Island Green Golf Club is closing its clubhouse doors for good today. The Bill Mooney design which opened 31-years ago, will be another victim of course closings in the Myrtle Beach area.  The golf course originally opened with 27-holes and in 2005 closed 9-holes for redevelopment called Dogwood Estates. The remaining 18-holes measured 6,382-yard par-72 layout that was know as a locals golf club with Mens and Womans Golf weekly golf leagues.  The course was not known for Package Play because of the low cost walk in rates.

Island Green is the 21st golf course in Myrtle Beach that has closed since 2005.

The 2,300 acre Barefoot Resort and Golf is looking in Prime Conditions for Myrtle Beach Fall Golf 2011. Barefoot Resort and Golf consist of four of Myrtle Beach`s best golf courses, a 30-acre practice facility, marina, Docksiders Bar & Grill and is all accessible by a historic swing bridge that was built in the 1930`s.   After closing and reopening on July 13th, 2011. The Barefoot Fazio course made the conversion from Bent Grass Greens to Champion Ultra Dwarf which is becoming a popular putting surface along the Grand Strand.  Not only did the Fazio course but also the Barefoot Norman course received new Champion Ultra Dwarf greens.

Champion Ultra Dwarf allows faster putting surfaces than normal Bermuda grass greens. Champion is excellent warm weather grass and can be found at over 400 golf clubs in the south east. Ultradwarfs have become more popular than Tifdwarf because they produce moreshoots per unit area than Tifdwarf and thus provide a smoother and quicker putting surface.

With the Barefoot Dye Club ranked #1 in our Top 10 Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach for two consecutive months, the Barefoot Love, and upgraded Barefoot Fazio and Norman courses will be a great option for Fall Myrtle Beach Golf. The 3+1 Barefoot package allows you to play one of the four course for Free in the afternoon.

Don’t forget to check out our Barefoot Golf Courses website for info.

We are starting to receive Myrtle Beach golf package rates and pricing for Spring 2012 from the area golf companies and we want it available to you! We currently have single round course rates posted under The Supreme Golf Package. The Supreme is a “Build Your Own” featuring over 90 courses on the Grand Strand. Plus, we recently updated four of our golf packages with 2012 Myrtle Beach golf rates as well.

Along with The Supreme Package, The Legends Package has quickly become one our of most popular golf packages. All Single Round, Three Round and the Four + 1 FREE Round includes Breakfast, Lunch and 2-draft beers for each golfer. That pays for itself!

The Big Cats Golf Courses have changed their package from Three + 1 to a deep discounted Four Round Rate for 2012. To receive the discounted rates though, you now have to play Tigers Eye or Leopards Chase in the afternoon.

Glens Group will continue their Ultimate Glens Package offering three rounds with a Possum Trot for free  AND Free Pre-Booked Replays after 1:30pm.

Also for the Spring 2012 golf season we have brought back our Super Savers Golf Package, which is our low cost budget golf package.

Let’s not forget about the Barefoot golf course 2012 rates we just published as well, featuring courses from the top dogs like Fazio, Norman, Love, and Dye. And finally, the Grand Slam golf package, the one that combines a couple Barefoot courses with Caledonia or True Blue,  a package for the serious golfers only!

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NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com, your #1 source for the best in Myrtle Beach golf.

Bald Head Island in North Carolina is one of the top 10 golf courses this month.

Since I started publishing a monthly article of  the “Top 10 Myrtle Beach Golf Courses” five months ago, it has quickly become one of our most read blog topics! My June article had the most visits and the most votes for the courses. The feedback that I get from Twitter (Follow Me @mbgolfpro) and our Facebook Page NorthMyrtleBeachGolf has been great.

I have also been asked to write a monthly article and rank every golf course on the Grand Strand. While that is something that will be done down the line, the Top 10 is great, because these are very close to my own personal rankings.

The following is the Top 10 Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach for the Month of July 2011. These rankings are compiled from visitors voting on the northmyrtlebeachgolf.com website.

Barefoot Fazio was knocked out this month but I do expect them back after the new green switch from Bent Grass to Mini Verde. Tidewater Golf Plantation is also welcomed back in the Top 10.

