Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

Talk of heavy rough, pot bunkers and the British Open never fails to stir dreams of a trip to the land of Old Tom Morris to play golf’s most revered links courses. The uneven lies, funny bounces and overcast skies of the British Isles offer a setting for golf most American’s are as intrigued by as they are unfamiliar with.

While the Myrtle Beach area can’t reproduce the blustery British conditions (or the bland cuisine), the Grand Strand is home to a plethora of courses

The beaches are packed, sunscreen and flotation devices are the most popular items at Wal-Mart, and the family is ready for the annual trip to Myrtle Beach. In years past, the golf bag was about as likely to be part of a summer beach trip as the lawn mower

But times have changed and so have packing habits. Desirable tee times, the widespread acceptance of free golf for juniors and exceptional value have conspired to turn many family vacations into partial golf trips.

The coastal breeze

American popular culture rarely fails to bestow glory on the most talented of its young, hence the public fascination with high school athletic phenoms and 18-year-old starlets.

For better or worse, golfers are often no different, placing a priority on the hottest new driver, putter or golf course. The attraction of new layouts is understandably strong in Myrtle Beach, where opening one of America’s top 10 new courses is like a rite of passage in the spring (welcome, Leopards Chase), but Grand Strand golfers shouldn’t chase something new to the exclusion of courses that helped lay the foundation for the area’s success.

Maturity in a golf course doesn’t attract headlines, but it makes for happy golfers, as savvy Myrtle Beach players know.

When Myrtlewood first opened its doors in 1966, there were fewer than 10 layouts in the area. The facility watched more than 100 courses sprout up but its place in the market never wavered.

The same could be said for other “mature” Myrtle Beach courses that have become buried treasure for golfers. Sure some of the Grand Strand’s best courses are among its oldest – Dunes Club and Kings North come immediately to mind – but people sometimes lose sight of the generation of layouts that started Myrtle Beach’s ascent.

Pine Lakes International Country Club, the Grand Strand’s first layout, rightfully enjoys a lofty place in area’s lore, but courses like the two at Myrtlewood, Litchfield Country Club, Possum Trot, Whispering Pines and Myrtle Beach National Southcreek and West can get lost in a world drawn to bright lights and the latest craze.

If you are looking for good golf, you shouldn’t make the same mistake.

Myrtlewood, home of the PineHills (1966) and Palmetto (1973) courses, embodies much of what makes the Grand Strand the world’s most popular golf destination. Both courses offer good layouts, are impeccably conditioned, and the Palmetto’s views of the Intracoastal are picturesque.

It’s also located in the heart of Myrtle Beach, making it the area’s most accessible facility. Myrtlewood is the Teri Hatcher of Myrtle Beach golf courses, a beauty whose time in the limelight ebbs and flows but her attractiveness has never wavered.

Whispering Pines has improved with age as well, enjoying a post 40 surge after a makeover.

Opened in 1962, Whispering Pines, long known as the “Best Kept Secret in Myrtle Beach,” has always been a strong layout, challenging golfers with a traditional brand of golf. Narrow fairways and small greens characterize a course that was designed by a group aligned with a young Pete Dye.

In recent years six holes have been renovated, toughening some while making others more playable, enhancing the facility’s reputation along the way.

Another venerable Myrtle Beach golf course – Quail Creek (1968) – has become a breeding ground for the game’s future. Owned by Coastal Carolina University, Quail Creek’s staff, other than its head and assistant professional, is filled with students in CCU’s professional golf management program.

Student involvement even extends to course maintenance, and if the results are any indication, the game’s future is in good hands.

The area’s southernmost course, Wedgefield Plantation (1973) is a traditional, Lowcountry South Carolina layout. Narrow, tree-lined fairways place a premium on accuracy, and the Waccamaw River and local marsh provide Wedgefield with its natural beauty.

Litchfield opened along with PineHills in 1966, making it among the best years in the early history of Myrtle Beach golf. Likes its mature brethren, Litchfield challenges players with a relatively short, but taxing course. Precision is rewarded over power, and a thinking man’s golfer is likely to excel.

On the North end, home to a bunch of standout modern courses, Beachwood Golf Club and Possum Trot are the area’s golden oldies. There are no gimmicks at Possum Trot, a favorite course of Myrtle Beach locals due to its conditioning, a solid design, and a standout practice facilities.

A Gene Hamm design, Beachwood is one of the area’s most enjoyable layouts and an exceptional value.

New courses are great to play, who doesn’t want to try the best of Love, Price and Cate, but the Grand Strand’s “senior set” is every bit as much a must-play for golfers that want the complete Myrtle Beach experience.

A golf course is a living entity, subject to the whims of nature and fate. Occasionally those unseen forces create problems, but hard work eventually solves nature’s challenges, and golfers making the trek to Myrtle Beach this fall need to look no further than River Oaks for evidence.

Last year the 27-hole facility lost 18 greens, but River Oaks installed Champion Ultra Dwarf Bermuda last fall on the Fox and Otter nines and both are flourishing.

The Bear nine, which escaped last

Myrtle Beach boasts a wide range of activities for you to experience aside from golf! Our number one attraction, the beach itself, offers many options for you including kayaking, parasailing, surfing, fishing and sun-bathing. On both the North and South ends of the strand (Myrtle Beach is often referred to as “The Grand Strand,” due to the width of the beach!) you can find businesses that rent boats or jet skis, and also offer sightseeing tours through our famous marsh

The show's second set of four episodes will feature the four-person cast playing golf at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Grande Dunes Resort Course, The Love Course at Barefoot Course and TPC of Myrtle Beach. After the golf round is completed, the cast also pays visits to popular Myrtle Beach attractions such as the newly-opened Hard Rock Park rock and roll theme park, a Myrtle Beach Pelicans' minor league baseball game, Ocean Annie's Beach Bar and Hot Fish Club Restaurant and

A few hours spent surfing the Internet paid off for Denise Alcala as the Hanford, California resident won the “The Ultimate Buddy Trip” contest on www.GolfHoliday.com and will travel to the “Golf Capital of the World.” Alcala’s husband, daughter and mother will join her on a five-day trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as part of the online contest sponsored by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. This will be the first trip to the East Coast for Denise and the first-ever