and tough but you got rewarded for hitting fairways.  The only drawback was that on some of the holes if you hit the fairway you were sometimes still hitting off of brown, dry areas.  The course did save over 40 million gallons of water by recreating the sandy areas, but was it a success?  I guess it depends on who you ask.. the golfer, the fan, or the guy paying the water bill.

Regardless of the course conditions, I still enjoyed watching some of the inventive shots players made, like Ken Duke putting into the bunker and then holing out to make par on the 9th hole.  To me, that is what Championship golf is all about, shot shaping and shot creation.

Use this blog as a forum and let me know what your thoughts are on the course conditions of Pinehurst No 2.

With the world dependent upon online technology and the need for quick and easy computer transactions, it’s easy to get caught up in the fluff surrounding online booking, ESPECIALLY booking golf packages online. But did you know that booking golf is a pretty intense process?  The rate structures, the a.m. and p.m. price differences, the maintenance schedules, course conditions, and much more are all things that need to be addressed by the guy or gal actually BOOKING your golf package.  And rest assured, you can’t PROGRAM that stuff into a computer.

All in all, you really should TALK with somebody on the phone before booking any package. You could miss out on some nice price savings or even worse, you could have a pretty horrible golf trip that COULD have been avoided.

The DIFFERENCES, Plain & Simple

Online sites may not be the way you would like to go.  Here are a few things you may want to look at before booking.

1.  What are the course conditions like?

Golf courses throughout the year go through changes.  These changes can be due to many variables, such as weather, excessive play, and unforeseen circumstances such as irrigation issues.  When booking tee times online without speaking to a golf director, make sure to call the courses, if a number is available, and hope the course gives you an honest response to your questions. We golf directors get the inside scoop from our golfers. They may not report their bad condition experience directly to the course, but will be HONEST with their golf director.

2.  What maintenance is scheduled before, during, or after my selected dates?

When booking online, most systems will not tell you if courses will be under maintenance or just coming off of maintenance.  Good greens are important to golfers and no golfer wants to play on a course that has just aerified their greens or just put brand new greens in.  Greens, tees, and fairways need time to heal after re-sodding and aerification processes.  Usually 2 to 3 weeks is ample healing time for these processes.

3.  Do I get a discount if I book more than one round with certain particular courses?

After going online and trying to create my own package on…um… other undisclosed websites, I was amazed at the price I was given for certain courses.  I am not going to say what courses I wanted to play, but I chose a 5-round package and selected my courses.   The online site was $97 higher per golfer than if booked through me!  As stated before, all those weird stipulations have to be programmed in and sometimes it’s just not accurate.  If you think about it, we have over 90 courses in the area, all with different rates.  That’s a lot of programming! So the human element disconnect here is VERY important.

4.  Does it matter what time of day I play, and will this affect my pricing?

Time of day most certainly does matter.  If you play certain courses before 8:15 or 8:30, depending on the course, you can get a reduced rate.  If you play courses on a Monday through Wednesday, you can get a reduced rate.  PM rates (rates after 12 noon) are usually cheaper.  Also 48-hour rates (also known as last minute rates) can also save you a ton of money.  The only drawback to the 48-hour rate is that the tee time has to be booked within 48 hours, so on busy courses or in the busy season you may not get the desired tee time you would like.

5.  If I book an accommodations with my golf package do I get a discount?

Here at www.northmyrtlebeachgolf.com, we offer each guest staying with us a discount on their unit if they book their golf with us.  The discount can be a little as 13% off of the base rate or as much as 25% off of the base rate.  It all depends on the unit and the time of year each group is wanting to book.

6.  Do I get a discount if I bring a certain amount of golfers?

Golf courses would like to reward the leaders of groups who bring larger size groups to their courses.  Some courses give free golf if you bring 16 or more golfers, some offer it to the 20th golfer.  Some courses offer free green fees only.  Every little bit helps when you are bringing in large groups.

These are just a few things you as a golfer or group leader need to look at when booking your next golf package – whether it’s here in Myrtle Beach or any other golf destination.  If you have any other questions or would like additional  information on the above topics, feel free to call us.

You’d be surprised how many balls are at the bottom of a difficult water hazard.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the golf balls that you hit into the water hazards on golf courses?  They aren’t left there!  If you buy refurbished balls, you might be buying the ones you sunk into that par 5 a few months ago!

How Many Golf Balls We Talkin’ Here?

To start this process, let’s break down how many golf balls could possibly be out there.

Here in the Myrtle Beach area, in 2012, courses along the Grand Strand totaled over 1.7 million paid rounds of golf.

**This figure does not include free rounds,  replay rounds, or tournament rounds**  So it is safe to say that close to 2.5 million rounds were played along the Grand Strand in 2012.  Out of all of those rounds, on average, each golfer tends to lose 6 golf balls per round.  And out of those 6 balls 75% percent end up in water hazards.

