I got a chance to slide down to the south end of the Grand Strand and play the Jack Nicklaus designed Pawley’s Plantation on Saturday July 28th. This was the first time playing this course for me in over 15 years and never again will I wait that long to play that beautiful layout again.

Two friends accompanied me for our 12:28 tee time, and from the time we got there we all were impressed — from the staff, to the conditions, even down to the chili dog we got at the snack bar.

We met Laura in the proshop, who was very nice and accommodating. She got us settled in right away. After a quick hot dog for lunch we met up with a starter named Anthony who was very personable with a great attitude and even let me borrow his yardage book for the round. Anthony paired us up with one of their young members Mr. Tim Gavrich who was a collegiate golfer at Washington and Lee in Lexington Virginia. Tim not only was an excellent player but was able to give some local course knowledge and some helpful hints for getting around the tough Pawley’s Plantation layout. The course from tee to green was in excellent shape and well manicured even in remote areas that most golf balls should never see.

Holes 12,13,and 14 had to be probably my favorite 3 hole stretch on the course. Hole #12 is a picturesque par four with marsh views and coastal winds behind the green that can make your approach shot difficult. If you make it through this hole with par you then quickly have to turn your attention to as short par 3 measuring 145 yards that requires you to hit a pure golf shot or you will be having to use the drop area green side (which looked like it had been used quite a bit ). The par 5 15th hole was absolutely stunning and want another chance at it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I was unable to play the holes following 14 due to a lightening and rainstorm that lasted the next 3 hours, a pretty rare display of the weather conditions in Myrtle Beach. Overall I put his course in my Top 10 places to play along the Grand Strand. I want to thank everyone at Pawleys Plantation for everything they did. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and hope to be back soon to tackle all 18 holes.

You can play Pawleys Plantation as part of the new National Golf Package this fall for a nice rate. This course is actually in our top 10 golf courses as well for July!  And of course, you can check out the photos I took in our photo gallery on the Pawley’s Platation golf course page.

Arrowhead Country Club located in Myrtle Beach offers great value and challenges all levels of golfers. The Ray Floyd signature golf course boost 27-holes with each nine having its own unique feel.  In 2009, the Cypress, Lakes and Waterway nines converted to Mini Verde Ultra Dwarf Bermuda grass greens. An exceptionally good grass for the Myrtle Beach area providing consistent putting surfaces. Mini Verde Bermuda is rated as one of the Top Grass Putting surfaces by the National Turf-grass Evaluation Program.  Arrowhead Country Club offers four sets of tees, wide undulating fairways, strategically placed waste bunkers, large greens and as mentioned before, great putting surfaces.

Arrowhead is not only fun to play, it also is very scenic with IntraCoastal Waterway views and has water on 24 of the 27 holes.  I highly recommend this course, as it is also known for its great condition. With the 27-holes, Arrowhead will always have 18-holes open to allow golfers the best playing conditions. Make sure to add Arrowhead C.C. to your golf package. Its @MBGolfPro approved!!!!!

As always, Fairways & Greens

@MBGolfPro

You’ve got two options for the Gambler at King’s North, an easy 4 strokes or a tricky 3. It’s your call.

One of the most requested golf courses in Myrtle Beach will be getting a make over this Summer 2012. This Arnold Palmer and Francis Duane design is one of three courses at Myrtle Beach National. The Myrtle Beach National Kings North opened in 1973,  with Palmer himself being apart of the initial design, the course went under a complete refurbish in 1996. “The King” himself handled the majority of the changes. At that time, the course received new Crenshaw Bent Grass greens. The Green areas also where increased in size and undulations where added for difficulty.

Bunkers were also added.

For example, the 18th hole is called “the Bullseye” and has over 40 bunkers on the finishing hole.  Mounds were added to contour fairways and bulk heads were added to holes like the par-3 4th hole called “The Island Green”. As you may suspect, this green is now completely surrounded with water. These changes made by Arnold Palmer led Myrtle Beach National – Kings North to receive the 1996 Myrtle Beach Golf Course of the Year award and also the South Carolina Golf Course of the Year.

