Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

One of the premier golf courses in Myrtle Beach has been closed for a few months – it's great to have them back! 

It was fall of 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.”

Forty-five years later, Bingeman and his buddies, minus Hayes who had to stop coming after the 1989 trip for health reasons and was replaced by Craig Aiken, have made good on their word, staying for at least a week every year since 1971.

That first trip launched a 4 1/2-decade love affair with Myrtle Beach golf and the dedicated duffers are in the midst of their 45th Myrtle Beach golf trip, an outing highlighted by playing their 10,000th hole in Myrtle Beach Thursday at Tidewater Golf Club. At the conclusion of this year's trip, they will have enjoyed 388 golf package days in Myrtle Beach – only three of which were lost to rain.

It's a good life when you've spent more than a year of it on vacation in Myrtle Beach playing golf.

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. 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.

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 to its longevity. 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. After Hayes, who has since passed away, was forced to quit coming, Aiken blended in seamlessly with the group.

Bingeman worked with him and the two often played and talked about golf.

“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 25 years later.”

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 local golf pro Gene Weldon. As they look towards 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.

On this, their 45th trip, the group enjoyed something of dream intinerary, playing The Witch, Rivers Edge, Grande Dunes, Barefoot, Dunes Club, Bald Head, Tidewater and Arcadian Shores.

After 45 years, why does the groupd keep coming back?
 

“It’s a great week, a tradition for us,” Aiken said. “What’s not to like about Myrtle Beach? Wonderful courses, wonderful restaurants, it’s just a great place.”

If you missed the second episode of Big Break Myrtle Beach, we are here for you! Enjoy the drama (commercial free) and find out who will be the first contestant to get sent home this season.

Week two of Big Break Myrtle Beach is in the books, and a show that began at breakfast with talk of the players being more relaxed ended with tears as our first contestant was sent home.

Breakfast was served at 5:24 a.m. and producers wasted little time getting things started. Charlie, who won super immunity last week, giving him the opportunity to opt out of an elimination challenge, had a letter awaiting him on the table.

The “love letter” congratulated Charlie on winning the challenge and let him know that if he advances to the final four of the competition without using the super immunity, he will pocket what’s in the Macanudo box.

Charlie opened the box, his eyes grew wide and his verbal reaction is, “Whoa!”

The site of $10,000 in cash will do that to a young man (or an old one in my case!).

“There is 10 grand with his name on it,” said Dave, seemingly daring Charlie to tempt fate down the line in an attempt to keep the $10,000.

Toph said people were going to be gunning for Charlie. Buyer beware, Charlie birdied both holes of last week’s challenge and looks like one of the show’s best players.

After some happy talk on the range, we jump right into the next immunity challenge on the 13th hole of the Fazio Course at Barefoot, which has two greens.

The challenge utilizes both greens and requires players to decide which one they want to play to. The task is magnified because players have to make their decision without knowing how close their fellow competitors hit the ball to the hole.

The two shots closest to the pin on each hole earn immunity, meaning four players will be guaranteed a spot on next week’s show. The player closest to the pin wins $2,500.

“The competition becomes very real for these contestants because somebody will be going home at the end of the show,” host Tom Abbott said.

Hole location No. 1 was 115 yards and required a carry over a waste area. The No. 2 location was 110 yards straightaway.

Only five contestants played to the first hole location. Dave’s ball was 5’ 9” from the cup and Tessa’s was 6’3” outside the hole, good enough to earn both immunity.

Toph and Carolin, both of whom look strong in the early going, advanced from the second hole location, but what would a challenge be without Anthony trolling his cast mates? As Carolin’s anxiety level rose as Christian’s shot was measured (it was 3 inches outside her ball), Anthony said, “She annoys me. First chance I get, I’m going to give her the boot.”

Based on his performance…

The second episode of Big Break Myrtle Beach airs Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on Golf Channel. The debut show seemed to foreshadow ample drama in the coming weeks as 12 contestants – six men, six women – vie for the opportunity to earn their big break in the world of professional golf.

The first episode set up 19-year-old Anthony Quezada as one of the show’s polarizing personalities and episode two will likely continue that narrative. In a show preview, Quezada says, “I told her I’d kick her butt.”

Golf Channel’s Matt Ginella, one of the world’s leading authorities on golf travel, ranked his five favorite Myrtle Beach courses on the popular Morning Drive program. Find out which courses Ginella likes best and see how it compares your list. Spoiler Alert: Matt couldn’t contain his list to just five courses!

Well another Ryder Cup has come and gone and as the dust settles there’s really only one question that emerges out of it all, Why does Europe keep winning?  

With wins in 8 out of the last 10 Ryder Cups European dominance seems to be unassailable. But why is this? Everybody seems to have a theory but as a person who has caddied on the world tours for the last 35 years, more then half of that on the European Tour, I might have a unique insight into this phenomena.

