Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

Take a pictorial and video tour of Pawleys Plantation's 13th hole with the course's assistant pro Dale Ketola, who walks you through what to expect on one of Myrtle Beach's most recognizable holes. The par 3 measures just 145 yards from the tips but plays into a virtual island green set amidst a saltwater marsh.

They congregated in the pro shop snack bar at Indian Wells, ordered a round of drinks and figured out who won skins. It looked like any other group that comes to Myrtle Beach – a lot of story-telling, laughing and cold drinks.

While the 39 golfers that came together for four days and four rounds carried on as if they were life long friends, the reality is they hardly knew each other.

The internet has changed the world in a myriad of ways, something the Myrtle Beach Golf

Myrtle Beach boasts 10 of America’s top 100 golf courses, two of America’s top 25 golf schools, and now the area is home to the 2009 National Golf Course of the Year.

The Grande Dunes Resort Club recently earned Golf Course of the Year honors from the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA). Grande Dunes is the second Myrtle Beach area course to capture the annual award, joining International World Tour Golf Links, which earned the honor in 2004.
Grande

Golfers pay lip service to hitting every club in the bag, thinking their away around the course, and the challenge of target golf. It all sounds goods, but it’s not entirely true. 

Perry Swenson arrived for the filming of the first episode of Road Trip: Myrtle Beach with more bags than she could carry and little idea of what to expect. Swenson was the final member to join the Road Trip cast and she did so just days before the show started filming.

When she arrived, she had trouble with names but little problem figuring out a good time was in store.

“I really didn’t have time to form any expectations,” Swenson said. “At the last minute, I

The parking lot at Glen Dornoch was full of late model cars, many of the high-end variety, until Road Trip: Myrtle Beach star Mark Bryan arrived.

Bryan pulled into the parking lot, ferrying his castmates, in a navy blue, 1988 Chevy Suburban big enough to haul Kanye West’s ego. With the understated Bryan at the wheel, hubris was never a factor when the wood paneled SUV was on the scene.

To be clear, the car, despite its age, doesn’t run like a two-decade old tank. Bryan

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.