This gives us a possibility of 10 million golf balls lost to water hazards per year here in Myrtle Beach.

The first thing that pops into my mind is the number of penalty strokes.  No wonder the average golf score is a 100.  I also wonder how many balls are sunk around The Gambler hole at Kings North.

But the question still remains, where do all the balls go?  Here are a few possibilities…

Alright, So What DOES Happen to Them? GatorFood?

If you play late in the afternoon, you can find the occasional homeowner that lives on the golf course “ball hawking” the  pond’s edges to find hidden treasures.

Depending on where the course is located, the muddy marsh areas can swallow golf balls as fast as well.

But the majority of the golf balls get rescued by divers.  Alan Simpson has one of the largest companies here in Myrtle
Beach for this purpose.  He has divers that go out everyday on our wonderful Myrtle Beach courses to scour the ponds.  Once collected, he groups the balls by many different criteria such as brand and condition .  He then cleans and washes them and either gives some of  them back to the golf course as payment for letting him treasure hunt their ponds, or he resales them to local business that then turn around and re-sell them to the golfer as refurbished balls.

A New Found Respect for Divers, then!

But lets get back to the divers for a minute.  These guys to me are kamikazes!  They go into these murky ponds searching for golf balls at the same time swimming with snapping turtles, poisonous snakes, and large alligators. (Yes, they all chill out in the Myrtle Beach area.)   I am not sure if these guys get paid well, but I sure hope they get health insurance.  After speaking with a few of the divers, they tell me that the alligators usually leave them alone or just come up and nudge them while they are swimming.  This is one job I will never have to put on my resume.  I will leave this one for the professionals.

The 4th green at Tidewater overlooking Cherry Grove Inlet

A first hand look at Tidewater Golf Club and Plantation.    Ranked #2 for March as www.northmyrtlebeachgolf.com’s top 10 courses to play.

I was invited out to Tidewater Plantation March 27th with a few other Golf  Directors to play their course. It turned out to be a perfect Spring day for golfing in the Carolina’s.   Tidewater is a beautiful layout designed by Ken Tomlinson & Hale Irwin with scenic marsh, ocean, and waterway views. Tidewater has been called by some the “Pebble Beach of the East Coast.”  The course is located on the Northern end of the Grand Strand and is tucked between Cherry Grove and the Intracoastal Waterway.   This expansive layout stretches over 5 miles from the #1 tee box to the green at #18 and back to the clubhouse yet the course only measures 7,044 yards from the Championship (Black) Tees.

The 12th hole at Tidewater is a challenging par 3 that plays 189 yards from the Championship tees with more times than not has an ocean breeze directly in your face.

The average golfer will not be able to score well here due to difficulty of the greens, deep bunkers, and prevailing coastal winds that swirl throughout the property.  However the GPS on the carts does help the golfers navigate the course with a bit more ease.  My three fellow golfers found it to be very helpful.  The risk reward holes for the more advanced golfers can make this course play shorter than normal and with the wide open fairways on most of the par 4’s gives the more accurate golfer a better chance to score a good number.

I have to give a shout out to one of the guys in our foursome.  Rich Bartram, Director of Marketing for Barefoot Resort, is a good friend and a great golfer.   He cut me on a skin on the par 5 number 8 hole.  He stuck his second shot to inside 2 feet and went on to sink his Eagle putt.  Rich can really hit the long ball when he wants to and I think has too much time on his hands to practice.

The 8th hole at Tidewater is a short par 5 that parallels the Intracoastal Waterway

We all had a great day playing and enjoyed the hospitality of the entire staff at Tidewater Golf Club and Plantation.  Make Tidewater one of your must plays on your future trips to Myrtle Beach.

Want to Book Tidewater?  You can play this course either À_la_carte or as part of the Strand Elite golf bundle.

The 18th Hole at Farmstead is the 4th Longest Hole EVER built, measuring 767 yards.

Myrtle Beach has its share of tough holes, long holes,  scenic holes,  holes you wish you never played, and holes you want to forget.  The 18th hole at Farmstead Golf Links is a combination of all of these, being that it’s a daunting 767-yard par 6 that is ranked 4th in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “longest golf hole in the world”.

Clubhouse at Farmstead golf course in Calabash, NC

FUN FACT: The actual longest hole in the world is located in the United States as well.  A short trip up the coast will take you to Locust Grove, Virginia, where you will find Meadow Farms.   The 12th hole there from the Championship tees measures 841 yards.

Farmstead is unique already due to the fact that it is situated in two different states.  Eight of the golf holes are in South Carolina and 14 holes are in North Carolina.  You may ask how is this possible 8 and 14 do not add up to 18.  Simple, four of Farmstead’s golf holes start in one state and end in another.  One of which being the signature #18 par 6.   Each golfer will tee off in South Carolina as the fairway doglegs left around a large pond and the round will end hopefully with par or better in North Carolina.

