Stay & Play Spotlight: Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort

Boasting an all-star lineup of course and lodging options, the new Clubhouse Package offered through Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort has quickly emerged as a favorite among vacationing golfers.

And with 3-night/3-round pricing for spring 2018 play starting at just $375 per golfer, it’s easy to see why.

Pawleys Island Offers Casual Charm and Great Golf Courses

Pawleys Island is the yin to Myrtle Beach’s yang.

Myrtle Beach offers a more raucous scene and easy access to everything the area has to offer. In contrast, Pawleys Island is a much more understated experience, relying on casual charm and the virtues of a quiet evening.

Litchfield Country Club Keeps Players Smiling

Myrtle Beach’s South Strand is renowned for its quality of golf and charm, and it all began at Litchfield Country Club, the area’s most enduring layout.

Litchfield Country Club blazed the trail along the South Strand, opening its fairways in 1966 and convincing golfers the short trek from downtown Myrtle Beach was time well spent. The timeless qualities that made the layout attractive upon its opening continue to please golfers today.

Litchfield is a good, traditional design. There are no tricks, no hidden hazards or unforeseen challenges. It’s is a course rewards creativity and shot-making.

Litchfield boasts a nice blend of doglegs and challenges golfers to hit fairways in the proper spots, without taking the driver out of the bag. Players that can move the ball and have good accuracy can thrive with the driver, otherwise don’t be afraid to downshift.

Litchfield’s fairways are tighter than many contemporary designs and the ability to find the short grass often helps determine success. What club players use to get there is a secondary concern.

“You have to think your way around the course,” head pro Christa Bodensteiner said. “You need to know where you want to put your drive.”

Water is visible throughout at Litchfield, aiding the course’s aesthetics, but it isn’t an overwhelming obstacle. There are few forced carries and an errant drive will more often require a shot from the trees as opposed to a drop from the water.

“If you can keep your drives…

Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort Offers Luxury, Relaxation

True Southern charm and hospitality await if your next Myrtle Beach golf trip takes you to Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort in Pawleys Island, which is just a short drive but a world away from the bright lights of Myrtle Beach.

Located in a lovely lowcountry setting, Litchfield Beach features first-class accommodations that can fit any sized party's needs, offering suites, villas, condos and even houses. Enjoy all the creature comforts of home, along with special amenities you

40 Years, 40 Myrtle Beach Golf Trips

It was 1970 and Ron Bingeman, Larry Spangler, Everett Cassel and Bob Hayes had just concluded their first Myrtle Beach golf trip. The group stayed at the Caravelle, played the Dunes Club, Pine Lakes and Litchfield Country Club, but when the trip ended, disappointment was the prevailing emotion.

“We came for four days the first time, and when we went home, we were sick,” Bingeman said. “We said we were never going to (come for only four days) again. We were going to have to get (our stay) up to a week.”
 

That first trip launched a four-decade love affair with Myrtle Beach golf. Bingeman and his buddies made good on their word, staying for a week in 1971, and have come back every year since, recently enjoying their 40th consecutive trip to the area.

When the group began their annual pilgrimage, Richard Nixon was president, the average NFL player salary was $23,000, and there were barely enough Myrtle Beach golf courses to fill their itinerary. Much has obviously changed, but the same experience they enjoyed in 1970 is what brings them back today.

“It’s is absolutely the highlight of the year,” Spangler said. “It’s like being back in college with the boys. It’s a real highlight. Good food, good golf and we get along really well.”

The trip has grown to nine days, but nature and fate have at various times attempted to keep them from coming. The closest the group came to missing the trip was 1989 when Hurricane Hugo slammed the South Carolina coast just days before their arrival.

The hotel they were slated to stay in had its first floor washed out and the area suffered extensive damage, but the suburban Philadelphia residents weren’t deterred. They called every hotel on the beach looking for a place to stay, eventually finding a condo at Oyster Bay in Brunswick County, N.C. The North Strand was spared the worst of the storm and the group forged on.

“There were enough courses open and they had dragged off the trees,” Spangler said. “We just owned the beach. It was so strange to see almost nobody down here. “

In the mid-1970s it was Cassel’s Volkswagen Van that attempted to throw a monkey wrench into their plans, but a mechanical problem stood no chance against the aspiring MacGyvers. The van’s accelerator cable snapped at night on I-95, leaving the foursome scrambling for transportation.

While Cassel was inspecting the situation, Bingeman found a blown out truck tire on the side of the road and wondered if the steel in the tire could be used to replace the cable. Cassel removed a knife from his toolbox, cut out the steel belting, spliced it together and ran it to the engine in the back. The van didn’t exceed 50 miles per hour the rest of the trip but it survived the journey (as a matter of fact, the rigged cable stayed on the van until December of that year). 

“Instead of losing days, we lost about 30 minutes,” Bingeman said.

Other than those two incidents, the group hasn’t faced any substantial threats. They’ve always traveled between mid-September and October, and never had to worry about getting any grief from their spouses.

When Christmas time comes, all they request is a trip to Myrtle Beach.

Just as amazing as the length of time the group has been coming to Myrtle Beach is their continuity. Spangler, Cassel and Bingeman have made the jaunt every year. Hayes, who has since passed away, dropped out after the 1989 trip, but finding a replacement wasn’t difficult.

Bingeman worked with Craig Aiken and the two often played and talked about golf. When Hayes dropped out, Aiken seamlessly filled the void.

“He was always telling me about Myrtle Beach,” Aiken said. “Then one of the guys couldn’t go anymore and Ron suggested I might want to give it a try. Here I am 20 years later.”

On Aiken’s first trip, he was surprised to learn the group stopped somewhere between Philadelphia and Myrtle Beach to play 18 before finishing the journey, but approximately 10 years ago, they began flying. The group now takes a Spirit Air flight out of Atlantic City, allowing them to play the extra round on the Grand Strand.

After 40 years, they have played practically every course – they have the logoed golf balls to prove it – and have made friends along the Grand Strand, starting with Thistle head pro Gene Weldon. As they look forward to their fifth decade of Myrtle Beach golf, they have the knowledge of locals.

Each year they pick a different region of the Strand and concentrate on courses in that particular area. There is no bickering about course selection, restaurants or anything else, despite the fact they spend as much time lobbing verbal grenades as they do hitting the ball.

The Myrtle Beach golf community has changed considerably since 1970, but group’s passion for the game and the Grand Strand have been constants.

“As the new (courses were) developed, we tried to keep up with each one,” Bingeman said. “They just kept outdoing each other, getting better and better.”

Not coincidentally, the arc of their trip has traced that of Myrtle Beach as a golf destination, and they anticipate year number 41 being the best yet.

Golf Holiday is the ultimate source for information on Myrtle Beach golf.