Nick Price

The designer of the private Grande Dunes Members Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina made his 11th career Hole-in-One in the first round of the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Naples, Florida on December 9th. World Golf Hall of Fame Member, Nick Price holed out on the 213 yard Par 3, 12th Hole. Price made the shot with a 4-iron and was his first since 1997.

The Grande Dunes Members Club is a Par 71 Championship design featuring a 27,000 sq ft Italian designed clubhouse, with wide fairways & L-93 bent grass greens.  The Members Club at Grande Dunes measures from 5000 yards on the forward tees to over 7000 yards on the Championship tees.

Golf Week has released their annual “2012 Best Resort Golf Courses” with two Myrtle Beach golf courses making the list. The rankings were compiled from 600 people that voted on 10 different aspects.

Personally, I don’t agree on the criteria that Golf Week used to rate the courses. Some of criteria included overall land plan, quality of shaping, and the “Walk in the Park Test”.

As a golfer, I’m more interested in more basic criteria, such as:

• Course/Greens condition
• Layout
• Views
• Difficulty

With all personal opinions about the criteria used aside, I completely agree that Caledonia Golf & Fish Club & The Dunes Golf & Beach Club deserve their spots on the list.

Coming in at #21 on the list is Caledonia Golf & Fish Club. Designed by one of my all-time favorite architects Mike Stranz, Caledonia was designed on one of the largest rice plantations in the State of South Carolina, dating back to the 18th Century. It comes to no surprise that Caledonia has also been ranked as one of  the top 10 golf courses in Myrtle Beach by the vistors of our very own website.

The second course that made the list is my personal favorite golf course in Myrtle Beach. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club was ranked #26. The Dunes is rich in history with golf championships, hosting the 1962 Womans US Open and the Senior Tour Championship from 1994 to 1996. The Dunes Club was originally built as a recreational facility for citizens of New Town, SC (currently know as Myrtle Beach) and the employees of Conway Lumber Company.

It’s great to see excellent courses in the Myrtle Beach area get the recognition they deserve. Hopefully next year, Golf Week will add a few other courses from the Grand Strand in the mix.

You can view the official results of Golf Week’s top picks here.

How does playing 11 rounds of golf in 11 hours sound to you? That’s exactly what Mark Chapman intends on doing on Veteran’s Day – November 11th, 2011.

The man behind the Myrtle Beach golf marathon is Mr. Chapman, a 42 year-old student at The Golf Academy of America – Myrtle Beach.

Mark is no stranger to a challenge, being a 21-year veteran of the Air Force and has also served in operation Iraqi Freedom.

Unsurprisingly, his efforts are all for a good cause: raising money to benefit the Salute Military Golf Association and the Wounded Warrior Project. Mark’s journey will take place at Waterway Hills Golf Club in Myrtle Beach. Beginning at 6:43 a.m, he will attempt to complete 11 rounds of golf by 5:16 p.m. That’s an astonishing 198 holes at a mind-blowing pace of 58 minutes per round!

Waterway Hills Golf Club is a  27-hole golf course in Myrtle Beach, designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones, and boasts 3 separate 9-hole layouts: Oaks, Lakes and the Ravine.

However, Chapman intends on playing all 11 rounds on the Oaks Nine course. He’ll have to play it a whopping 22 times to accomplish his goal.

Golfers from all over the world, come to play golf in Myrtle Beach and the Fall 2011 golf season is well under way. The weather is great and the courses are ready for the season.

NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com, Black Bear Golf Club and the Classic Golf Group have teamed up together to offer a good “Ol Fashion Pig Pickin” to golfers. Over the next four weeks, golfers and non-golfers will be invited to enjoy this Myrtle Beach BBQ at Black Bear Golf Course. This event is open to all guest of NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com and CondoLux, even if they are not playing Black Bear.

There is no cost to the golfers or non-golfers as this is provided FREE of charge.  For more information, call our Golf Department at 1-800-624-6418 or call Black Bear Golf Club at 843-756-0550.