You’ll meet this guy near the clubhouse!

NEARBY GOLF COURSES:  If you’re looking for other tracks to test your skills that are within close proximity to Farmstead, feel free to visit our extensive North End courses page for full listings.

This is a definite must play on your golf bucket list.  Do you think you have what it takes to take on the infamous 18th hole at Farmstead? This golf course can easily be booked as a single round or as part of our National Package.

I always like to take the time to give a bit of insight to our fellow readers. Here in Myrtle Beach, we are experiencing some great weather at the moment. Temperatures are at an all-time high and prices are at an all-time low for this time of year.

I was able to slip down south to Pawley’s Island to see one of my favorite golf professionals, Kevin McGuire, as well as play one of my favorite courses, Willbrook Plantation Golf Club. A few friends and I had the opportunity to play Willbrook. We started playing around noon and conditions were perfect. Not only was the weather perfect – a beautiful 74 degrees and sunny – but the course was in fantastic shape.

Willbrook is located on the site of an old plantation, which the course was named after. Beautiful markers throughout the course give you a history lesson as to who once lived on and used the property, how it was acquired, and where old landmarks of the property once stood.

Fairway at Willbrook

The course itself starts out with the first hole being a dogleg right, par-4 with a huge live oak tree that blocks out most approach shots from drives that end up along the right side of the fairway. This is just the beginning of the shot shaping that is required to traverse this beautiful layout.

Willbrook is somewhat short from the Championship tees, but the white tees (where most golfers play from) is close to 6,300 yards. The tree-lined fairways, doglegs, foliage, and large waste bunkers can take the driver out of your hands on some of the par 4’s.

This is one of my favorites and a must play for golfers! I will be writing more course reviews and first looks in the future.

The World Tour Golf Links has always been a favorite among golfers. Why?  You get a change to play holes replicated after some of the top in the WORLD, some of which are private courses only a few get to play. Located in the heart of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the course features 27-holes from 23-courses and 6-countries from around the world.

The Open Nine features holes from St Andrews, Pinehurst #2, and TPC at Sawgrass. (Yes, the famous island green hole with the water hazard that likes to eat balls during the Players Championship.) The Championship Nine has holes inspired by “Amens Corner” at Augusta National, Bay Hill Club and Winged Foot. The third of the three nines is the International Nine. This nine has holes from courses like Valderrama, Doral and Spanish Bay.

Large Patio Overlooking The Course

The beautiful 25,000 sq ft clubhouse features a fully stocked Pro Shop that actually has won awards like “Top 100 Pro Shops”. To make is more inviting, display cases of golf history and golf memorabilia are located in the foyer. The Players Grille in the back of the clubhouse is a full service restaurant with a patio overlooking the 9th hole of the Championship course, a hole inspired by the 11th hole at Arnold Palmer`s Bay Hill Club in Orlando, FL.

I was invited to come out and give it the ole @Mbgolfpro first look last week. Like many golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area, The World Tour has converted from bent grass greens to Mini-Verde Ultra Dwarf Bermuda grass. While it sounds like a mouth-full, Mini Verde has become one of the most popular grasses for the South East.

Our round started on the Championship Nine, with a small skins game among the other players in my group. This particular nine is a favorite among visiting golfers because of “Amen Corner”. Golfers that have never or will never play Augusta National (because it’s a private course) will get to feel whats it like to play these distinct holes.

As we came to the 6th hole, no skins had been won just yet. After I hit my tee shot in Rays Creek “The Myrtle Beach Version”, I was able to still play it out, while actually standing on a rock to hit my second shot. After advancing it to the fairway. My third shot found Rays Creek AGAIN just in front of the green. With two of the other three players out of the hole, it came down to me getting up and down or at least sacrifice a bogey. While our fourth golfer was laying three on the back of the green, that set him up for a great chance of three putting, which he did! So I tried to hit the best shot I could and got it on. I missed my putt for par and made bogey to tie the hole and save a skin. Phew.

For our back side, we went to the Open Nine. The first hole is adjoined with the 9th hole and has to be the widest fairway in Myrtle Beach. However, my favorite hole on the Open nine has to be the third hole. It comes from TPC Sawgrass. This short Par 3 like on TV does not look difficult, however the water surrounding the green makes this hole visually challenging. Proving my point, two guys in our foursome hit their tee shot in the water. Myself and one other made par to tie the hole.

As we ran out of daylight and did not get a chance to play the International Nine, but I do have to say the improvements being made at World Tour are great. The new greens, new sand in bunkers and aesthetic changes around the entire facility will make the course back on the top of play list for visiting Myrtle Beach golfers.

As Always, Fairway and Greens
@MbGolfPro

I almost forgot, I won two skins!

P.S. CHECK OUT our FULL PHOTO GALLERY of World Tour