1. Barefoot Dye – #1 for two consecutive months after knocking off the World Famous Dunes Club.

2. Caledonia - #2 for two consecutive months.

3. Bald Head Island - #3 for two consecutive months.

4. Dunes Club – Up one spot from June.

5. Pawleys Plantation – Down one spot from #4.

6. TPC of Myrtle Beach – Up one spot from #7.

7. Tidewater – Back in the Top 10.

8. Willbrook – Up one spot from #9 after making its debut last month.

9. Thistle - Dropped three spots from #6 after its debut in the Top 10 last month.

10. Pearl East – Down two spots from #8.

GOLF ACCOMMODATIONS NEAR TIDEWATER GOLF COURSE:

• Prince Resort
• Ocean Bay Club
• Atlantic Breeze
• Laguna Keyes
• Cherry Grove Villas
• Key West Beach House

I had the opportunity to play the Legends Parkland golf course on July 13th, 2011 with the Grand Strand Golf Directors.  The Legends Parkland course is one of three golf courses at The Legends Golf Resort, located on Highway 501, west of Myrtle Beach. This Tom Doak design was the third course at the resort opened in 1992, the second ever design for Doak, and his only design in Myrtle Beach, SC.

The clubhouse is located approximately two miles back from the main entrance to the course. You might start to wonder when you will arrive at its doorstep, but as soon as you turn the corner a couple miles in, you get the chill of this Scottish castle-themed 42,000 sq. ft  clubhouse inviting you and your group to start your journey. It features a pro shop, full service restaurant and snack bar, an impressive 36-acre practice facility and a 1-acre lighted putting green. The Legends Golf Resort also features the Alisa Pub, which has been named by Golf Digest “Top 50 19th Holes“.

The Legends Parkland golf course is no “walk in the park” by any means; being the longest of the three courses. To make things even more interesting, the day we played was the hottest day of the year. Not even a heat index of 117 couldn’t stop us from playing though. However, it did make the course feel like it had another 1,000 yards to the track.

The Legends Parkland course features big rolling fairways and huge (and fast) Tif Eagle Bermuda greens, both of which were extremely well-guarded with bunkers.  We also noticed there was a nice natural feel to the course, with wetlands and water dotting the holes (17 of the holes actually).

The hole that stuck out the most for us was #11.   Not only because I remembered this was the hole that Kevin Costner (Roy “TinCup” McAvoy) was ORIGINALLY supposed to use during this pivotal scene in the movie Tin Cup,  but the hole itself had a nice overall feel. The tee shot over the marsh must be made precisely in order to avoid the bunkers and hit the fairway. From there, you can either try and GO FOR IT to the green or lay up before the water. I went for it. I might not have made the green, I did make it over the water. With a poor chip and a two-putt, I ending up making the par 5.

Over all, this golf director would recommend Parkland and would welcome the invitation to play again. The course was in excellent condition from tee to green, the staff was as friendly as the next guys’, and the clubhouse was nothing short of jaw-dropping.  I left there  a happy (and dehydrated) golfer with my par on #11 that beat “Tin Cup’s” 12.

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You can play the Legends Parkland course as part of our Legends Golf package, which includes breakfast, lunch and two free drinks at the clubhouse. Feel free to hit me up on twitter at @mbgolfpro.

Long Bay's Signature 10th Hole

A few Myrtle Beach area golf directors and area club professionals were invited to play The Long Bay Club (one of Myrtle Beach National’s gems) on July 7th and I must say, I was very impressed.  After a short drive to the Northern End of the Grand Strand, I found myself being welcomed by a Rocky Balboa styled statue of Long Bay Club course architect Jack Nicklaus at the entrance of the clubhouse. (Quick hint, as you travel through the Long Bay community to the clubhouse,  pay close attention on your left where you can sneak a peek at the pin placement of one of Myrtle Beach’s most visually challenging par 3′s, hole number #13, which exhibits an island green.)

Powering down a quick lunch at the full-service restaurant we headed over to the practice facility.  Hands-down, it is one of the nicest and well-groomed practice facilities in the area. (This explains why many LPGA, Nationwide, and Hooters tour players practice here.)  It also sports a target-laced driving range, and a chipping and practice green with Champion Ultra-Dwarf Bermuda grass. From the practice green to the 18th hole, the greens were in tip-top shape, even considering the lack of rainfall the Myrtle Beach area has had this summer.

We immediately noticed (like all Nicklaus designs) the course was open off-the-tee, but still had a barrage of waste bunkers and well-bunkered greens.  If you want to challenge yourself you can always play this course from the Champion Black Tees at a shade over 7000 yards, or choose from one of the other 4 sets, including the Forward Tees, at just under 5000 yards.  After making your way through some risk reward holes on the front side, do not lose focus, because you face a beautiful but tough hole to start the back nine.  Long Bay Club’s signature hole #10, a short par, can easily get you in trouble if you are too close to the green. It’s best to play defensively and hit your ball just before the end of the fairway to leave you 100 or less yards into the green.  (You will find this is true for other holes as well, like #3, #6, and #14. )   Also, an investment in a yardage book will quickly play for itself if you are a 1st timer on at this course, not to mention you will have the upper hand to win a skin off your buddies.

