Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

The Marina Inn at Grande Dunes has long been acknowledged as one of Myrtle Beach’s best, now Trip Advisor has ranked it among America’s premier hotel properties.

The Marina Inn at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, S.C., has been named one of the “Top 25 Hotels in the United States” in TripAdvisor's 2011 Travelers' Choice Hotel Awards. It was ranked #18 and is the only Myrtle Beach hotel to receive this honor.

The AAA four-diamond property — located on

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach has been listed by Golfweek among their 2011 “Best Classic Courses” in the United States and is ranked at No. 105. The historic Robert Trent Jones-designed course has also been ranked by the magazine as the fifth best in the state of South Carolina for its “Best Courses You Can Play” list. The 2011 rankings appear in the March 11 issue of the magazine.

“When you see the list of outstanding classic golf courses in

There has been much discussion in recent months about the need to grow the game of golf. While the game’s powerbrokers sit on committees and pontificate, one long-time Myrtle Beach golf group already has a plan that insures the health of their trip: invite someone new to play.

The men of the 33rd Parallel Golf Extravaganza have been making an annual winter golf trip to Myrtle Beach for nine years – the last several over Super Bowl weekend. The group has 20 to 25 guys that

The First Tee of Myrtle Beach accepted a donation on Friday in the amount of $10,000 from the Hootie Foundation, the non-profit organization created in 2000 in conjunction with the annual Hootie & The Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament. The check presentation was made by band member Dean Felber to The First Tee of Myrtle Beach via the South Carolina Junior Golf Association during a morning ceremony at Barefoot Resort & Golf’s Dye Club.

The

The popular ESPN Radio show “Mike & Mike in the Morning,” featuring hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, will broadcast from the 17th annual Hootie & The Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am at Barefoot Resort’s Dye Club on April 11. The four-hour radio show will also be simulcast live on ESPN2 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The announcement was made today by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.

The live Mike & Mike broadcast will be the culmination of a first

Surf Club golf course is one of Myrtle Beach’s most revered courses, particularly by those who know the area golf scene well. Built in 1959, Surf Club grew into a private club but has opened up a limited number of tee times for Myrtle Beach public play in 2011.

Given that the course hasn’t been available for public play in recent years, Surf Club is an unknown quantity to many Myrtle Beach golfers, but there is much to like. Here are five things you need to know about Surf

The Surf Club, which seems to get better with age, recently opened a limited number of tee times for public play, delighting Myrtle Beach golfers who relish an outstanding, traditional design.

If your next golf trip takes you to the classic North Myrtle Beach track, here are three holes, according to head pro Bill Campbell, that you will remember.

No. 3, 185-yard, par 3: Surf Club’s most demanding par 3 is an architectural gem, challenging high and low handicappers alike. Water comes into play on the right side and a pair of traps on each side of the green can make for demanding pin positions, but the front of the green is open, allowing players to run the ball up.
 

That being said, the third hole, with its deep green, rewards high-quality shots.

“(The third hole) is an opportunity, I don’t care what level you play to,” Campbell said. “It’s more advantageous for someone that can hit a high iron shot and stop the ball.”

No. 10, 564-yard, par 5: The 10th hole is a dogleg left that brings water into play on the first two shots for the average player, but it’s a challenge everyone remembers. A lake runs along the left side of the fairway before dissecting it approximately 275 yards from the tips.

The 10th is much easier for low handicappers, who typically have the length and confidence to cutoff the dogleg and fly the lake off the tee, setting up a possible eagle.

Regardless of your skill level, No. 10 is generally regarded as one of the best holes in Myrtle Beach

No. 18, 206-yard, par 3: Surf Club closes with a memorable par 3, which is a bit unusual for a course of its stature, but in no way is it anti-climatic. The course’s longest par 3, No. 18 typically plays into the wind coming from the Atlantic Ocean just two blocks away, and there is a formidable lake that must be carried.

