Myrtle Beach Golf News & Updates

Caledonia is one of the most acclaimed Myrtle Beach golf courses, earning Top 100 honors on every relevant list. But more important than rankings is what Caledonia's most important constituency – its players – say.

A father leads his excited children into the stadium. Friends, young and old, share a laugh, a drink and ponder who on the field will make it will make it to The Show. The intimate ballpark allows fans a close look at rising professional athletes and the most expensive seat ($11) is equal to the cost of a 16-ounce beer at the new Yankee Stadium.

A minor league baseball game is an attractive entertainment option because of its broad appeal, and nowhere is that more evident than BB&T

The family stories that pour out of the Martin’s PGA TOUR Superstore Father-Son Team Classic are many, and every tale of a happy family enjoying the event puts a smile on the face of tournament organizers. But the world’s largest father-son golf tournament can be every bit as therapeutic as it is celebratory.

The 12th annual Father-Son Golf Classic, which will be held July 16-18 in Myrtle Beach, has used the power of golf to heal family wounds.

“We get stories that

The mercury is rising and the beaches are filling, but Myrtle Beach remains the Golf Capital of the World in the summer months as well. If you are making a family beach trip, don’t forget to pack your clubs because summer is as good a time as any to play.

Summer has emerged as the “secret” season in Myrtle Beach. Course conditions are excellent, greens fees are lower and premium tee times are easier to get. With that in mind, here five tips as you prepare for a summer

NFL Hall of Famer Dan Hampton and Comcast SportsNet media star Dave Kaplan recently accompanied six Chicago-area golfers on a trip to Myrtle Beach to celebrate the launch of Spirit Air's new direct service from O'Hare to Myrtle.

See what the Windy City stars had to say about their trip to the Golf Capital of the World.

Possum Trot is one of Myrtle Beach’s 10 oldest golf courses and the Russell Breeden design has gotten better with age. The course is nearly always in impeccable condition and has grown into one of the area’s most popular layouts.

We consulted with Possum Trot staff and players to determine the course’s three favorite holes and after much deliberation, here is our list:

No. 11, 460-yard, par 4 – The Big Possum, as it’s affectionately known, is the

Possum Trot opened its doors in 1968 and has been a Myrtle Beach golf institution ever since. Under the stewardship of the Glens Group, the layout has evolved over time, maintaining its place as one of the Grand Strand's most popular layouts.

It’s early evening after a round on your favorite Myrtle Beach golf course and your stomach is rumbling louder than a stock car on a speedway.  This isn’t the time for a high-end sit down dinner. Good food, fast service and a check with one digit on the left side of the decimal are the priorities

So what are the options for a group looking for a quality dinner that costs less than $10 per entrée? In Myrtle Beach the choices are many, but we’ve made things

Golf Digest dispatched more than 900 raters to play the best courses America has to offer, and its team of experts came to the same conclusion millions of golfers have – there are more great layouts in Myrtle Beach than any destination in the country.

Golf Digest unveiled its prestigious biennial ranking of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses” in its May issue, and the list included seven Myrtle Beach area golf courses, more than any other destination. To put that number into perspective, California (9) was the only other state to have more than seven courses on the list and Florida had just four layouts make the cut.
The highest rated Myrtle Beach golf course was No. 33 Heritage Club, followed by the Dunes Club (No. 38), Tidewater (No. 41), Caledonia (No. 66), Grande Dunes Resort Club (No. 77) and the Fazio (No. 96) and Dye courses (No. 99) at Barefoot Resort & Golf.

Golf Digest ranked courses on a scale of 1 to 10 in seven categories – shot values, resistance to scoring, design variety, memorability, aesthetics, conditioning and ambience. The magazine didn’t list the score for America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, just the order of finish.
 
Heritage, Dunes Club, Caledonia, Tidewater and the Fazio Course were all ranked among the Top 100 on the 2007-08 list. Grande Dunes and the Dye Club are making their Top 100 debut, though neither is a surprise entry.

Grande Dunes is a Roger Rulewich design that features generous fairways and stunning views of the Intracoastal Waterway. The Dye Club is the third course at Barefoot Resort & Golf to earn a Top 100 ranking from Golf Digest (Love is the other). Designed by Pete Dye, the challenge is substantial but universally regarded as fair.

Built on 600 acres of property that used to be home to a pair of historic plantations, Heritage improved 13 spots in the new rankings. The course plays along the Waccamaw River and oozes lowcountry charm with an abundance of live oaks, fresh water marshes and lakes.

The Dunes Club is a member of every meaningful ranking of America’s top public courses, the only real suspense being where it will be ranked. The Robert Trent Jones design is the Grand Strand’s most decorated layout.

Tidewater is arguably the most scenic Myrtle Beach golf course. Tidewater has several holes that play along Cherry Grove Inlet and the nearby Atlantic is visible in spots.

The question at Caledonia is also where, as opposed to if, it will be ranked. Like Heritage, Caledonia is built on the grounds of an old plantation and the views are stunning. The centuries old oak trees and landscaping that rivals that of a botanical garden make the Mike Strantz design one of the area’s most popular courses.

The Fazio Course is yet another repeat member of the list. Tom Fazio is one of the game’s leading architects and his work at the Barefoot course leaves no doubt as to why. The Fazio Course is outstanding from beginning to end and equally pleasing to the eye.

