Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz

What a great week it’s been for golf enthusiasts throughout the Myrtle Beach area, with golfers of all skill levels and interests coming together to celebrate the sport they love! Thank you to our friends on Facebook and Instagram for continuing to go above and beyond when highlighting the awesome golf action across the Grand Strand. Let’s see what they’ve been up to, through their eyes and camera lenses!

Legions of enthusiastic golfers took to the links across the Grand Strand this week, creating inspiring content and indelible memories.  From updated course conditions to special moments with family and friends, the Grand Strand golf community had it all the past seven days. Check out some of the action, courtesy of our friends behind the lens on Facebook!

The Grand Strand golf community experienced a sweeping range of weather this past week, from sunny skies and beautiful temperatures in the mornings to chilly and windy afternoons with some spring showers mixed in.  But through the fluctuating conditions remained one constant: golfers hitting the Myrtle Beach golf links at full steam.  Let’s take a look at all the fun they enjoyed, as seen though the eyes and lenses of our friends on Facebook!

Some of golf’s most prominent courses – Augusta National and Pine Valley come immediately to mind – are inaccessible to the overwhelming majority of players, either because they are private or the price tag is prohibitive. World Tour Golf Links brings a taste of the game’s most exclusive layouts to you. Each of World Tour’s 27 holes is inspired by one the game’s great designs. Come along as Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz host Blair O’Neal samples Amen Corner, the Old Course at St. Andrews and the Postage Stamp at Troon. It’s a trip you won’t forget.

Quality golf instruction abounds along the Grand Strand and in this installment of Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, Blair O’Neal pays a visit to one of the area’s best schools, the Steve Dresser Golf Academy. Get an inside look at the golf academy and what you can expect to learn at the facility. Based at True Blue, the Steve Dresser Golf Academy offers a variety of instructional packages and has an offering for every level of

Market Common is one of Myrtle Beach’s most attractive destinations. Featuring a Town Center atmosphere, Market Common is home to assorted restaurants, bars and shopping options. Come along as Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz host Blair O’Neal provides an overview of everything the area has to offer from Nacho Hippo and P.F. Chang’s to a movie theatre. 

In this installment of Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal heads to the North Strand to play one of the area’s hidden gems, Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club. The 27-hole facility was named Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association Course of the Year in 2010 and has earned a reputation as one of the Grand Strand’s most player friendly layouts. The Sand, Piper and Bay nines each offer generous fairways and superb conditions. Sandpiper recently installed new MiniVerde bermudagrass greens and its putting surfaces are as fast and true as any along the Grand Strand.

The Marsh Walk in Murrells Inlet is one of the area’s most scenic and enjoyable attractions. In this edition of the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal takes you to the Marsh Walk, a half-mile long walk-way through the heart of the Seafood Capital of South Carolina. Chocked full of outstanding restaurants and venues to enjoy live music, the Marsh Walk oozes casual charm. With stunning views of the salt marsh and accompanying marina, Blair takes you to a place everyone should visit on their next Myrtle Beach golf trip.

Blair O’Neal: Hi I am Blair O’Neal host of the Golf Buzz presented by Myrtle Beach golf holiday. Today, I am joined by Sue Sledz executive director of Murrells Inlet 2020 and right now we are actually standing on Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk.

Sue Sledz: Welcome to Murrells. We are the seafood capital of South Carolina. Blair: Thanks for having the Golf Buzz. We are excited to be here and to learn more about the Marsh Walk.

Sue: The Marsh Walk is a great place for golfers especially to come visit. We have a half-mile long walk way along the salt marsh, and it extends out into the marsh, too. So not only do you have a beautiful view of the salt marsh and all the water activities but there are eight fabulous restaurants and bars with a full offering of lunches, happy hours, and dinners and fabulous live music. It’s all casual down here, so you don’t have to be dressed up.

Blair: Okay, so you can come in your golf clothes.

Sue: Absolutely, we see it all the time. We see large golf groups and individual players. It’s definitely a playground for our golfers, too.

Blair: And for golfers who maybe need a break from the course. As you can see, there are a few boats behind us, so if golfers want to take a day off from the course, they can come out here and get on a boat.

Sue: That's right. We have access to the ocean, we are known for our deep sea fishing. We have several deep sea fishing trips, we have parasailing, kayaking, scuba diving, all sorts of sightseeing. And if the family happens to be with you, then there are also great trips for the family you can take onto the water.

Blair: And can you tell me, what is the body of water that is behind us? Sue: This is called the Murrells Inlet Salt Marsh. It is a salt water estuary and it opens up to the Atlantic ocean via the jetties. Blair: Are there going to be any events that maybe we should mark down on our calendars?

Sue: There’s always something happening down here on the Marsh Walk. We have the “Marshy Gra” activity and then there is the annual Oyster Roast. There is a chile cook-off that happens down here. Recently we had a fish taco competition, there is always something happening on the Marsh Walk or in Murrells Inlet.

