DEL.ICIO.USFROM ATLANTA TO SOUTH CAROLINA
Myrtle Beach: The golf capital of the South
For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Myrtle Beach, S.C. — This seasonal resort area has its roots in sandy stretches and sand traps.
Myrtle Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau
Pine Hills and Palmetto are the two courses at Myrtlewood Golf Club waiting to challenge golfers in Myrtle Beach.
Brian Gomsak / Special
Golf was a part of Myrtle Beach’s growth from the start. The Pine Lakes Country Club, known today as ‘the Granddaddy,’ was the first in the area.
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The resort town has more than 100 golf courses and about 50 miniature courses.
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The beach, golf and weather have played a big part in the Grand Strand’s success and growth into a year-round, multi-faceted destination with star-studded entertainment, shopping and creative cuisine.
“If good times, great service and value for your dollar are important, where else could you go that would offer more?” asks Brad Dean, president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Though Dean’s job might cause him to be a tad biased, some 14 million annual visitors to the Grand Strand agree with him.
The Greater Myrtle Beach area stretches for 60 miles along the South Carolina coast and is made up of several distinct communities. While Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach attract the most visitors, other oceanfront draws include Atlantic Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City Beach, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach and Pawleys Island. Away from the coast, charming inland possibilities include Aynor, Conway, Little River and Loris. And wherever you go, there always seems to be a golf course.
The 1960s boom
Golf was a part of Myrtle Beach’s growth from the start. Pine Lakes Country Club, known today as “the Granddaddy,” was the first in the area. It opened in 1927 and was originally called the Ocean Forest Club. It closed in 2006, but will reopen next spring restored to Robert White’s original design.
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club opened in 1948 and remains one of the nation’s finest layouts. (It was designed by Robert Trent Jones.) Several other courses, including Myrtlewood Golf Club, Litchfield Country Club and Whispering Pines, all opened in the 1960s.
World-class designs (and designers) followed, including Barefoot Resort and Golf, Tidewater Golf Course, Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, Kings North, and TPC of Myrtle Beach. Though several courses have closed in recent years, 2007 marked the first public course (Leopard’s Chase) to open in more than five years (others are scheduled for 2009 and beyond).
The pivotal 1960s really put the area on the map for duffers, with dozens of new courses opening and the establishment of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday in 1967. A nonprofit trade association, Golf Holiday started with eight courses and 10 hotels. Today, it offers more than 75 courses, more than 100 package providers and five golf schools.
Golf Holiday also has owned and managed the hugely popular PGA Tour Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship (3,800-plus golfers from all 50 states and more than 20 countries, www.worldamgolf.com) each August for the past 25 years, as well as several other tournaments.
Quite simply, golf is a driving force in Myrtle Beach, with more than 100 courses and more than 4 million rounds played annually. From oceanfront holes to moss-draped fairways, designers such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Fazio, Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones, Greg Norman, Gary Player and Pete and P.B. Dye have all left their signatures.
The 19th hole
The grand game also influences 19th hole activities. Though Murray Bros. Caddy Shack, of “Eat, Drink and be Murray” fame recently closed, the after-game possibilities include restaurants such as Greg Norman’s Australian Grille and lots of shopping options (including two huge Martin’s PGA Tour Superstore locations).
Myrtle Beach is also considered the miniature golf capital of the world, with more than 50 courses featuring man-eating dinosaurs, lava-spewing volcanoes and pirate ships.
This year, the world’s only Hard Rock Park opened with rides and entertainment, as did the Market Common, a mixed-use retail and housing village, including new restaurants. A $200 million airport expansion is welcoming all those potential new visitors — and the regulars who checked golf clubs in Atlanta.
The theater and entertainment scene also is growing. Eight modern showplaces feature music, dance, comedy, dinner shows, seasonal offerings and many celebrity concerts.
“I love living in the area and making music here,” says country music performer Calvin Gilmore, whose Carolina Opry has been on the Myrtle Beach entertainment scene since 1986. “It’s a great combination of big city amenities and small beach town atmosphere.”
From boutiques to factory outlets to sprawling shopping and entertainment complexes, shopping doesn’t wait for a rainy day in Myrtle Beach. In addition to Market Common, visit Barefoot Landing (more than 100 shops, 15 waterside restaurants and several attractions), Broadway at the Beach (350 acres of shopping, dining and entertainment), quaint Pawleys Island Hammock Shops and several malls.
For dining, seafood is on many menus and restaurant-lined Murrells Inlet is known as “the Seafood Capital of South Carolina.” Those with an appetite for other types of cuisines will find barbecue, homestyle Southern cooking, international fare and a restaurant scene that ranges from buffets to upscale.
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