With the South Carolina climate and newer grass technology the National Golf Management team has decided to install new Champion Bermuda Greens. This grass is some of the best you can get for the Grand Strand area do to its drought tolerance and ability to grow on different mixtures of soil types.  Champion Bermuda grass is also and the most important provides great putting surface and is less expensive to maintain than bent grass greens. The course will close on June 25, 2012 and reopen August 31st, 2012.

Let’s not stop there. There was another significant change to this Par 72 layout in 1996….

It’s the Gambler

This sign resides by the Par-5 Gambler golf hole at King’s North in Myrtle Beach.

Legendary Country Music Singer Kenny Rogers, came to Myrtle Beach to help open the Arnold Palmer redesign and  turned the par-5 6th hole into one of the most famous hole in Myrtle Beach Golf History. Rogers named the hole “The Gambler” after his hit song, which one won him a 1978 Grammy Award for “Best Male Country Vocal Performance”.

This par-5 hole is called “The Gambler” because it gives golfers two options to play the hole.

If you go with the first choice, you hit it over the water on the drive to a landing area with three fairway bunkers. This is the safe shot.  Your second shot will be a layup down the fairway. Third shot is to the green.

Now, get ready for option #2. You tee off and strike the ball over the water, but now you are aiming for a island fairway that is about 100 yards long and 50-yards wide.  So you better make sure you are a good shot, or you’re going to be going through balls like nobody’s business. You have to then hit over the water again on your second shot to get to the green.  So you’re on the green in two shots putting for Eagle. This second option gives golfers their “Gamblers” chance in the game of golf.

This hole sets the golfer up for a chance to ask himself one question.  Before your opponent “hands you a bottle, and you drink down your last swallow” you will need to decide to go for it in two or bail out and still try to make birdie or par with 3 shots.

SO, the question is, “Do you know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, or know when to run?”

No other hole in the Myrtle Beach area has as much meaning as this hole.  Maybe I can clarify what Rogers means by this famous saying. There is a sign at the tee box with these exact song lyrics, PLUS, his spike marks are also on display in concrete.

The Explanation with Match Play

“Know when to hold them” – One of the best strategies is to play your game until your opponent makes a mistake.

“Know when to fold them” – It does not matter how many strokes on each hole you lose by, you are only down one if you lose the hole. Of course you do not want to lose any hole as the gives your opponent momentum, however you live to fight another hole.

“Know when to walk away” – If your opponent gives you a two-footer and says “thats good”, it’s a great time to pick your ball up and walk away, even with a push!

“Know when to run” – There is always a time when its time to step on the gas, no matter if you’re winning or losing! On the home stretch on the front 9, The Gambler is the perfect “turning point hole” for the match.  This is the time where you need to run with your match, building a lead for the back nine (to make your opponent ‘dormie’),  or get back in the Match for a chance to win!

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So in closing, I also want to mention King’s North is now #7 on our Top 10 Golf Course’s in Myrtle Beach  and is also the PRIDE of National Golf Management, and there is no doubt in my mind it will be voted #1 after the re-open.

As always, fairways and greens,

@MBGolfPro

P.S. Hope you enjoy the video below.

We’ve just been passed a new discount for the TPC of Myrtle Beach golf course and I want to pass it along to my golfers out there! It’s actually a pretty sweet golf deal for Spring 2012 golf rounds and applies to golf in PEAK seasons. The discounted Myrtle Beach golf only tee times on the rate table to the right are per golfer and includes carts, taxes and fees. (The price you see on there is the price you pay per golfer, we don’t tack on any hidden fees.)

The special has two rate periods. The first saves golfers up $17 per golfer on AM rounds from 3/8/12 to 3/21/12 and the second saves golfers up to $30 per golfer on AM rounds from 3/22/2012 to 5/20/2012.

For more information and pictures of the TPC of Myrtle Beach, visit our TPC of Myrtle Beach Page.

Want to book?  Give us a call 800-624-6418 or shoot us an email! Simple as that.

