Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

The Road Trip: Myrtle Beach cast had just reconvened from all parts of the country on a sun-splashed day at Thistle Golf Club in early October. Tee time was set for 2 p.m., but timeliness wasn’t a priority.

Josh Kelley arrived on a redeye flight from the West Coast; Mark Bryan drove up from his home in Charleston; Perry Swenson, fresh off attempting to advance in LPGA Q-School, and Charlie Rymer, who recently wrapped up filming of his first season as host of the Big Break, also

They had to get out the fishing gear, stare man-eating reptiles in the eye, put on their dancing shoes, and as always, play a lot of great golf. Yes, the cast of Road Trip: Myrtle Beach had a surplus of fun during its swing through the North end of Myrtle Beach’s Grand Strand, and now it’s time to relive the excitement.

Road Trip: Myrtle Beach – Golf Channel’s most popular travel show –  returns to the air with four new episodes, beginning Tuesday, November

Myrtle Beach long ago carved out its niche as America’s most popular golf destination, and now it can lay legitimate claim to being among the best and most cost effective places to learn the game.

 The Grand Strand is home to two of the “Top 25 Golf Schools in America,” according to Golf Magazine. The Phil Ritson-Mel Sole Golf School, located at Pawleys Plantation, and Classic Swing Golf School, located at Legends Resort, were both named to the prestigious

Founders Club opened its doors in February 2008 convinced it was ready take a place alongside the South Strand’s lineup of elite courses.

Belief in the upscale status of the Pawleys Island layout was validated by the October 27 release of Golfweek’s Best New Courses list. The ranking took into consideration every course opened in the United States – public or private – in 2007 and 2008, and Founders Club was ranked 36th.

“We are very thrilled with

The clubhouse is as stunning as it is large. Built with stone, timber beams and stucco and rising from the ground like an ancient Scottish mansion, the new clubhouse at Thistle Golf Club is among the finest in region, if not the country.

Thistle, a 27-hole facility and one of the Myrtle Beach golf’s best kept secrets, opened its 15,600-square foot clubhouse in mid-June to rave reviews. From the 38-foot ceilings to the collection of rare golf memorabilia, the clubhouse adds to the

Kelly Thurman has watched every “Road Trip: Myrtle Beach” episode, rarely failing to tell his wife, Nancy, what a great group Mark Bryan, Josh Kelley, Charlie Rymer and Perry Swenson would be to play with. As Thurman watched Swenson sing “Rocky Top” near the conclusion of one episode, he had no idea how close he was to joining the fun-loving cast on a Myrtle Beach golf trip. Minutes after Swenson serenaded the Crocodile Rocks crowd, the Road Trip: Myrtle

Woods vs. Nicklaus. Lakers vs. Celtics. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Bentgrass vs. bermudagrass. Yes, great sports debates can carry over to the greens of your favorite golf course.

For many people on a Myrtle Beach golf trip, the bent vs. bermuda debate most closely resembled the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. The Yankees (representing bentgrass) had the championships and history to back their position, while the Red Sox (bermuda grass) had supporters but there was little doubt about the

From a stroll on the Marsh Walk in Murrells Inlet to the drive down Oak Alley on the way to Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, the South Strand has its own distinct flavor. In a vacation destination renowned for its surplus of activities, the southern end of the Grand Strand is a relaxing alternative.

Running from Murrell's Inlet, the seafood capital of South Carolina, through Litchfield and Pawleys Island, the South Strand is home to a charming string of locally owned

The Myrtle Beach area trumpets its 1,000+ restaurants, and some of the best are on the South Strand, despite the recent closing of Louis’s at Pawleys, home of the best shrimp and grits around.

If you are in the South Strand, here are five restaurants worth your time to visit:

Frank’s: There is a strong argument to be made that Frank’s is the Grand Strand’s best restaurant. Opened in 1988, its menu features cuisine from the Lowcountry to the Pacific Rim.

The following is a list of Grand Strand layouts with bentgrass greens:

Avocet at Wild Wing

Crow Creek

Dunes Golf & Beach Club

Dye Course at Barefoot Resort

Fazio Course at Barefoot Resort

Grande Dunes

International World Tour Golf Links

Kings North at Myrtle Beach National

Leopard's Chase at Ocean Ridge Plantation

Lion's Paw at Ocean Ridge Plantation

Love Course at Barefoot Resort

Man O'War

Norman Course at

Myrtle Beach is the Grand Strand's most vibrant community, and no attraction, other than the Atlantic Ocean, of course, generates more buzz than Broadway at the Beach.

The 350-acre complex, located in the heart of Myrtle Beach between 21st and 29th avenues, is the largest social gathering spot for locals and golfers alike. While Broadway's surplus of shopping likely doesn't appeal to the average golfer, its bevy of dining and entertainment options do. Broadway is

Plans for the renovation of Pine Lakes International Country Club began over four years ago. Craig Schreiner, the architect hired to restore the Granddaddy to its place among the Grand Strand’s elite, drew up 12 different layout scenarios over a period of 18 months. Pine Lakes and its famed clubhouse are also part of the National Registry of Historic Places, adding another set of eyes the course’s renovation plans had to please. The process has been long on details and devoid of

Pine Lakes Country Club Hole-By-Hole Guide

Hole No. 1 Par 4, 346 yards
— Formerly hole No. 10
— Pine Lakes opens with three shorter and straight holes purposely designed by Craig Schreiner to build the golfers’ confidence at the beginning of the round
— “Risk and reward” hole as low handicappers can choose to hit over two prominent bunkers that guard the green in the front while high handicappers can choose safer elevated grass approach on the right side
— One of

South Carolina state senator Dick Elliott, the owner of Eagle Nest Golf Club, compares course architects to homebuilders. If an architect and a builder do a good job, people become attached to their work, grateful for the creation of a product that brings joy over an extended period of time.

Elliott contracted with Hall of Fame architect Gene Hamm to build Eagle Nest in 1972, and the two developed an acquaintance that has spanned decades. Eagle Nest was one of the North

Paula Morton stood 60 yards from the 18th pin at the famed Dunes Golf & Beach Club with a sand wedge in her hand and the realization that her dream of being crowned World Champion at the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship was potentially slipping away.

Morton, who had just dumped her third shot in the water, took a drop in the rough on a downhill lie and told herself to get the ball close. She did even better, delivering the most dramatic shot in the