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

The Hootie & the Blowfish Monday after the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am celebrated its 15th birthday with a star-studded field and its fourth consecutive sellout. More than 6,000 people lined the fairways at Barefoot Resort & Golf’s Dye Club to watch Bill Murray, Samuel L. Jackson, Jerome Bettis, Annika Sorenstam and many more play one of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.

The team led by Murray, PGA TOUR pro Woody Austin and Hootie guitarist Mark Bryan birdied the

Pinewood Prep coach Greg Baechtle brought his team to the Palmetto High School Golf Championship the previous four years, using the nation’s largest high school tournament as a barometer for the Panthers’ strength. In 2010, the tournament field will use the North Charleston school as its measuring stick.

Led by medalist winner Austin Cody, the 41st ranked junior player in the world, according to Golfweek, the Panthers had three of the top six individual finishers and roared

In the few steps its takes to climb from the cart path to the fifth tee box, the architectural and visual beauty of the Fazio Course at Barefoot Resort reveals itself in full, leaving little doubt as to why the layout is ranked among “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” and one of the best Myrtle Beach golf courses.

A large pond runs up the right side and fairway bunkers loom on both sides, framing the fifth hole like a favorite family portrait. An elevated green flanked by two bunkers looms 499 yards in the distance, golf gold at the end of a rainbow.

Tom Fazio’s reputation as his generation’s greatest architect is secure. He has designed more than 20 top 100 layouts and redesigned Augusta National, plaudits his contemporaries are unable to match. When Barefoot Resort & Golf launched one of the most ambitious projects in travel golf history – opening four high-end layouts at the same time – it was only natural that Fazio was one of the architects involved.

He didn’t disappoint.

The Fazio Course at Barefoot Resort is a top 100 course and there are no shortage of players who believe it’s the facility’s best layout, though the Love, Norman and Dye courses can also make a persuasive case.

The fifth hole is Fazio at his finest, combining beauty and challenge to create a memorable golf experience. Visually the tee shot is intimidating. The bunkers create the illusion of a landing area that appears much smaller than it actually is, but the hole is more than fair from tee to green. Good shots are rewarded, bad shots are punished. It’s a simple premise for good golf course architecture and Fazio abides by it.

While No. 5 stands out, it’s hardly alone. The layout’s greatest asset is…

In its first decade, the TPC of Myrtle Beach has earned a reputation as one of the best Myrtle Beach golf courses – hosting the PGA Senior TOUR Championship and one of the nation’s premier college tournaments bestows that sort of credibility. Now the Murrells Inlet facility has another high profile feather in its cap. Rising PGA TOUR star Dustin Johnson calls the course home, practicing at the TPC of Myrtle Beach when he isn’t playing. “It’s a great golf

Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson is one of the PGA Tour's fastest rising young stars, having won two events in the last seven months. Johnson recently returned to Myrtle Beach for the General Hackler Invitational, one of the nation's most prestigious college tournaments. The event was hosted by Coastal Carolina, Johnson's alma mater, and the TPC.of Myrtle Beach, his home course.

Johnson weighed in on a variety of topics during his visit, including his thoughts on The Masters

Tom Fazio is regarded by most as the greatest golf course architect of his generation. No architect has as many Top 100 courses and Fazio’s work at Barefoot Resort has only enhanced his reputation.

The Fazio Course at Barefoot, which features ample bunkering, is ranked among Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Public Courses. Locals regard it as one of the best Myrtle Beach golf courses, with its greatest asset being the strength of all 18 holes.

But we asked Barefoot Resort & Golf’s general manager, Dave Genevro, to name his three favorite holes and he produced. Without further ado, here are Genevro’s three favorite holes on the Fazio Course:

No. 5 – 499-yard, par 4 – A monster par 4, No. 5 is the most difficult hole on the course. Water looms on the right and fairway bunkers that spike any chance of getting on in regulation are on the left. The fifth hole is visually intimidating off the tee as the bunkers create the illusion of a narrow fairway, but there is an ample landing room.

The largest landing area, approximately 250 yards from the back tee, still leaves a lengthy approach to an elevated green. A par on No. 5 is a job well done.

No. 13 – 379-yard, par 4 -A short par 4 made unique by the fact it has two greens. The “primary” green is straight-away, making it the easier of the two options. The alternate green makes the hole play with a 90-degree dogleg left and requires a short iron over a combination of sand and water. The fairway runs from left to right and as a result, the prime landing spot for the alternate green often demands a shot off a side hill lie.

The second green, which is postage stamp size, gives the hole a quirky feel, but in this case, that is a good thing. The green that is chosen is based on maintenance.

No. 14 – 380-yard, par 4 – A relatively short par 4, but Fazio again proves that there is much more to a challenge than distance. After clearing wetlands off the tee, a waste bunker runs all the way to the green. A generous landing area is provided but there is movement in the fairway so a tee shot down the middle is much more rewarding than one that nears the rough.

A short iron is typically all that is required on the approach, but there is little margin for error shooting into a sloping green. No. 14 is Fazio at his best. The hole is visually challenging and it’s certainly not easy, but No. 14 is also exceedingly fair. Good shots are rewarded and the penalty for a bad shot is graduated.

What are your favorite holes on the Fazio Course? Do you agree or disagree with Genevro’s choices?