 About TPC of Myrtle Beach Golf Course

Nestled in a beautiful setting near the small community of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, the 18-hole course is the only Grand Strand golf course to be rated as a 5-star course by Golf Digest.

With a unique design planned and executed by the well-known Thomas Fazio intended to convey the feeling of playing on a tour-caliber golf course, TPC is almost 7,000 yards long with a par of 72. Featuring a slope rating of 145, and an overall rating of 74, the sumptuous course opened to golfers in 1999.

Stylistically, the design incorporates typical Southern environmental features like wetland areas and flora such as cat-tail and huge pine trees. Any golfer will enjoy the experience of the TPC of Myrtle Beach course with its exceptionally gorgeous and groomed fairways and greens, all set in the warmly hospitable Southern surroundings that only the Carolinas can offer.

Greg Norman likes his waste bunkers! Watch out for this one on hole 7.

The Barefoot Norman Course in North Myrtle Beach underwent a nice renovation this past summer. The greens were switched from Bent grass greens to Champions Ultra Dwarf Bermuda.  With the weather in the high 60`s a week before Christmas (yes, I’m rubbing that in), I had to get out and play to see the work that was done and give it an ole’ MBGolfPro (that’s me) golf course review.

I took the student with me and gave him a rematch in our “Teacher vs Student” golf match. (See the results below.) The Par 72 Norman Course has 5-sets of tees and will challenge any player of any level.  The course measures just under 5,000 yards from the forward tees and just over 7,000 from the championship tees.

Barefoot Norman – The Front 9

Keeping his own playing philosophy in his design (Greg Norman, of course, World Golf Hall of Famer), the “Bump and Run”, he gives you a chance to make the up and down, on nearly every hole, even with a green miss. Barefoot Norman course features huge green complexes. The average green size is 6,300 square feet and includes only 60 acres of mow-able grass! Waste bunkers and native grasses line nearly every hole.

Let me explain the “Bump and Run” real quick.  Norman’s philosophy is to get the ball rolling on the ground without getting it airborne when you are close to the green.  The higher you chip, the likely it is you will lose control or stray “off course,” no pun intended. This, of course, is only applicable if you don’t have anything between you and the green.

Hole #9

Finishing out the front is the tough par-5, the 9th hole that can make or break your front nine score.  The 9th hole is lined with bunkers down the left side. To make matters a bit more difficult, wetlands extend the entire length of the hole on the right side of the fairway and cross about 50 yards in front of the green.  If you can avoid the bunkers or wetlands, it gives you a perfect opportunity to lay up around the 100-yard marker. This leaves your third shot into a green that slopes severely right to left.  Making par on the 9th hole will win you the front nine 60% of the time.

Barefoot Norman – The Back 9

As you approach the 10th tee, you get your first glimpse of the IntraCoastal Waterway. The Barefoot Norman course is the only one of the four courses at Barefoot Resort & Golf that has Waterway views. Not only does this hole have Waterway views, but six of the eight holes after it as well. The par 3, 10th hole is guarded with the waste bunkers and the waterway on the right side. There is a bailout to the left of the green (not visible from the tee, this is where the GPS on the carts comes in) that goes back into the Greg Norman “Bump and Run” philosophy if the green is missed.

Hole #10

Overall the course is one of the more underrated courses on the strand. With the new greens, Barefoot Norman will climb up every ranking category and should be on everyone`s playlist.

Oh, and back to the Teacher vs Student….

The teacher closed out the Student 5 and 3 with a two-putt birdie on the par 5, 15th hole.

FUN FACT:  Greg Norman not only designed this course, but he designed the grass for the tees and fairways as well, a hybrid called GN-1, made by Norman’s own turf company.

FUN FACT #2: Not only is this course unique because it’s the only golf course in Myrtle Beach with the architect’s own grass, but Norman also has his own restaurant here, just across the Waterway from Barefoot Resort.

Open fairways and Dye's famous pot-bunkers characterize this course.

