Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

September 19, 2014

Lessons From the Road: 30 Years of Driving From Philly to Myrtle Beach

Mike Kern has been driving from philly to myrtle for 30+ yearsI’ve been to Myrtle Beach way too many times to keep track. But I do know that I made my first trip before I got married, so that has to be at least 30-some years ago.

I can still remember driving there from Philadelphia, through the night with three friends, in a compact whatever. We took turns behind the wheel, which of course is the only thing to do, even though I’ve since ignored that and almost dozed off at the controls.

Just don’t tell anyone.

I also recall us almost hitting something that had wandered onto I-95 somewhere deep into North Carolina, although we were never sure exactly what it was. I’m assuming animal. I was hitting about 90 on the speedometer at the time.

Then we had to play our first round on no sleep about an hour after we rolled in. Rookie mistake. But hardly the last time I’ve ever done something like that. Later we got a flat tire. It’s funny what sticks in your memory bank. Yet it must have made some kind of an impression, because I always keep going back.

Truth is, I’m not sure I ever considered flying down until I started going to the annual Golf Writers Association of America championship that was held in Myrtle Beach for over half a century before circumstances unfortunately forced its to move. Now those were some great times. The final round was played at the Dunes Club, followed by a candlelight dinner in their dining room, where for our 50th anniversary Arnold Palmer came in to be the guest speaker.

It doesn’t get any better.

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September 17, 2014

Meet the Players of Big Break Myrtle Beach!

Get an up-close look at the cast of Big Break Myrtle Beach with tonight’s ‘Meet the Players’ special at 9 p.m. on Golf Channel.  The one-hour special will introduce you to the 12-person cast – six men, six women – and preview the excitement (and ample drama) of the coming season.

The series will debut on Golf Channel at 9 p.m. on October 7.

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September 16, 2014

Willard Byrd Course at Sea Trail Soars

Willard Byrd golf course at Sea Trail PlantationSea Trail Golf Resort is home to layouts designed by the Open Doctor, Rees Jones, Dan Maples, who has designed more Myrtle Beach golf courses than any other architect, and Willard Byrd, who completed the trio with the opening of his course in 1990. 

On the name recognition index, Byrd doesn’t enjoy the cache of his Sea Trail compatriots, but his work at the Sunset Beach, N.C., facility might be the best of the bunch. The Willard Byrd Course at Sea Trail has an ideal combination of playability, challenge and value that appeals golfers.

The Byrd course isn’t particularly long, playing 6,750 yards from the blue tees and 6,251 yards from the white tees (where most of us play), so long, forced carries and the need for a space-age driver are minimized.

Byrd created a layout that allows golfers ample opportunity to hit the driver, but doesn’t make length a prerequisite for success. The course, which has seven doglegs of varying severity, rewards shot-making and creativity, challenging players to hit a variety of shots.

Those challenges are what make the course appealing to low-handicappers despite the relative lack of length.

“Byrd is more demanding on the good golfer,” head pro Eddie Pratt said. “That’s why they like to play it.”
 

Mid to high handicappers are fond of Byrd because his designs aren't overly penal from the white tees. Regardless of your handicap, Byrd rewards players that pay attention to where they are hitting the ball. Playing to the proper side of the dogleg and awareness of hazards are vital success.

“It’s more of a shot-makers course,” Pratt said. “It’s not a course where you hit it, find it and hit again.”

The Byrd Course is home to several large man-made lakes – the biggest is 20 acres – but the water isn’t an overbearing threat. The course’s fairways are plenty wide, giving players ample room to find the short grass.

The key to success lies in a player’s ability to execute with short irons. There aren’t many long approaches, but the greens are well guarded, most of them surrounded by sand. If you miss a green, you will likely be chipping out of or over a bunker.

If the threat of missing the green weren’t enough, hitting it hardly ensures success. The Byrd Course’s greens are often large and multi-tiered, so hitting the right part of the green is vital to scoring well.

One thing players don’t have to worry about is the condition of the greens. Sea Trail installed new Champions Bermuda on the greens as part of a two-year project, and the results have been well received.

byrd 7.jpgPar 3s
The par 3s are Byrd’s strongest collection of holes. The seventh, a 190-yarder, is Pratt’s favorite hole on the course and the 186-yard 12th isn’t far behind. Both holes require relatively long tee shots over sand and require a sturdy commitment to your club selection. They encapsulate what’s so enjoyable about the Byrd Course – a good score is very much within reach but It must be earned.

The 174-yard second hole requires a carry across one of the (alligator filled) man-made lakes to another three-tiered green. The 16th is the longest par 3 from the blue tees, playing 202 yards, but the shortest from the white tees (155 yards). With no water and healthy size green, it’s the easiest hole on the back nine, according to the scorecard.