On the surface of things it would be hard to believe that the American team should ever lose this event. Even though both the United States and Western Europe have a similar population base of about 300 million people, everyone knows that there are countless more golf courses in the states and therefore countless more golfers. This fact alone should give them a tremendous advantage.

Yet the European teams seem to buck the trend. Of course, in this equation holds part of the reason why things have gone the way they have. If you want to know a large part of why the team from the other side of the pond has become so competitive it’s because the American side gave them that opportunity.

Prior to 1979 the Ryder Cup was an event played just between America and Great Britain and Ireland but due, to a great extent, to the lopsided population base available to the two combatants the results were a foregone conclusion. To give the Great Britain and Ireland team a life-line, the American team suggested that they could bolster their side with players originating from Continental Europe. Hindsight is 20/20 but this turned out to more then just a life-line. Almost immediately new golf superstars like Ballesteros, Olazábal and Langer where playing along side the likes of Faldo, Lyle and Torrance. The tide had turned.

But for me this doesn’t explain everything. How could a part of the world where golf is nearly unheard of in bits of it keep beating a country where nearly every person has picked up a golf club at some point in their life?

Well I’m going to tell you.

Contestant Emily Tubert, lead producer Scott Lee, and challenge producer Chris Graham offer insight and opinion on the first episode of Big Break Myrtle Beach.

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the debut of Big Break Myrtle Beach and where better to start in a coastal destination than a boat?

The premier episode opens with all 12 players cruising down the Intracoastal Waterway with no idea what is in store when the boat docks at Anchor Café, an onsite bar at Marina Inn, the show’s host accommodations property.

After being greeted with a frozen drink and making quick toast while overlooking the Intracoastal, our fearless participants are startled by a television turning on. Everyone’s favorite Travelocity Roaming Gnome appears on the screen to explain the format and leaves the contestants wondering what 12 golf balls of various colors sitting in shot glasses means for their future.

The gnome, still sporting his poker face, reveals only that contestants will be playing as individuals, not teams, and instructs everyone to pick a golf ball. What it means will be revealed tomorrow.

It will be a restless nights sleep for the players wondering what to expect.

As they walk down the dock away from Anchor Café, they find their Big Break professional bags. Uber confident Anthony Quezada, the show’s youngest participant at 19, says, “I’m finally going to be carrying my own bag, but not for long. I’m going to have people carrying it for me on tour.”

Uh, ok. In the interim, he can focus on winning Big Break Myrtle Beach.

At 6:01 a.m. the next morning the breakfast bell rings and our nervous contestants find out their fate for the day. Toph Peterson reads a letter that informs players that anyone who has the same color ball will be their opponent in the first challenge.

After a session on the range, the famed glass break, which is synonymous with the show, is revealed as the first obstacle.

Hosts Tom Abbott and Paige Mackenzie make their first appearance and tell the players they are competing for more than $180,000 in cash and prizes and an exemption into the 2015 Valspar Championship (men) or the 2015 Portland Classic (women) for the winner.

Abbott reveals the first challenge victor will win Super Immunity, which allows them… 

The season premier of Big Break Myrtle Beach will air Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Golf Channel. The network’s most popular original show, Big Break is making its long anticipated appearance in Myrtle Beach.

Twelve aspiring young professionals – six men, six women – competed on four Myrtle Beach golf courses in hopes of winning Big Break, and, along with it, an opportunity that could launch them onto the game’s biggest stages. The 11-episode series was filmed in June.

Golf Channel has launched a new travel website – GolfAdvisor.com – that features many of the game’s premier travel writers, including Matt Ginella, one of the network’s stars.

The site recently convened an all-star travel panel – Ginella, Jason Deegan, Mike Bailey and Brandon Tucker – for a roundtable discussion of all things Myrtle Beach golf.

It’s a great read from four guys who certainly know and understand the Myrtle Beach golf market. While we definitely recommend reading the entire story, here are a few passages, including a debate over the area’s best course, we wanted to share:

Favorite high-end golf course
Ginella: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club. From the driveway — through a long tunnel of oak trees — to the subtle charms of a Mike Strantz design, and the betting that takes place after the round on the back porch, I can't get back to Caledonia soon enough.

Tucker: The Dunes Golf & Beach Club. Sorry, Caledonia, I'm a sucker for the classics.

Hard to argue with either choice!

Best bargain golf in Myrtle Beach

Deegan: Many Dan Maples designs — there are seven along the Grand Strand — won't wow you, but dollar for dollar, golfers are well served. The Heritage Club is the best one, but Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club in Sunset Beach, N.C., might be the best bargain.

Bingo, Mr. Deegan! Sandpiper is one not only one of the best bargains in the area, it’s one of the most underrated tracks we have. Heritage is, needless to say, outstanding.