We always do our best to respond to inquiries about golf course conditions from either myself or from the golf pro themselves. There was a comment left by a blogger on our Dye Club Golf page. That comment was responded to by the Dye Club Head Golf Professional.  So, I personally wanted to check out the course and see the condition of the greens for myself!

With that said, I got a chance to play with our assistant golf director in our normal, “‘Teacher vs Student” match on the front 9-nine holes of the Pete Dye Club at Barefoot.

This course is one of the hardest courses on the Grand Strand. With GPS on the carts, you must pay attention to the layout of the course. Over one of the famous Pete Dye Hills could be one of the famous Pete Dye pot bunkers.  The course has open fairways, but that is to notice from the tee box. The course also has a mixture of green sizes from the #1 handicap hole Par 4, 7th hole that is 49-yards long from front to back or like the Par 3, 15th hole that is 35-yards wide.

Tees, fairways and bunkers were great. Greens were spotty, but rolled great! With our cooler weather coming, the Dye Club will be in Prime Condition for the Spring 2012 golf season with Bent grass greens.

As for the Teacher vs the Student match? The Teacher closed out the Student 2-1.

Currently the Dye Club is ranked #3 on our Top 10 Myrtle Beach Golf Courses and Our Featured Golf Course of the week.

“As always, Fairways and Greens…” – @mbgolfpro

Its that time once again for our Monthly Top Myrtle Beach Golf Course Rankings for the month of September 2011. As in previous months, our top rankings blog has been our highest trafficked web page on our site.  Again, I will say that these rankings for the courses are very close to my own personal rankings. So lets unveil which courses are in the Top 10.

For the second consecutive month, we have a NEW #1. We also have a new comer to the rankings, with one of my personal favorites dropping out of the Top 10 after being voted to the Top 10 for a month.

1. Bald Head Island – The renovations last year at Bald Head Island have paid off. The Re-design was done by Tim Cate.

2. Caledonia – After being #1 for a month, the Mike Stranz design is still a golfers favorite.

3. Dunes Club – Craig`s personal favorite.

4. Barefoot – Dye Club – Arguably the hardest course on the Grand Strand, but golfers still love the challenge.

5. Pawley`s Plantation – Ranked in the top 5 for the second consecutive month.

6. TPC-Myrtle Beach – This is the only course in Myrtle Beach to ever get 5-stars from Golf Digest.

7. Thistle – The Thistle has jumped into the top after not being at all in August. Some of the best greens on the Strand.

8. Tidewater – With some of the best marsh views on the Strand, also know as the “Pebble Beach of the East Coast”.

9. Willbrook – Craig`s South end favorite, also known as a “Locals Favorite” for its beauty and playability.

10. Pearl – East – Reopened with NEW Mini Verde Greens and amazing views of the Calabash River.

There you have it folks the Top Myrtle Beach Golf Course Rankings for September 2011. Please feel free to leave comments on your favorite courses page and vote for your favorite Myrtle Beach golf courses. You can also follow me on twitter @mbgolfpro and leave comments on our Facebook page.

Until next time … Keep it in the short grass. -MBGolfPro

Island Green Golf Club is closing its clubhouse doors for good today. The Bill Mooney design which opened 31-years ago, will be another victim of course closings in the Myrtle Beach area.  The golf course originally opened with 27-holes and in 2005 closed 9-holes for redevelopment called Dogwood Estates. The remaining 18-holes measured 6,382-yard par-72 layout that was know as a locals golf club with Mens and Womans Golf weekly golf leagues.  The course was not known for Package Play because of the low cost walk in rates.

Island Green is the 21st golf course in Myrtle Beach that has closed since 2005.

I had the opportunity to play the Legends Parkland golf course on July 13th, 2011 with the Grand Strand Golf Directors.  The Legends Parkland course is one of three golf courses at The Legends Golf Resort, located on Highway 501, west of Myrtle Beach. This Tom Doak design was the third course at the resort opened in 1992, the second ever design for Doak, and his only design in Myrtle Beach, SC.