Par 4s
Byrd’s par 4s speak to its reputation as a player friendly course. While the par 4s feature several doglegs, not one of them plays longer than the 392-yard fifth hole from the white tees.  Setting the fifth hole aside, there isn’t another par 4 that stretches to 380 yards from the white tees. With even minimal distance off tee, players will have manageable approaches.

A prime example is the fourth hole (407 blue/378 white), which features an almost 90-degree dogleg left.  A 225-yard drive from the white tees will leave players well positioned, but a waste bunker runs along the left side and mounds on the right complicate any mistake in that direction.

The aforementioned fifth hole is the course’s hardest. In addition to being long and straight, the hole has subtle elevation change.

“On the tee box it looks flat but there is a steady incline,” says Pratt. “You are always hitting one or two more clubs than you expected on your second shot.

The most difficult hole on the back nine, according to the scorecard, is the 400-yard, 10th hole, a dogleg right with sand on both sides of the fairway, and a relatively small green.

The final two-shotter is the 382-yard 17th hole. Long hitters can bomb away but a lake runs up the entire left side of the fairway and mounding on the right can punish a slice. The 17th green is classic Byrd; it’s large – 39 yards deep – but surrounded by four bunkers.

byrd 3.jpgPar 5s
The par 5s on the Byrd Course offer players a couple chances to pick up strokes.

The third hole (535 blue/468 white) is relatively short but it has a severe dogleg right. A large waste bunker and a tree on the right side make cutting the corner difficult. Play this one by the book and be content to reach the green in regulation. The ninth hole isn’t complicated. It’s long and straight. If you can get home it two from the 542 yards on the blue tees (or 517 from the whites) more power to you. Most of us can’t.

Opportunity potentially beckons on the 13th hole (528 blue/493 white), but there is a significant risk-reward component. The hole is straight but each side of the fairway sports a large bunker and one of the course’s lakes runs in front of the green. Long hitters can go for the green in two, but you better be certain you can get there. Any ball that is short will be wet.

The 18th is regarded by many as Byrd’s easiest hole. It’s short (468 blue/442 white) and not overly tight, giving many players the opportunity to go for the green in two, assuming your drive is in the fairway.

The Verdict: The Byrd Course at Sea Trail doesn’t receive the accolades of its Grand Strand brethren (including the on-site Jones Course), but it’s a good layout with good conditions. There isn’t much housing, and players have the opportunity to score if they play well. If you are a low handicapper, play from the blue tees and enjoy the challenge.

In short, if the Byrd Course offers value and challenge, a combination everyone seeks on a Myrtle Beach golf trip.

Have you played it?

Help other Myrtle Beach golfers by adding YOUR Myrtle Beach golf course review on the Sea Trail – Byrd Course page!

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September 9, 2014

Myrtle Beach 9-11 Unity Memorial Readies For Rememberance Ceremony

the myrtle beach 9-11 unity memorial ceremoy will take place thursday at 7 pmThe Myrtle Beach 9-11 Unity Memorial will hold its annual remembrance ceremony on Thursday, September 11 at 7 p.m. on the 29th Avenue side of Broadway at the Beach.

The public is invited to attend the event free of charge.

The annual ceremony is hosted by the friends of the Unity Memorial and the Chicora District of the Pee Dee Area Council, BSA, and the featured speakers will include retired New York City Firefighter John J. Waters III.

The 9-11 shrine is bookended by the Unity Memorial and a mounted piece of steel beam from the North Tower of the World Trade Center that was given to the Myrtle Beach tourism community by retired FDNY members.

The Unity Memorial was conceived by members of Cub Scout Pack 891 in the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy.  They brought together Scouts, individuals and businesses from the Grand Strand to erect a monument to remember the way Americans stood together in the days following the tragedy.

The ribbon beam from the World Trade Center is mounted at the opposite end of the memorial, a timeline surrounding it walking visitors through the tragic day’s events.

The inscription on one of the plaques located on the pump house sums up the purpose for the Unity Memorial, and that is “The tragic events of September 11, 2001 remain a dark memory for America. Yet, in the days that followed these events, Americans stood side by side in unprecedented numbers to remember the souls lost, heal the wounded, repair the damage and resolve that freedom must always prevail in the face of terror and tyranny.”

In the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks, the Myrtle Beach tourism community hosted countless first responders to provide them a respite from the work of restoring Ground Zero, and MBGH launched the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing, forging a relationship with the FDNY and its membership that continues to this day.

