Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

The season premier of Big Break Myrtle Beach will air Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Golf Channel. The network’s most popular original show, Big Break is making its long anticipated appearance in Myrtle Beach.

Twelve aspiring young professionals – six men, six women – competed on four Myrtle Beach golf courses in hopes of winning Big Break, and, along with it, an opportunity that could launch them onto the game’s biggest stages. The 11-episode series was filmed in June.

Golf Channel has launched a new travel website – GolfAdvisor.com – that features many of the game’s premier travel writers, including Matt Ginella, one of the network’s stars.

The site recently convened an all-star travel panel – Ginella, Jason Deegan, Mike Bailey and Brandon Tucker – for a roundtable discussion of all things Myrtle Beach golf.

It’s a great read from four guys who certainly know and understand the Myrtle Beach golf market. While we definitely recommend reading the entire story, here are a few passages, including a debate over the area’s best course, we wanted to share:

Favorite high-end golf course
Ginella: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club. From the driveway — through a long tunnel of oak trees — to the subtle charms of a Mike Strantz design, and the betting that takes place after the round on the back porch, I can't get back to Caledonia soon enough.

Tucker: The Dunes Golf & Beach Club. Sorry, Caledonia, I'm a sucker for the classics.

Hard to argue with either choice!

Best bargain golf in Myrtle Beach

Deegan: Many Dan Maples designs — there are seven along the Grand Strand — won't wow you, but dollar for dollar, golfers are well served. The Heritage Club is the best one, but Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club in Sunset Beach, N.C., might be the best bargain.

Bingo, Mr. Deegan! Sandpiper is one not only one of the best bargains in the area, it’s one of the most underrated tracks we have. Heritage is, needless to say, outstanding.

Deegan was no less helpful in providing his best Myrtle Beach travel tip, saying

“Don't chase a star-studded itinerary by trying to play all the “ranked” courses. Chose the most convenient schedule for you and your buddies by playing near where you are staying.”

There are enough ranked courses in each area of the Strand to provide great golf on any trip, but the point about playing near your accommodations is a good one for most groups.

The complete story offers an evaluation of the best restaurants, resorts and value in the area, and is well worth reading, especially if you have a fall trip to Myrtle Beach planned. We will close with Ginella’s answer when asked about the most surprising thing about the area:

“It's not surprising there are so many value-golf options along the Grand Strand, but not many people realize that the top courses here can compete with some of the best public golf in the country.”

Amen, Matt.

One of Myrtle Beach's best and most scenic courses, Tidewater Golf Club, reopened on October 1 with new miniverde bermuda grass greens. The course was closed for four months for the installation of new greens and several other projects, including the expansion of every fairway, and it was in pristine condition upon its reopening. Enjoy the first look at the “new” Tidewater.

Tidewater Golf Club, one of Myrtle Beach’s best and most honored courses, reopened on October 1 after an extensive greens restoration project.

The course, which plays along the Intracoastal Waterway and Cherry Grove Inlet, installed new Miniverde Bermuda grass greens as part of the project.

Tidewater didn’t merely install new greens. Management hired a company to study drainage and perform a soil analysis on each putting complex. The result was vastly improved drainage and a new, custom soil profile that ensures the course’s greens will have optimal conditions in the short and long term.

“We are extremely excited,” said Archie Lemon, Tidewater’s general manager. “At Tidewater, we have a beautiful layout; it’s second to none. Now our greens are back up to the standard we want them to be.” PHOTO GALLERY

Tidewater closed for the project on June 9 and also used the time to enhance the course’s playability and already dramatic aesthetics.

Among the improvements was the widening or lengthening of every fairway on the course. The notable expansions included:

• The fairway on the par 5 eighth hole was lengthened by 60 yards, bringing it much closer to the tee boxes.
• The landing area for the second shot on the par 5 16th hole was widened by 20 yards.
• The 18th hole, one of the Grand Strand’s toughest par 4s, had its fairway widened by 10 yards in the landing area.  

“We’d all rather be playing from the fairway, and sometimes the difference between being in the fairway and rough can be night and day for golfers on holes like No 18,” Lemon said.

Speaking of expanded surfaces, the greens were restored to their original size, which netted Tidewater an additional 10,000-square feet of putting surface. There was also an additional 3 ½ acres of sod laid on the course outside of playable areas, more than 400 trees were removed, and the bunkers all received new sand.

The project was spearheaded by Kris Spence Golf Design. Spence, who oversaw the renovation of Sedgefield Country Club, host of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, is renowned for his golf course restoration work.

Tidewater, which has been ranked among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, was the first layout ever named best new course in America by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, and it raised the profile of the Myrtle Beach golf community upon its 1990 opening. Nine of the course’s 18 holes play along either Cherry Grove or the Intracoastal Waterway.

Tidewater’s most famed hole is the par 5 13th, which offers a view of the inlet and the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. The thirteenth is hardly the only memorable challenge at Tidewater. The fourth hole, a par 4 that plays along Cherry Grove, is arguably the most dramatic par 4 along the Myrtle Beach golf scene.

With new greens and pristine conditions, Tidewater is a must-play course this fall.

Links Magazine ranked the top 25 golf islands and a small corner of the Myrtle Beach golf market stood tall. Tiny Pawleys Island was ranked the 10th best golf island, outpolling the likes of Prince Edward, Puerto Rico and New Zealand.

The magazine said of Pawleys Island, while recognizing it for offering best bang for your buck, “How can you not go with an island alongside Myrtle Beach, especially when two of the 10 courses are Caledonia and True Blue.”

While Caledonia and True Blue, both of which are ranked among America’s top 100 public courses, anchor the considerable golf offerings on Pawleys Island, they are hardly alone. Pawleys Plantation, one of the most scenic courses on the Myrtle Beach golf scene, Heritage Club, a top 100 caliber layout, Willbrook Plantation, Founders Club and Tradition Club are all outstanding tracks.

The charms of Pawleys Island extend beyond the golf course. The sprawling live oak trees and lowcountry setting make Pawleys the antithesis of downtown Myrtle Beach, where nightlife and entertainment are rarely more than a block away.

None of that is to say Pawleys lacks for fun, it’s just a little more quaint. The area is home to some of the Grand Strand’s best restaurants, highlighted by Bistro 217.

When you add it all up, Pawleys Island is certainly worthy of its spot on the Links Magazine list, which was headlined by No. 1 Great Britain, No. 2 Ireland and No. 3 Australia. Despite it’s many virtues, it’s hard for Pawleys Island to compete with entire countries!

If being voted America’s best golf destination by readers of USA Today and Golf.com wasn’t enough to convince you of the virtues of a Myrtle Beach golf vacation, Golf Magazine has provided plenty of corroborating evidence.

I’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.

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.

Sea 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.

Par 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.

Par 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!

The 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.

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?

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More about Shaftesbury Glen Golf Club

A 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.

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. 

These 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!

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).