Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

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: 

Burning Ridge Golf Club, a Gene Hamm design, opened 30 years ago and has played more than 1 million rounds in the interim. 

Burning Ridge Golf Club has earned a comfortable and popular niche on the Myrtle Beach golf scene, catering to players looking for value and good conditions. With that in mind, we ask head pro Derek Aptt to name Burning Ridge Golf Club’s three best holes.

No. 4, 355-yard, par 4: One of Burning Ridge’s most memorable holes, No. 4 is a short par 4 with danger lurking everywhere. The landing area off the tee narrows to about 30 yards with water on the right and a large trap on the

Brad Redding, the director of instruction at Grande Dunes Golf Academy, show you how to “find impact.” The drill Redding demonstrates will improve your ability to find the sweet spot of your driver.

More Video Golf Tips, Please!

The honors keep piling up for two of the most popular Myrtle Beach golf courses – Dunes Club and Caledonia Golf & Fish Club.

Golfweek magazine, one of the game’s leading weekly publications, released its list of the country’s best Resort Courses and the two Myrtle Beach golf favorites were among the most highly regarded. Caledonia, a Mike Strantz design located in Pawleys Island, was ranked No. 21, and the Dunes Club, a classic Robert Trent Jones layout, was No.

Welcome to Charlie's Corner, the blog home for Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer. A lifelong Myrtle Beach golfer, Rymer, with his characteristic wit and unique perspective, will be weighing in on all things for Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.
 

Well it's over.  My first golf tournament in two years. 

I managed to survive four full rounds of keeping score at the Taylormade/Adidas Golf Pro-am in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  I was well back of the winning score of 15

The words Myrtle Beach golf courses bring smiles to face across the nation. While the area often referred to as the Grand Strand is actually a 60-mile swath of coastline spanning North and South Carolina, nearly every discussion of the region rightfully begins with the most popular name in golf travel.

Like good real estate, location, location, location, is the key, and Myrtle Beach golf courses have it. The centralized locale allows easy access to Myrtle Beach golf courses from every