The clubhouse is located approximately two miles back from the main entrance to the course. You might start to wonder when you will arrive at its doorstep, but as soon as you turn the corner a couple miles in, you get the chill of this Scottish castle-themed 42,000 sq. ft  clubhouse inviting you and your group to start your journey. It features a pro shop, full service restaurant and snack bar, an impressive 36-acre practice facility and a 1-acre lighted putting green. The Legends Golf Resort also features the Alisa Pub, which has been named by Golf Digest “Top 50 19th Holes“.

The Legends Parkland golf course is no “walk in the park” by any means; being the longest of the three courses. To make things even more interesting, the day we played was the hottest day of the year. Not even a heat index of 117 couldn’t stop us from playing though. However, it did make the course feel like it had another 1,000 yards to the track.

The Legends Parkland course features big rolling fairways and huge (and fast) Tif Eagle Bermuda greens, both of which were extremely well-guarded with bunkers.  We also noticed there was a nice natural feel to the course, with wetlands and water dotting the holes (17 of the holes actually).

The hole that stuck out the most for us was #11.   Not only because I remembered this was the hole that Kevin Costner (Roy “TinCup” McAvoy) was ORIGINALLY supposed to use during this pivotal scene in the movie Tin Cup,  but the hole itself had a nice overall feel. The tee shot over the marsh must be made precisely in order to avoid the bunkers and hit the fairway. From there, you can either try and GO FOR IT to the green or lay up before the water. I went for it. I might not have made the green, I did make it over the water. With a poor chip and a two-putt, I ending up making the par 5.

Over all, this golf director would recommend Parkland and would welcome the invitation to play again. The course was in excellent condition from tee to green, the staff was as friendly as the next guys’, and the clubhouse was nothing short of jaw-dropping.  I left there  a happy (and dehydrated) golfer with my par on #11 that beat “Tin Cup’s” 12.

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You can play the Legends Parkland course as part of our Legends Golf package, which includes breakfast, lunch and two free drinks at the clubhouse. Feel free to hit me up on twitter at @mbgolfpro.

Long Bay’s Signature 10th Hole

A few Myrtle Beach area golf directors and area club professionals were invited to play The Long Bay Club (one of Myrtle Beach National’s gems) on July 7th and I must say, I was very impressed.  After a short drive to the Northern End of the Grand Strand, I found myself being welcomed by a Rocky Balboa styled statue of Long Bay Club course architect Jack Nicklaus at the entrance of the clubhouse. (Quick hint, as you travel through the Long Bay community to the clubhouse,  pay close attention on your left where you can sneak a peek at the pin placement of one of Myrtle Beach’s most visually challenging par 3’s, hole number #13, which exhibits an island green.)

Powering down a quick lunch at the full-service restaurant we headed over to the practice facility.  Hands-down, it is one of the nicest and well-groomed practice facilities in the area. (This explains why many LPGA, Nationwide, and Hooters tour players practice here.)  It also sports a target-laced driving range, and a chipping and practice green with Champion Ultra-Dwarf Bermuda grass. From the practice green to the 18th hole, the greens were in tip-top shape, even considering the lack of rainfall the Myrtle Beach area has had this summer.

We immediately noticed (like all Nicklaus designs) the course was open off-the-tee, but still had a barrage of bunkers and well-bunkered greens.  If you want to challenge yourself you can always play this course from the Champion Black Tees at a shade over 7000 yards, or choose from one of the other 4 sets, including the Forward Tees, at just under 5000 yards.  After making your way through some risk reward holes on the front side, do not lose focus, because you face a beautiful but tough hole to start the back nine.  Long Bay Club’s signature hole #10, a short par, can easily get you in trouble if you are too close to the green. It’s best to play defensively and hit your ball just before the end of the fairway to leave you 100 or less yards into the green.  (You will find this is true for other holes as well, like #3, #6, and #14. )   Also, an investment in a yardage book will quickly play for itself if you are a 1st timer on at this course, not to mention you will have the upper hand to win a skin off your buddies.

The Long Bay Club, located in Longs, South Carolina, is one of Myrtle Beach’s nicest, and if you don’t take my word for it; try it yourself this fall for as low as $32 per golf if you are an early bird.