The Long Bay Club, located in Longs, South Carolina, is one of Myrtle Beach’s nicest, and if you don’t take my word for it; try it yourself this fall for as low as $32 per golf if you are an early bird.

With the Summer heat rising higher and higher here in Golf Town, USA so does the popularity of  our Top 10 Myrtle Beach Golf Course Rankings. I have had tons of positive feedback via twitter, (you can follow me @mbgolfpro) on the rankings on the courses. The following is the Top 10 Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach for the Month of June 2011. These rankings are compiled from visitors voting on the northmyrtlebeachgolf.com website.

We have two new-comers to the Top 10! Pawley`s Plantation and Willbrook Plantation with a new #1 in Barefoot Dye and two courses back in the Top 10 after being knocked out, Barefoot Fazio and Pearl East are back. We lost four great courses out of the Top 10 but with out a doubt they will be back. Heritage Club, World Tour, Glen Dornoch and True Blue all dropped out of the Top 10.

1. Barefoot – Dye – The New #1

2. Caledonia – Moved up from #5

3. Bald Head Island – Still moving up, Moved from #4 last month.

4. Pawley`s Plantation – New to the list jumping all the way up to #4

5. Dunes Club – “Down Goes Frazier” after being #1 for three straight months, still my favorite course.

6. Thistle – Made its debut last month at #9 and moved up quickly to #6

7. TPC of Myrtle Beach – dropped down one spot from #6

8. Pearl East – Back in the Top 10 after being bumped out in May. Welcome Back.

9. Willbrook Plantation – Making its Top 10 debut in the Top 10

10. Barefoot Fazio – Back in Top 10 after being knocked out for two months.

Lions Paw Golf Club is the first BIG CAT course to open at the famed Ocean Ridge Plantation, Home of the Big Cats. Designed my Golf Course Architect Willard Byrd, Lions Paw, which opened in 1990, will become the 7th golf course in the Myrtle Beach area to close for a new hybrid of Bermuda Grass. Lions Paw will be switching from Bent Grass to the new Mini Verde. The course will close on July 4th, 2011 and reopen 8-weeks after just in time for the  Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship. Lions Paw features multiple tee boxes and elevation changes on both nines of the golf course. With lakes and creeks on 15 of the holes, water comes into play making the golf course truly challenge every level of player.

Lions Paw has been awarded: ”Top 100 Fairways” Golf For Woman Magazine, ”Top 50 Courses in Myrtle Beach” Golf Digest

You can book Lion’s Paw as part of NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com’s Big Cats golf package.

I had a chance to play Arrowhead Country Club yesterday and was amazed right from the start. From the cart staff to sinking the final putt on the 18th hole, my group definitely had a great time out there.

There are at least 5 different holes that have a view of the Intracoastal Waterway. The switch from bent grass to the new mini verde hybrid was a great choice for the greens too! It’s much more tolerant for our Myrtle Beach climate and is an excellent putting surface. The staff kept the course in great shape too, with the bunkers edged and the fairways nice and plush.

World Golf Hall of Fame inductee and Carolina native Ray Floyd teamed with Golf Course Architect Tom Jackson in 1994 to design Arrowhead Country Club in “Golf Town, USA”  Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Arrowhead Country Club is one of eleven 27-hole faciltes on the Grand Strand with the Cypress, Lakes and Waterway nines. The course features Bermuda fairways and newly renovated hybrid Mini Verde Bermuda Grass Greens, practice facilty and Intracoastal Waterway Views on the Cypress and Waterway nines.

Arrowhead Country Club is centrally located in Myrtle Beach and one of the closest courses to the Myrtle Beach International Airport. With four sets of tees, wide fairways and undulating greens, Arrowhead Country is a “must play golf course in Myrtle Beach.” It was even voted “Golf Course of the Year” in 1998.  Being so close to the airport is great for the businessman who wants to play a round too.  Plus, Arrowhead has showers on the facility, so you can clean up before your flight home.

The course is located just off Hwy 501 before you get to Myrtle Beach. A short drive from our condo accommodations like:  Paradise Resort, Grand Atlantic and Bay View.