Myrtle Beach Golf News

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).

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 Results)

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The first round of the 2014 Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship is in the books! Get a look at some of the action from on the course.

Doc Burgess, Critt Gore and George Hilliard were inducted into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Sunday evening at Pine Lakes Country Club.

Established to pay tribute to the men and women who have played significant roles in the development of the Myrtle Beach area golf industry, the Hall of Fame was founded in 2009.
 
“Doc Burgess, Critt Gore and George Hilliard were vital to Myrtle Beach’s growth as a golf destination,” said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “Their industriousness and vision helped set the standard for the Grand Strand golf community, and they are richly deserving of their spot in the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.”  

A man of uncommon vision, Burgess, who was inducted posthumously, was truly one of the giants of the Myrtle Beach golf community. His combination of a keen intellect and strong work ethic made him one of the driving forces behind the area’s emergence as a world-class golf destination.

Burgess, a dentist by trade, helped form the Myrtle Beach National group in the 1970s and was vital to its growth into one of America’s most successful multi-course facilities. He was also a pioneer in using technology to make the golf business more efficient.

A tireless work ethic helped make Gore a cornerstone of the Myrtle Beach golf community. Along with a group of investors, he bought Possum Trot in 1980 and has been an integral part of the community ever since. With Gore setting the tone, Possum Trot built its reputation as the Grand Strand’s friendliest course, and he was just getting started.

He was part of a group that built Heather Glen and Glen Dornoch, two layouts that significantly enhanced Myrtle Beach’s national profile. While the native Pennsylvanian was busying running three successful layouts, he always had time to help the community. Gore was a member of the Myrtle Beach Golf Course Owners Association board of directors from 1986-89 and served as president of the organization in 1988-89.

After 26 years of service in the United States Air Force, Hilliard became executive director of the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association in 1988.

With the help of a dedicated golf community, he spearheaded numerous programs, including the area’s first computerized tee time reservation system, the Myrtle Beach Golf Passport program, the industry’s health insurance program for course employees, and statewide and national efforts for tax reductions for course owners.

For more information about Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame, visit www.themyrtlebeachgolfhalloffame.com.

Registration for the 2014 Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship got off to a smooth start on a sun-baked Saturday in Myrtle Beach. The tournament's 3,400 players began checking in at the North Myrtle and Myrtle Beach PGA Tour Superstores this morning, and we are less than 48 hours from the first shot of the event being struck. Enjoy a sampling of the sights and sounds from the opening of registration.

Four Myrtle Beach golf courses have earned a spot on Golf Magazine’s list of the “Top 100 Courses You Can Play,” a biennial ranking of the nation’s best public courses that was unveiled in the September issue of the magazine.

Additionally, the Grand Strand dominated the magazine’s list of the “Best Courses Near You,” a ranking of public courses in each state. “Myrtle Beach has as many great layouts as any destination in America, and Golf Magazine’s Top 100 You Can Play rankings are further affirmation of the quality of golf we offer,” said Bill Golden, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday’s president. “We were very proud of being voted Best Golf Destination by readers of USA Today, and we are equally happy to receive the critical acclaim of one of the game’s most respected media outlets.”

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, the area’s highest ranked course, was 27th on the “Top 100 You Can Play” list. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club was No. 42, followed by True Blue at No. 77 and the Love Course at Barefoot Resort at No. 85.

Seven of the 10 best public golf courses in the Palmetto State are located in Myrtle Beach and 13 of 20 overall, according to Golf Magazine. In a state renowned for its golf, Myrtle Beach’s dominance is a powerful testament to depth and quality of the area’s offerings.

Caledonia was ranked the third best public course in South Carolina, followed by Dunes Club (No. 4), True Blue (No. 6), Love Course (No. 7), Tidewater (No. 8), Fazio Course at Barefoot (No. 9), TPC Myrtle Beach (No. 10), Dye Course at Barefoot Resort (No. 13), Grande Dunes (No. 15), King’s North at Myrtle Beach National (No. 16), Heritage Club (No. 17), Pawleys Plantation (No. 19), and Heathland at Legends Resort (No. 20).

The Grand Strand was well represented in the North Carolina rankings as well, with four of the Tar Heel state’s top 20 layouts residing in Brunswick County.

On the North Carolina side of the border, Leopard’s Chase at Ocean Ridge Plantation was the ninth ranked course in the state, followed by No. 11 Tiger’s Eye at Ocean Ridge, No. 13 Rivers Edge, and No. 19 Oyster Bay.

Eagle Nest Golf Club is one of the pioneers on the Myrtle Beach golf scene, helping open the door for area’s expansion into Little River and even Brunswick County, North Carolina.

The Gene Hamm design has sent countless golfers home happy since opening in 1972, and the facility has recently redoubled its commitment to conditioning and customer service.

From putt to drive, there is no better feeling in golf than hitting the ball directly in the sweet spot of the clubface.

It's quite rewarding as well!

The sweet spot is the area of the club face between the heel and the toe. For most golfers, it is simply the center of the face of the club head (Picture #1).

One of the main reasons this point of contact can be so elusive at times is that, from putt to drive, the orbiting club head, and specifically the sweet spot, must be trained to approach the ball from inside the target line. If the orbiting club head gets outside the target line before impact (Picture #2), nightmares will certainly follow.

The intelligent mind instructs the golfer to swing down the target line at impact in order to hit the ball straight. Unfortunately, the golf club is built on an angle so if you want to find the sweet spot, you must learn to attack the ball from inside the target line.

As Homer Kelley stated in The Golfing Machine, you must feel in to out through impact.

For a visual, reference Picture #3.

The red line is the delivery line guiding the sweet spot and the white line is the target line.

For consistent sweet spot delivery, the golfer must learn to differentiate between the target line and the delivery line.

The delivery line (the red line in the picture) is the answer to sweet spot contact.

As Homer Kelly once said, “divots are not just taken down, but down and out through impact.”
 

Ted Frick is the Owner and Director of Instruction
at the Classic Swing Golf School

These Myrtle Beach golf schools can turn your
golf vacation into a game-changer!

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!

Tradition Club is a hidden gem in Pawleys Island, surrounded by some of the area’s most heralded courses. But fun and sun certainly shine on Ron Garl’s only Myrtle Beach golf course and the players who tee it up there.

One of a dozen courses that make up the Grand Strand’s Waccamaw Golf Trail, Tradition Club stands on its own reputation for quality golf. Its star is bright, good enough to earn a prestigious 4 ½-star ranking from Golf Digest and it is a former South Carolina Course of the Year.

In fact, Tradition Club mirrors Pawleys Island’s tranquility. Its green location was developed on a 16th century plantation property. Players are immediately relaxed within the friendly confines of towering pines and live oaks. While the course doesn’t stretch to the 7,000-yard plateau – 6,875 yards from the championship markers – it’s plenty of challenge for any level of golfer.

One of the signature holes at Tradition Club is the intriguing 377-yard (from the men’s tees) par-4 7th. Why is it intriguing? Just ask one of the many players whose lengthy approach shot failed to rest on the peninsula green. This test of nerves and length is similar to many holes at Tradition Club where holes are superbly framed by tall pines.

The second hole gives the seventh a run for its money in the picturesque department. A snake-like bunker and a large water hazard decorate this 165-yard par-3 from tee to green.

Tradition Club puts out the welcome mat for dad, mom and the kids. The entire family benefits in the experience thanks to a “kids play free’’ deal when accompanied by a paying adult.

Golfers who plan an annual Myrtle Beach golf trip have the luxury of selecting from an eclectic number of courses, but it’s wise for those who choose the South Strand not to overlook The Tradition Club.