WHERE:

Black Bear Golf Club
2850 Hwy 9 West
Longs, SC 29568

WHEN:

Oct. 21st, Oct. 28Th, Nov. 4Th, Nov. 11TH

HOURS:

4:00pm to 7:00pm

Its that time once again for our Monthly Top Myrtle Beach Golf Course Rankings for the month of September 2011. As in previous months, our top rankings blog has been our highest trafficked web page on our site.  Again, I will say that these rankings for the courses are very close to my own personal rankings. So lets unveil which courses are in the Top 10.

For the second consecutive month, we have a NEW #1. We also have a new comer to the rankings, with one of my personal favorites dropping out of the Top 10 after being voted to the Top 10 for a month.

1. Bald Head Island – The renovations last year at Bald Head Island have paid off. The Re-design was done by Tim Cate.

2. Caledonia – After being #1 for a month, the Mike Stranz design is still a golfers favorite.

3. Dunes Club – Craig`s personal favorite.

4. Barefoot – Dye Club - Arguably the hardest course on the Grand Strand, but golfers still love the challenge.

5. Pawley`s Plantation – Ranked in the top 5 for the second consecutive month.

6. TPC-Myrtle Beach – This is the only course in Myrtle Beach to ever get 5-stars from Golf Digest.

7. Thistle – The Thistle has jumped into the top after not being at all in August. Some of the best greens on the Strand.

8. Tidewater – With some of the best marsh views on the Strand, also know as the “Pebble Beach of the East Coast”.

9. Willbrook – Craig`s South end favorite, also known as a “Locals Favorite” for its beauty and playability.

10. Pearl – East – Reopened with NEW Mini Verde Greens and amazing views of the Calabash River.

There you have it folks the Top Myrtle Beach Golf Course Rankings for September 2011. Please feel free to leave comments on your favorite courses page and vote for your favorite Myrtle Beach golf courses. You can also follow me on twitter @mbgolfpro and leave comments on our Facebook page.

Until next time … Keep it in the short grass. -MBGolfPro

Caledonia Golf Course took over the #1 golf course spot for August.

Feedback is key when you are picking the best golf courses in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Luckily, the easy star ranking system we have implemented on NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com let’s the golfer rank the course, AND comment on it, providing feedback to all the other golfers out there in need of assistance picking out the best courses.

Like we’ve said in the past, these top golf courses blog posts have been highly trafficked and we’ve been getting lots of good feedback, so we’ll keep ‘em coming!  Don’t forget though, if you need extra help picking a golf course for your budget, feel free to give me a call or head over to our Myrtle Beach Golf Course list.

After two consecutive months at the #1 position, the Barefoot Dye course slipped in rankings, with Caledonia sliding up and taking it’s spot.

1. Caledonia -  This Mike Strantz design in Pawley’s Island finally rose to the #1 slot.

2. Bald Head Island – Noted for it’s seclusion, only reachable by ferry. Moved up from #3.

3. Dunes Club – Former #1, immaculate condition at the moment, but still couldn’t overcome #1 and #2.

4. Barefoot Dye – Was #1 for two consecutive months. This is hard course to tackle as some votes may show.

5. Pawley’s Plantation – Jack Nichlous design holding it’s own at the #5 position again.

6. TPC of Myrtle Beach – Tom Fazio and Lanny Watkins design still graces us with it’s top 10 presence.

7. Tidewater – This Little River, SC course also considered “best of the beach” with it’s great marsh views.

8. Pearl East – Moved up from #10 and should stay in the top 10 once it re-opens in October with new mini-verde greens.

9. True Blue – The sister course of the new #1 Caledonia (also designed by Mike Strantz)

10. Willbrook Plantation - One of the local favorites for being a great course in Pawley’s Island (and a top 50 in the country for women).

There you have it! Another month of top results at your finger tips. Don’t forget to follow me on twitter at @mbgolfpro or subscribe to this blog’s golf  rss feed.

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.

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.

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.

Beginning Monday May 23,  over 400 current and former members of the United States Military will be competing in two styles of golf tournaments in the Myrtle Beach area. The American Legion will play against the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the Carolina Cup in a two person team, 54-Hole event at twelve participating golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area. In the second Golf Tournament players from all five military branches, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard will go to war on the golf course for the chance to win “THE BRANCH CHALLENGE”.

In Last years event, the VFW team won the Carolina Cup for its sixth win in seven years. In The Branch Challenge the Air Force walked away with the trophy. For more tournament info check out this article on the event.