Deegan was no less helpful in providing his best Myrtle Beach travel tip, saying

“Don't chase a star-studded itinerary by trying to play all the “ranked” courses. Chose the most convenient schedule for you and your buddies by playing near where you are staying.”

There are enough ranked courses in each area of the Strand to provide great golf on any trip, but the point about playing near your accommodations is a good one for most groups.

The complete story offers an evaluation of the best restaurants, resorts and value in the area, and is well worth reading, especially if you have a fall trip to Myrtle Beach planned. We will close with Ginella’s answer when asked about the most surprising thing about the area:

“It's not surprising there are so many value-golf options along the Grand Strand, but not many people realize that the top courses here can compete with some of the best public golf in the country.”

Amen, Matt.

One of Myrtle Beach's best and most scenic courses, Tidewater Golf Club, reopened on October 1 with new miniverde bermuda grass greens. The course was closed for four months for the installation of new greens and several other projects, including the expansion of every fairway, and it was in pristine condition upon its reopening. Enjoy the first look at the “new” Tidewater.

Tidewater Golf Club, one of Myrtle Beach’s best and most honored courses, reopened on October 1 after an extensive greens restoration project.

The course, which plays along the Intracoastal Waterway and Cherry Grove Inlet, installed new Miniverde Bermuda grass greens as part of the project.

Tidewater didn’t merely install new greens. Management hired a company to study drainage and perform a soil analysis on each putting complex. The result was vastly improved drainage and a new, custom soil profile that ensures the course’s greens will have optimal conditions in the short and long term.

“We are extremely excited,” said Archie Lemon, Tidewater’s general manager. “At Tidewater, we have a beautiful layout; it’s second to none. Now our greens are back up to the standard we want them to be.” PHOTO GALLERY

Tidewater closed for the project on June 9 and also used the time to enhance the course’s playability and already dramatic aesthetics.

Among the improvements was the widening or lengthening of every fairway on the course. The notable expansions included:

• The fairway on the par 5 eighth hole was lengthened by 60 yards, bringing it much closer to the tee boxes.
• The landing area for the second shot on the par 5 16th hole was widened by 20 yards.
• The 18th hole, one of the Grand Strand’s toughest par 4s, had its fairway widened by 10 yards in the landing area.  

“We’d all rather be playing from the fairway, and sometimes the difference between being in the fairway and rough can be night and day for golfers on holes like No 18,” Lemon said.

Speaking of expanded surfaces, the greens were restored to their original size, which netted Tidewater an additional 10,000-square feet of putting surface. There was also an additional 3 ½ acres of sod laid on the course outside of playable areas, more than 400 trees were removed, and the bunkers all received new sand.

The project was spearheaded by Kris Spence Golf Design. Spence, who oversaw the renovation of Sedgefield Country Club, host of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, is renowned for his golf course restoration work.

Tidewater, which has been ranked among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, was the first layout ever named best new course in America by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, and it raised the profile of the Myrtle Beach golf community upon its 1990 opening. Nine of the course’s 18 holes play along either Cherry Grove or the Intracoastal Waterway.

Tidewater’s most famed hole is the par 5 13th, which offers a view of the inlet and the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. The thirteenth is hardly the only memorable challenge at Tidewater. The fourth hole, a par 4 that plays along Cherry Grove, is arguably the most dramatic par 4 along the Myrtle Beach golf scene.

With new greens and pristine conditions, Tidewater is a must-play course this fall.

Links Magazine ranked the top 25 golf islands and a small corner of the Myrtle Beach golf market stood tall. Tiny Pawleys Island was ranked the 10th best golf island, outpolling the likes of Prince Edward, Puerto Rico and New Zealand.

The magazine said of Pawleys Island, while recognizing it for offering best bang for your buck, “How can you not go with an island alongside Myrtle Beach, especially when two of the 10 courses are Caledonia and True Blue.”

While Caledonia and True Blue, both of which are ranked among America’s top 100 public courses, anchor the considerable golf offerings on Pawleys Island, they are hardly alone. Pawleys Plantation, one of the most scenic courses on the Myrtle Beach golf scene, Heritage Club, a top 100 caliber layout, Willbrook Plantation, Founders Club and Tradition Club are all outstanding tracks.

The charms of Pawleys Island extend beyond the golf course. The sprawling live oak trees and lowcountry setting make Pawleys the antithesis of downtown Myrtle Beach, where nightlife and entertainment are rarely more than a block away.

None of that is to say Pawleys lacks for fun, it’s just a little more quaint. The area is home to some of the Grand Strand’s best restaurants, highlighted by Bistro 217.

When you add it all up, Pawleys Island is certainly worthy of its spot on the Links Magazine list, which was headlined by No. 1 Great Britain, No. 2 Ireland and No. 3 Australia. Despite it’s many virtues, it’s hard for Pawleys Island to compete with entire countries!