Blair: And what about the Fourth of July? Because I have heard the Murrells Inlet it’s a big time for the Fourth of July, it is the place to be.

Sue: It is huge, we have our Fourth of July Boat Parade and there its just thousands of people lining the marsh and everybody goes out full board to decorate for the theme of the year.

Blair: So, if you’re looking for a good time and you are here during some of the holidays, this is definitely a place you want to check out.

Sue: Definitely.

Blair: And where can our viewers go to learn more information about Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk?

Sue: You can go to www.muruellsinletsc.com and you will find information about the Marsh Walk, as well as all of Murrells Inlet, because there is a lot we have to offer in the whole village.

Blair: Thanks Sue, for having us today.

Sue: It's been our pleasure, hope you spend some time with us and can explore the whole village.

Blair: I definitely will go exploring here. I am going to check out a little bit more of what the Marsh Walk has to offer.

I am Blair O’Neal thanks for watching the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz and make sure when you’re in town you check out Murrells Inlet the Seafood Capital of South Carolina.

When players think of good course management, they often think of decisions made on the tee box and in the fairway, but the choices you make around the green are just as vital. In this episode of the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal partners with PGA professional Matt Veltman at Legends Resort to demonstrate a chipping tip with will save you strokes. Chipping from a tight lie is a nervy shot for the best of players, but watch as O’Neal demonstrates a tip that minimizes risk and increases your chances of getting up-and-down successfully.

Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz host Blair O'Neal pays a visit to the area's first course, Pine Lakes Country Club. Blair takes you on a tour of the Granddaddy and gives you a look at the rennovation project that restored the layout to its rightful in the market.

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Today we’re visiting Pine Lakes Country Club, Myrtle Beach’s oldest golf course that dates all the way back to the 1920’s. The ocean course layout features an 18-hole layout designed by Robert White, the first President of the PGA of America. Today, that course is respectfully nicknamed “The Granddaddy,” but it’s officially known as Pine Lakes Country Club. It possesses a rich history steeped in tradition, and also happens to be the location  where the idea of Sports Illustrated magazine was conceived.

I’m Blair O’Neal, your host of The Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, presented by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. I’m here with Rick Shultz, the General Manager of Pine Lakes Country Club. I’m excited to be here because this was the very first golf course to be built here in Myrtle Beach. It was built in 1927, and kickstarted the Myrtle Beach area. In 2006, they closed the course for renovations, and reopened in 2009. It’s a traditional Scottish type golf course. One thing that’s unique about this golf facility is that there’s not a single home situated near the golf course, even though we’re right in the middle of Myrtle Beach. You won’t see anything but the historic trees, and just a great layout for any type of player. Putting is especially fun out here, because the greens are a good size and have a lot of undulations.

Another interesting fact about Pine Lakes is that it’s the birthplace of Sports Illustrated. In 1954, some executives from TIME, Inc. came down and created the concept to establish a magazine for sports, and Sports Illustrated was created. We’re fortunate to have one of the original first issues on display right here on site.

In 2009, following the course renovations, we established the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame, so we have a historical record of the local Myrtle Beach residents who’ve made such a wonderful impact on the game of golf.

Jack Nicklaus, golf’s greatest champion, is the architect of one of the Grand Strand’s most memorable courses, Pawleys Plantation. The back nine at Pawleys Plantation has five holes that play along a salt marsh, creating stunning visuals. The South Strand course is one of the area's best and most memorable. Come along as Blair O’Neal challenges Pawleys Plantation.

The Grand Strand is home to more than 1,000 restaurants, and one of its newer establishments, Nosh, has taken its place among the best. Located in Pawleys Island, Nosh, which touts itself as artful dining, offers a contemporary menu and a beautiful setting. Come along as Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz host Blair O’Neal explores the origins of the restaurant’s name and features a sea bass entrée that will leave you begging for more.

One of America’s most attractive golfers pays a visit to one of the game’s most beautiful courses in this installment of Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz. Host Blair O’Neal plays Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, a consensus Top 100 public course. Come along as Blair enjoys sprawling live oak trees, a beautifully manicured layout, and the course’s stunning antebellum style clubhouse. If you’ve never played Caledonia, enjoy an inside look at one of Myrtle Beach and America’s best golf courses.

The Grand Strand is known round the world for the quality and quantity of its golf offerings, and the setting sun doesn’t have to be the end of your day. The area is also home to a collection of putt-putt golf courses that rival its championship layout offerings. In this installment of the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal visits the best mini-golf courses the Grand Strand has to offer, including a course lauded as the best in the world.

TPC Myrtle Beach, home course of PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson and former host of Senior Tour Championship, is the area's only 5-star course, according to Golf Digest's Best Places to Play guide. The Tom Fazio layout is a spectacular design, culminating with a virtual island green on the par 3 17th hole and the stunning par 5 18th. Come along as Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz host Blair O'Neal tours the award-winning facility, beginning her adventure in the men's locker room!