Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

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.

Let’s get this out of the way early: by the standards of any decent golfer I’m horrible. A fragile psyche and a swing only Charles Barkley could love have conspired to keep my handicap on the wrong side of 20.

A new name, new greens and a couple holes with completely new looks have brought ample attention to the General James Hackler Course at Coastal Carolina, a staple of many Myrtle Beach golf packages.

Formerly known as Quail Creek, the Hackler Course, which was officially renamed on November 11, underwent a summer overhaul.

The course is owned by Coastal Carolina, the alma mater of PGA Tour star and Myrtle Beach golf spokesman Dustin Johnson,  and the university renamed it in honor Hackler, a former Air Force general who invented the golf package and worked tirelessly to improve the Grand Strand community.

While players will notice the new name on the scorecard, the greens are what they will be talking about. The course, then known as Quail Creek, opened in 1968 and the original greens remained, according to head pro Chuck Johns.

As a result of their age, the previous greens were bumpy and sometimes inconsistent, but those days are a thing of the past. Coastal’s commitment to the course was reflected in its decision to install new MiniVerde ultradwarf Bermuda grass greens.

MiniVerde thrives in the South Carolina heat and has become one of the most popular putting surfaces in the South.

The changes to the greens didn’t stop at the surface. Craig Schreiner, who co-designed the Member’s Course at Grande Dunes and led the renovation at Pine Lakes, oversaw the work at the Hackler Course, including the redesign of the greens.

What were once relatively flat putting surfaces now feature… 

Some of the nation’s best young golfers will be competing for a national championship in Myrtle Beach this weekend.

The National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) will be hosting its national championship at Barefoot Resort on November 16-17. The two-day, stroke play event will feature the 24 best non-varsity teams in the nation.

Barefoot is home to four award-winning layouts and the highly acclaimed Love and Dye Courses, both of which have been ranked among America’s

There are more than 1,800 holes along the Myrtle Beach golf scene, and one of the game’s leading travel writers believes he has found the most underrated test on the Grand Strand.

In his third annual Travelin’ Joe Awards, Golf Magazine travel editor Joe Passov, in an entry titled “Most Underrated Hole (Myrtle Beach Division),” recognized the 14th hole at Grande Dunes, writing:

“I thought I knew Myrtle pretty well, but I hadn’t played Grande Dunes until August. Architect Roger Rulewich did an excellent job and totally surprised me with the pulse-quickening 220-yard, par-3 14th. Downhill tee shot, massive green, gargantuan bunker, superb interaction with the Intracoastal Waterway – impressive.”

Who are we to argue with Passov, who has played more than 1,500 courses around the globe?

Passov’s assessment of the 14th is spot-on. Mercifully for those of us who don’t play the game as well as Travelin’ Joe, the hole plays a much more manageable 158 yards from the white tees. It’s an outstanding hole and the tee shot is the most dramatic on a course full of them.

The Intracoastal comes into play on six holes at Grande Dunes and is visible on two others, adding stunning scenery to an elite design.

The course opened in 2001 and immediately took its place among the area’s best, delighting players with not only its views but the challenge of a layout strong enough to co-host the 2014 PGA Professional National Championship.

In addition to being ranked among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest, Grande Dunes was named National Golf Course of the Year by the National Golf Course Owners Association in 2009.