Once players reach the multi-tiered green, which is in the shadow of a stately clubhouse, the fun is just beginning.

“You think getting over the lake is the issue and you get to the green and find out it was the issue all along,” Campbell said.

The 18th hole doesn’t allow players to relent in the closing moments of a round and it sends players home with a vivid memory.

What are your favorite holes at the Surf Club?

The last six months have been good ones for Sandpiper Bay Golf Club. The 27-hole, North Strand facility won Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association Golf Course of the Year honors in July, completed a three-year greens renovation project in August, and launched a new, consumer-friendly website at the end of 2010. The Golf Course of the Year award is difficult for any course to anticipate, but Sandpiper’s new website – www.sandpiperbaygolf.com – was months in the

The Grand Strand is home to seven of the nation’s top 100 public courses and now, thanks to Farmstead Golf Links, it’s home to one of the “18 Most Fun Holes in America.”  Golf Digest’s Architecture Editor, Ron Whitten, compiled a list of America’s most enjoyable holes to play and No. 18 – a mammoth 767-yard, par 6 – at Farmstead Golf Links made the cut.

Long regarded as one of the Grand Strand’s most unique holes, No. 18 is so big

Heritage Club is the 33rd best public course in America, according to Golf Digest, so there are plenty of quality holes. We asked first assistant head pro Sean Pearson to tell us Heritage’s three best, and he obliged. No. 4, 440-yard, par 4: As difficult as it is beautiful, No. 4 is Heritage’s toughest hole. It requires a forced carry off the tee, a large oak tree guards the left side of the fairway and a bunker looms on the right. The multi-tiered green complex is protected by

Heritage Club is a South Strand classic. The course features the lowcountry beauty – soaring live oak trees draped in Spanish moss, marshland and magnolia trees – that makes it among the most scenic Myrtle Beach golf courses. We have five factoids that could improve your play at the Dan Maples design or impress your friends. 1. Home of the Best: Heritage, according to Golf Digest, is the 33rd best public course in America, but the property has a long history of ranking among the

Carolina National Golf Club has a high profile architect, is set on a stunning piece of property, and was awarded 4.5 stars by Golf Digest’s prestigious “Best Places to Play” guide. The 27-hole facility has nearly everything, except the widespread recognition a course of its quality generally receives.

Even for long-time Myrtle Beach golfers, Carolina National is likely on the short list of the best Grand Strand courses you’ve never played. But one the area’s best kept secrets is beginning to emerge.

Located on the north end of the Grand Strand, Carolina National Golf Club’s low profile has nothing to do with the quality of golf. Playing along the Lockwood Folly River, Carolina National is one of the area’s most scenic and environmentally friendly tracks.

The Fred Couples design is home to three nines – the Heron, Egret and Ibis, all named for birds native to the sprawling coastal property – that offer different experiences. Couples, who has 20+ designs to his credit, doesn’t force his vision on a piece of land, choosing instead to craft a golf course that plays to the strengths of the property he is working on.

The result at Carolina National is… 

In this edition of Nature Valley’s Tips From the Pro, Brad Redding, the director of instruction at Grande Dunes Golf Academy, tells you what baseball, hockey and golf have in common and shows you how to properly position and use the club face during the swing.

Carolina National Golf Club is home to 27 holes, many of them genuinely memorable.  We quizzed general manager/head pro Steve Beecroft about the facility’s best and after much angst (it’s not a course with just one or two standout holes, he pleaded), we got our answers.

The three best holes at Carolina National Golf Club, increasingly a Myrtle Beach golf vacation favorite, in the eyes of the general manager are:
 

Heron, No. 5, 203-yard, par 3: Carolina

If you are looking for an under-the-radar Myrtle Beach gem, Carolina National Golf Club is a good place to start. The Fred Couples design has been a quiet standout on the north end of the Grand Strand and it’s worth getting acquainted with. Before you take your group to the 27-hole facility, here are five things you need to know: