In the Studio with Charlie Rymer: Meredith Kirk Touts 3 Favorite Myrtle Beach Golf Courses for Women

Charlie Rymer:

Well, let’s talk a little bit about the golf courses that we offer here in Myrtle Beach, because we’ve got our share of top 100s. We’ve got some that are really hard, that are really difficult. We’ve got some that are a little bit easier, and the price points are a little more comfortable on the pocketbook. Let’s say there’s a group of ladies coming to play Myrtle Beach for the first time, and they’re looking to put together an itinerary. What would be your top course or two that should be on an itinerary for, in particular, ladies new to the game?

Meredith Kirk:

Well, I would say definitely Willbrook Plantation. That has been ranked by Golf Digest as one of the most women-friendly courses in Myrtle Beach. Coincidentally, that’s the course I teach at as well. It’s great.

Charlie Rymer:

What makes a golf course female-friendly?

Meredith Kirk:

Well, one, you want it to be short. You don’t want it to be long. You don’t want the difficulty of the course to be too challenging. You want to be able to, when you tee off, land the ball somewhere in the fairway. With a large portion of the fairway, you’re able to see, if you don’t like narrow, tight fairways with lots of obstacles, bunkers, and water and hazards and whatnot. So I think just women going in saying, “Okay.” They’re on the tee. They can actually see the pin. It’s not too far away, and they can kind of break it down, and feel like they’re able to conquer that hole saying, “Okay, if I can hit it, if I can get to the green in three, maybe four shots,” if they’re a beginner, “I’m good with that.”

Charlie Rymer:

Yeah. Builds some confidence.

Meredith Kirk:

Build confidence, yes, so I would definitely say Willbrook Plantation. Myrtle Beach National, the West Course would be great. Blackmoor Golf Club is a great course. That is-

Charlie Rymer:

Gary Player. Mm-hmm.

Meredith Kirk:

Yeah, the Gary Player Course. I love Blackmoor. I taught there years ago, early in my career, and I love that course. Very friendly out there, and it’s short. And so yes, it’s, you want to start on courses that will, like you said, build your confidence, and then you can kind of grow with your game. As you start to shoot lower scores and you want to take on a little bit more of a challenge, then you can move to little bit more challenging courses, like Pawleys Plantation or TPC Myrtle Beach and whatnot. So it’s just one bite at a time, just getting your feet wet. If a woman is watching this, I’d just say, “Get your feet wet with it.”

Charlie Rymer:

Right.

Meredith Kirk:

Just learn the basic fundamentals. Take a group clinic and go out there and just don’t keep score. Have fun. Start with Willbrook.

Charlie Rymer:

I love it. And then afterwards is the most fun part of golf, and it’s really nice to see a lot of facilities investing in maintenance and adding things, putting some things in play that are making the experience more fun for golfers. For example, you and I were at Grande Dunes recently.

Meredith Kirk:

Yes.

Charlie Rymer:

And the clubhouse had been redone. It’s a great hang afterwards with a new restaurant. Myrtlewood, one of my all-time favorites, has been around a long time, has concert series, and right there on the patio on the waterway. So their golf is more than just about showing up, playing, and leaving. The hang afterwards is a lot of fun as well.

Meredith Kirk:

Oh, absolutely, and many of our courses, particularly the Founders Group collection courses, they have the best food. You actually want to stay and eat there after you play golf. Sometimes if you go play golf, it’s like, “All right, where do we go for lunch afterward?” But the great thing about so many of our courses, including Grande Dunes, they have amazing food. I could actually, really, I could drive to the golf course and have lunch without even playing golf, because the food is great.

Charlie Rymer:

Yeah. Well, for me these days, I’m a lot better at the eating than I am at the golfing, I can tell you that. What’s the best way for folks that are watching this, that have never been to Myrtle Beach, and they’re interested in putting together a trip, what’s the best way to go through that process?

Meredith Kirk:

That’s a great question. Well, the first place I would send them would be MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com. We have amazing golf advisors on our team that when somebody calls, they will actually put together your golf trip based on what your needs are. So, if a woman calls and says, “Okay, we want to play easier courses. We don’t want to get too overwhelmed, maybe it’s just starting out with two rounds of golf and maybe a day of shopping, or a day at the beach,” our golf advisors will give them a free quote. It costs nothing, but they can put together a trip that is built on their specific needs. And so, it’s definitely worth the shot to go to MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com to put that trip together.

The great thing is, our directors and advisors, these are people that actually live here in Myrtle Beach. These are people that know our golf courses. I think that’s key, too, is you’re not just getting somebody answering a call and just guessing. These are people that love golf, that play golf, and literally will say, “Okay, this is the deal. This is the trip that’s going to be perfect for you,” and you can trust them. I think that’s why MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com, over the years, has developed such a great reputation, and they’ve built trust with golfers coming to Myrtle Beach.

Charlie Rymer:

Yeah, that’s a great point, and I tell people all the time, “Get some help putting your golf trip together.” If you try to do it on your own … Because Myrtle Beach, from top to bottom is 60, 70 miles, and I’d hate for you to be staying up north and book a golf course, it’s an hour and a half away.

Meredith Kirk:

Exactly.

Charlie Rymer:

That’s not going to be a good experience for you. Go play the one hour and a half away next time you come to Myrtle Beach. Stay down south, stay all around, because it takes a few trips to figure out what it is that you like and don’t like about Myrtle Beach, because we have so much to offer.

Meredith Kirk:

Exactly, and it’s really just linear. It’s just up our coastline, so all of our courses are just on the coast, so to speak, like you said. Definitely, you have to come to Myrtle Beach three times. I always say that.

Charlie Rymer:

Yeah, exactly.

Meredith Kirk:

You have to come three times because you have to play our northern courses. River Hills is another great course for women if they’re on the north end, and then our central courses, and then you get the taste of our Lowcountry there on the south end. So I always say, “Well, you have to come to Myrtle Beach three times to truly experience golf in this area.”

Charlie Rymer:

Yeah, that’s exactly right. I’ve been coming here since I was seven and I still don’t think I’ve played every one of the golf courses. Meredith Kirk, appreciate your time. Thanks for all you do in welcoming people to our great game and making everybody, especially the ladies, feel comfortable when they head to a golf course.

Meredith Kirk:

Oh, listen, it’s such an honor to do what we do. I love this game, and any way that I can help people learn the game, get out on the course and get more comfortable with golf, I mean, that’s our goal.

Charlie Rymer:

Yeah. She’s Meredith Kirk. I’m Charlie Rymer. Appreciate you joining us, right here in the PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com studios.