Myrtle Beach Golf News

Registration opened this morning at the 29th Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship and it was great to catch up with a couple of our 3,100 players. We talked to a man who traveled for almost 24 hours to get here, a man who hails from the only town in America that lacks a consonant letter in its name (Aiea, Hawaii), and a guy who already already knows his left leg will be shaking on the first

Market Common has grown into one of the area’s most popular destinations for Myrtle Beach golfers, its combination of outstanding dining and nightlife proving a powerful lure. One of the town center-like development’s anchor establishments is Tommy Bahama, a company more immediately recognizable for the quality of its clothing. But the accompanying restaurant at Market Common is one of the area’s best. In this installment of the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair

Rees Jones has worked on courses that have hosted multiple U.S. Opens, Ryder Cups and PGA Championships, so he has crafted many quality layouts, including his work on the Jones Course at Sea Trail Plantation.

We assigned Sea Trail’s head pro, Eddie Pratt, the difficult task of identifying Jones’ best work at Sea Trail, and Pratt, after much thought, provided us the three best holes on the Jones Course, one of two Myrtle Beach golf courses he has designed.

Basketball legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving, baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan and former football star Ed “Too Tall” Jones are among the athletes and entertainers enjoying the Myrtle Beach golf experience as part of this weekend’s Know Your Score: Fight Prostate Cancer Celebrity Golf Tournament.

The fourth annual event will be played Saturday, August 18 at Pawleys Plantation, a Jack Nicklaus design that is among the area’s most scenic layouts.

All

The Grand Strand is home to more than a thousand restaurants, so it’s not easy for a new establishment to earn immediate acceptance as one of the best, but the area’s newest steakhouse has done just that. 21 Main, located at North Beach Plantation, has taken its seat alongside New York Prime and Ruth’s Chris as the area’s best places to order a steak. In this installment of the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal gives you an inside look at 21 Main and a

Market Common is a trendy urban shopping district, and it tastes like one too.

Featuring some of the Grand Strand's best dining, Market Common is a great place to go for a night out on your next Myrtle Beach golf trip.

Here are five restaurants in Market Common where you can't go wrong:

* Divine Prime is Market Common’s answer to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and New York Prime, featuring an extensive selection of Grade A Prime cuts of meat and fresh seafood.

If you

Everyone likes to get a new driver in search of a couple more yards off the tee, and in this installment of Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal introduces you to two of 2012’s most popular new drivers. Come to PGA Tour Superstore with Blair and get the inside scoop on two of the game’s hottest drivers – TaylorMade’s R11s and Cobra’s AMP driver. Blair and her guests provide a detailed look at what each driver offers and how they can benefit your game.

Dan Maples has publicly declared Willbrook Plantation one of his finest works, and a round at the South Strand gem will leave little doubt as to why. Willbrook challenges golfers with a strong design and charms them with an unforgettable lowcountry setting.

Identifying the cream of the crop at the 4.5-star course, a long-time favorite of Myrtle Beach golf insiders, isn’t easy, but we ask head pro Kevin McGuire to provide a look at the layout’s three best holes and he obliged.

Golf Magazine has unveiled its list of the “Top 100 Courses You Can Play,” a ranking of America’s 100 best public layouts, and three Myrtle Beach golf courses have earned a spot on the prestigious list.

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, Dunes Golf & Beach Club and the Love Course at Barefoot Resort all earned a spot among the nation’s elite public courses.

Caledonia, a Mike Strantz design, again led by the way. The South Strand favorite was ranked 27th, a one

Set amidst sprawling oak trees draped in Spanish moss and abundant wildlife, Willbrook Plantation provides a quality round of golf with the ambiance to match.

Range finders and GPS devices can help make the game easier and speed pace of play. In this installment of Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal takes you to PGA Tour Superstore to review the best distance measuring devices on the market. From laser range finders to handheld GPS devices, Blair showcases the latest and greatest on the market (including what she uses!). Find out which device will work best on your next Myrtle Beach golf trip.

Blair O’Neal: Hi. I'm Blair

Golf Magazine has release its biennial list of the best public courses in each state and, as expected, Grand Strand layouts feature prominently in the rankings for North and South Carolina.

Myrtle Beach golf courses dominated Golf Magazine’s list of the Palmetto State’s best layouts, occupying seven of the top 10 spots and 13 of 20 overall. A couple familiar names led the charge as Caledonia was No. 3 in South Carolina and the Dunes Club was No. 4. Both courses are currently

The on-stage entertainment for the 29th annual Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship is beginning to take shape, and a pair of personalities with national profiles will be among this year’s guests.

Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer is returning to the World’s Largest 19th Hole, and he will be joined by Blair O’Neal, a Cobra-Puma staff player who has been called America’s hottest golfer. O’Neal, who plays on the Symetra Tour, is also the host of the

Duane Whittle, Barefoot Resort & Golf’s superintendent, is starting to enjoy the summer months.

Whittle oversaw the recent installation of new Champion ultradwarf bermudagrass greens on the Dye Course at Barefoot, a transition that will improve the golf course and reduce his stress level when the temperature rises each summer. The Dye Course, which has been ranked among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest, reopened to the public on July 16 and the new

Myrtle Beach’s most revered golf course has received one of the area’s most prestigious honors.

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club has been named the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association’s 2012 Course of the Year.

The MBAGCOA evaluates Golf Course of the Year nominees on four criteria: exceptional quality of the golf course, exceptional quality of the ownership and management, outstanding contribution to the community, and significant contribution to the game.