As a show of appreciation for the friendship, a piece of ribbon beam from the North Tower was presented to MBGH in May 2011, leading to the completion of the Myrtle Beach 9-11 Unity Memorial.

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September 8, 2014

The Three Best Holes at Shaftesbury Glen

Shaftesbury Glen arrived on the Myrtle Beach golf scene in 2001, and the Clyde Johnston design quickly carved out a player-friendly reputation. The course sports some of the widest fairways along the Grand Strand – making it a favorite for those of us with a crooked driver – and elevated, bentgrass greens.

To provide a better perspective on what players have to look forward to, we asked Shaftesbury Glen’s director of operations, Ryan McCarty, to tell us the course’s three best holes, and he happily obliged.

1. The 579-yard second hole is reachable in two only for Myrtle Beach golf’s one-percenters (distance not money qualifies you for this exclusive club), so it rewards three quality shots.

A fairway bunker on the right is reachable off the tee, but there is ample room to land the ball. Your second shot should favor the left side of the fairway, which brings the water into play but provides the best angle of approach

“You need to make sure you hit a good approach shot, but it’s definitely a hole you can score on if you play it the right way,” McCarty said. “Don’t try to overpower the ball.”

2. On a course renowned for its elevated greens, the elevation change on the 10th hole is among the most dramatic. The short par 4 – 360-yards from the tips – is a scoring hole, but players must avoid a fairway bunker on the left that is approximately 240 yards from the white tees.

Place the tee shot in the middle of the fairway and you will have a decent shot at birdie, but your approach will need to be a soaring one.

3. What’s not to like about a risk-reward par 5 with a pair of oak trees framing the fairway? The 519-yard (from the tips) 13th hole offers a shot at eagle, but drives that don’t find the fairway could lead to a second shot obstructed by an oak tree.

Three bunkers to the left of the green are deep enough bury a small car in, so going for the green in two comes with peril. But who is to say you won’t find the sand on your third shot?!

“You can go for the glory or play it safe,” McCarty said. “To hit your second shot, clear the bunker, and hold the green is quite a difficult shot.”

The payoff is a possible eagle or more likely birdie.

Who takes a Myrtle Beach golf trip to layup?

More about Shaftesbury Glen Golf Club

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September 5, 2014

Myrtle Beach’s Best Restaurant? Aspen Grille is Near the Top of List

Aspen Grille is one of Myrtle Beach's best restaurantsA golf trip to Myrtle Beach is about the area’s 100+ courses and unmatched value. But the Grand Strand is golf’s best destination, in part, because of what the area offers away from the course.

Those off-course attractions begin with 1,500+ restaurants. Identifying the best of the bunch isn’t easy, but there are a handful of restaurants that are at the top of nearly every list, and Aspen Grille is one of them.

Located on 51st Avenue North in the heart of Myrtle Beach, Aspen Grille is located in a non-descript strip of shops – the type of place you wouldn’t find if you didn’t know what you were looking for – but there is nothing pedestrian about the experience.

Executive chef and owner Curry Martin, who worked in Paris and Napa Valley before opening Aspen Grille, has created a restaurant that is sophisticated yet simple, highlighted by a kitchen staff and menu that has few peers.

The appetizer offerings are led by the fried green tomatoes, covered in pecan smoked bacon, Parmesan, and béarnaise sauce, and the local shrimp risotto. If Chef Curry’s signature pork belly appetizer is being offered as a special, don’t ask questions, just order it. You can thank me later.  

There are no wrong answers on the entrée menu, but if there is a better seafood dish in Myrtle Beach than Aspen’s scallops over roasted mushroom risotto, fried spinach and white wine butter sauce, I have yet to have it.

The scallops are always cooked perfectly and the risotto and spinach are nearly as good. The shrimp and grits and local caught fish specials also come highly recommended.

Any of the steak selections and the rack of lamb are good, too, but it’s hard not to order the scallops.

The perfect end to what might be the best meal in Myrtle Beach? The blueberry bread pudding. Even if you’re not a bread pudding fan, give it a try. It’s that good.

The Verdict: If you’ve read this far, you know the answer. At a cost of approximately $30 per entrée, Aspen Grille will not disappoint. Identifying the best restaurant in Myrtle Beach is a nearly impossible task, but the number of establishments that might be as good or better than Aspen Grille can be counted on a couple fingers. Make sure you call ahead for reservations.

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September 3, 2014

Golf Tip: How to Improve Your Distance Control on the Greens

Distance, Distance, DISTANCE!

