Golf Group of the Week: 33rd Parallel Golf Extravaganza
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 are regulars and then various players cycle through, pushing their total to as many as 40 people.
What makes the 33rd Parallel Golf Extravaganza unique is that they are just as likely to invite players who are new to the game as they are grizzled veterans. Over time, guys like Marvin Winn, who took up golf just months in advance of his first Myrtle Beach trip, become avid players and core members of the group.
Instead of separating the high handicappers from the low handicappers, the 33rd Parallel guys pair them up and help the newbies improve their game.
Mentoring comes natural to many in the group, which included players from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia and Florida this year. The leader of the 33rd Parallel Golf Extravaganza is Jay Williams, who pastors a church in Frederick, Md. While some people take full advantage of Myrtle Beach’s famed nightlife, this group enjoys an equally good time (better in their eyes) in a low key manner.
Most of the 34 guys who made the trek were united through their faith – there were two pastors on the trip – but sharing the majority’s religion certainly isn’t required. They welcome all comers with an emphasis on having a good time and making new friends.
An absence of late nights on the town shouldn’t be associated with a lack of fun. Smiles and good natured jabs were as common as birdies and bogeys, especially at the awards ceremony where plaques, bobbleheads and a few one-liners were handed out.
“This (trip) breaks the monotony of everyday life and I look forward to it every year,” Warren White of Largo, Md., said. “It’s a chance to recharge my batteries and I go back (home) and get back to the grind. That’s why I set it aside every year.”
With that in mind, here are the thoughts of Pastor Jay Williams on his group’s 2011 trip:
Where did your group stay? Ocean Reef
What courses were part of your package? Wachesaw East, Pawleys Plantation and Southcreek at Myrtle Beach National
How did the trip get started and grow?
Word of mouth. My wife’s cousin is from West Virginia so he brought some West Virginia folks. My brother is from DC so he brought some DC folks and it just branched out from there.
Why come in early February?
This time of year is good for us because of price … We leave freezing weather up north and have 50-60 degree weather down here. We love golf, although most of us can’t play it!
What role does faith play in your trip?
Most of the guys are church oriented. We enjoy the fellowship but we try not to be exclusively a church oriented or Christian group because we want to have an influence with people who don’t know the Lord. We don’t do a lot of preaching. We have a 5-minute inspirational on Sunday mornings.
How did your group get its name?
We gathered for a group picture a few years ago, and the guy we asked to take the picture asked what our name was and we said we didn’t have one. He said, look you are on the 33rd parallel so he said that would be a good name and it stuck.
As the planner of a 34-man trip, what advice would you give fellow group leaders?
I try to mix in courses that are in the plan and a premium course or two so that it’s kind of manageable. Then I try to make sure everybody gets to know everyone else. I mix up the foursomes; we have two teams, the Aliens and the Predators and it makes it fun. You are playing one team against the other but it’s a friendly competition. We use handicaps to even things up. The guys like the fellowship. I have guys that keep in touch year round that when they started coming didn’t know each other.