Distance control when putting is one of the game's most vexing problems. There are few things more frustrating than a 20-foot birdie putt resulting in a tap-in for bogey. Classic Swing Golf School's Ted Frick has the cure for what ails you on the greens – a tip guaranteed to improve your distance control. 

 

 

 


Click for Myrtle Beach golf schoolsThese Myrtle Beach golf schools can turn your
golf vacation into a game-changer!

SEE MORE VIDEO TIPS!

Lower your handicap, fine-tune your advanced skills, or build a solid foundation for a golf game that will serve you for a lifetime. Wouldn't that just be the perfect Myrtle Beach souvenir? Check it out! And, don't forget, you can get these tips by email too!

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September 2, 2014

Big Break Myrtle Beach Cast Members Get THE Call

Listen in as the cast of Big Break Myrtle Beach finds out they have been selected to participate in the show, which begins airing on October 7 at 9PM! (More Big Break Myrtle Beach).

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August 29, 2014

Dennis Rasku Wins 3-Way Playoff to Capture 2014 Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship

Dennis Rasku of Pompano Beach, Fl., made a net birdie (gross par) on the first hole to win a 3-way, sudden death playoff and the World Championship Playoff at 31st annual Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship at Barefoot Resort’s Dye Club.

Rasku, a 9 handicap, Tony Wallace, a 5 handicap from Fayetteville, N.C., and Ben Hamby, a 7 handicap from Winter Springs, Fla., all shot net 72s to get into the playoff. (Complete ResultsDennis Rasku won Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championhship)

Rasku hit his approach to 22 feet and two-putted for par, on the Dye Club 410-yard ninth hole, besting Wallace and Hamby, neither of whom received a stroke on the hole. “From the weather to the World’s Largest 19th Hole, we enjoyed a wonderful week at the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship,” said Jeff Monday, World Am tournament director. “Congratulations to Dennis on earning the right to call himself World Champion and to our entire field for a great week of golf.”

Mark Gardiner of Mascoutah, Ill., shot a 1-under par 71 to win the World’s Am first Gross Division Championship. Gardiner’s score was the best of the day, net or gross. [COMPLETE WORLD AM COVERAGE]

Additionally, Brazilians Joao Tomazelli and Denis Song Min Cho shot a team total of 155 to win the International Pairs event and earn the right to compete in Scotland next year in the IP World Finals.

The World Championship Playoff is the annual culmination of the Myrtle Beach World Am, a 72-hole net, stroke play event. This year, more than 3,400 players from 48 states and 34 countries vied for the honor of hoisting the victor’s trophy.

Players were arranged into flights according to their handicap and at the conclusion of the four rounds, all flight winners (and ties) advanced to the 18-hole world championship playoff.

The World Am features five competitive divisions, ranging from men and women 49 years-of-age and under to the super seniors, who are 70 years-of-age and older. Players with handicaps as low as three and as high as 34 have won the event.

The weather throughout the week was ideal. The Dye Club, which has been ranked among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, was in pristine condition and provided an excellent test of golf for the finals.

The World Am web site www.worldamgolf.com offers a daily glimpse of the tournament with updated standings, news releases and photographs.

The 32nd annual Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship will be held August 31 – Sept. 4, 2015.

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August 29, 2014

Photo Gallery: Day 4 at the Myrtle Beach World Am

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August 28, 2014

Photo Gallery: 31st Annual Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship

The fourth round of the 31st annual World Amateur Handicap Championship was played today and flight winners were crowned. Enjoy a photo gallery from the day’s action.

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August 27, 2014

Photo Gallery: Win McMurry Lights up the World’s Largest 19th Hole

Television personality Win McMurry was at the World's Largest 19th Hole last night as part of the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship.

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August 26, 2014

Big Break Myrtle Beach – Your First Look!

Golf Channel has released its trailer for Big Break Myrtle Beach and it appears sparks will fly on and off the course! Enjoy an advance look at the show, which will debut on October 7 at 9 p.m.

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August 26, 2014

Meet the Cast of Big Break Myrtle Beach

The cast for Golf Channel’s 22nd season of its popular Big Break reality competition series – Big Break Myrtle Beach – was revealed today, featuring six men and six women hoping to take that next step in their professional golf careers.  They will compete for a grand prize of more than $100,000 in cash and prizes, including an exemption to either the 2015 Valspar Championship on the PGA TOUR or the 2015 Portland Classic on the LPGA Tour.  Big Break Myrtle Beach premieres Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.

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August 26, 2014

Big Break Myrtle Beach: Enjoy a Preview of the Fireworks

Big Break Myrtle Beach doesn’t debut until October 7 at 9 p.m. on Golf Channel but get an early look at the drama-filled season.

 

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