The long awaited clubhouse at Crow Creek has opened to the public. The building is close to 20,000 feet. It includes a large pro shop and full dining facilities for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area includes 3 large-screen TVs and a 4th TV is located on the 50 seat patio that overlooks the 18th green.

This new clubhouse facility is a perfect compliment to a well established and excellently maintained golf course.

These are a couple of exterior photos of the front of the building and rear porch area.

For Pictures of the golf course and the new Crow Creek Clubhouse click here.

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My 5 Favorite Myrtle Beach Golf Courses

Keep in mind I did not say the ” 5 best courses” that would make me look like an elitist golfing know it all. Nope not me, I am just humble Golf “Master” Gary (name used for business purposes, not to be taken literally) It is a fact that if you were to ask 10 other avid Myrtle Beach Golfers you are going to get 10 different lists, we all have our own opinions, this is mine. I am at the moment a 9 handicapper with a stoke average of 82. I have played all the top public courses under consideration for this list.

Everyone has their criteria for choosing their favorites this is mine.

I put a lot of stock into the beauty of the course and equally to the ” just off the course” beauty. I love a great view, be it ponds, estuaries, swamps, rivers, creeks, and even the trees, as long as they are not in my way. In general I enjoy a fabulous natural view with limited houses or condominiums.

Next would be uniqueness, and playability vs. challenge. I love big wide-open fairways, don’t we all, with the dangers in the fairways. I do like not those tight tree lined, doglegged, with out of bounds everywhere courses. After that give me a bunch of variety: blind shots, elevated greens, big mounds, nasty scary bunkers, drivable par 4s and impossible par 4s, I think you get the idea. I love uniqueness with my challenge.
#1 Rivers Edge- great clubhouse views, great scenery everywhere, 6 or 7 holes that could be signature holes on any course. An excellent challenge, with very few houses.

#2 World Tour – great club house, great practice facility, interesting with variety of famous replica holes, 27 holes. An excellent challenge, with very few houses.

#3 Kings North- extremely pretty course with a very interesting, fun lay out, extremely playable for all levels. No houses here and it is a, 3-course facility.

#4 Legends Moorland - Wide-open links style hybrid. Excellent challenge with elevated greens, a drivable par 4, large pot bunkers and sparkling ponds abound. Not a house in sight, glorious peace, great clubhouse, 3 course facility.

#5 True Blue – #5 was a difficult choice but I am a big fan of Mike Strantz designed courses so it was going to be True Blue or Caledonia. I went with True Blue because, it’s my list, and I prefer the wider fairways and a more “grip it rip it” lay out. This course lies nicely with the natural contours of the land with Stantzs’ flair for the dramatic mostly around the greens. Very few houses and a very cool “True Blue” club house.

Tell us your favorite 5?

Coming soon, my favorite 6-10,

Golf Master Gary

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As many of our clients know, we at Golf Trek suggest many of the “Northern” Courses in Brunswick County North Carolina, for the tremendous value and quality of the golf and lodging.

Well taking our own advice, I was able to convince my wife to accompany me to visit”The Winds” Resort Beach Club on Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. The Winds Resort is about an hour drive from Myrtle Beach, and from Mid – March till October this Resort gives you the feeling that you are on a tropical Isle in the Caribbean. Tropical plants abound, the beach is wide, the sand is white and the crowds are thin.

As a visitor there we experienced a very helpful staff, clean rooms and an excellent “Deluxe Continental Breakfast” served daily from 6 to 10 AM. If you bring along your computer they have WIFI. Each Bedroom has 2 Queen Beds and daily housekeeping is provided.

The resort is in an excellent location near many of my favorite Myrtle Beach Golf Courses including The Thistle, The Pearls East & West, Lockwood Folly, and Sandpiper Bay just to name a few.

There are also several great places to eat in the area, so after a enjoyable round of golf you can then freshen up back at The Winds and then get out to dine.

Our take on this. YES – “Go North Young Man” Take advantage of some great courses at excellent prices!

Golfmaster John highly recommends a Stay and Play package on Ocean Isle in Brunswick County, NC

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THE GAMBLER
The Gambler…..Kenny Rogers… No.. the par 5 at Myrtle Beach National Kings North made the list on the Best 18 Beach holes. This hole is one of the most cussed and discussed golf holes at the beach. Going for the island green landing area to me has always been a suckers bet. Even if you get on the island you’ll either have a long iron, hybrid or wood to get back across the water much less hit the green with your second shot. You take a chance of taking a penalty shot to get on the island and a second possible penalty shot getting off of the island and back onto the fairway. The long carry over the water to the green is breathtaking. However, the tried and true route is to hit the fairway, hit a second shot onto the fairway in front of the green or try for the green flying over grass instead of water. GO FOR IT…it’s a suckers bet that I never play on my own. But in a captains choice tournament with 4 players hitting the shot, now that is a different story…. have fun GO FOR IT.

As a conversation piece, The Gambler is a definite top 18 hole at the beach. If you play the hole as a normal par 5…then it is just… that…. a normal par 5 with water on the left and bunkers surrounding the green. Nothing difficult or challenging about that. BUT that is what golf is all about…. having a choice…risk or reward.

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Save some Bucks , The Top Myrtle Beach Budget Helper Courses

We send out thousands of quotes a year to golfers all over the world but most of the time we don’t have an idea about the budget for the package. This is a tricky proposition since we have in the neighborhood of 100 golf courses with a gazillion different combination of golf package specials we could craft together but we still need your imput to “put it all together” in a Myrtle Beach Golf Package. This blog is specifically aimed at the economy golfer, not the cheap golfer , but the golfer that wants the best bang for his buck, golfer. Myrtle Beach Golf Deals are what you are looking for.  This is for the group leader with 2 guys in his right ear whining that the cost is too high , and another two whining in his left ear that they want all premium courses. It is difficult to be a leader , but we are here, we are Golf Masters (imagine inspiring super hero music in back ground) and we are here to save the day ,your ear drums and your wallets!
To affectively wort off that chill and that nasty case of cabin fever you got, your going to need to play 36 a day , am I right or what! So play a premium or mid-premium course in the morning and play a second round at one of the courses that ONLY we can get at a super rate! We call them ” Afternoon Delights” no no no that’s something else….thats right “Afternoon Specials.” Make everyone happy and call us to craft a great package.

Afternoon specials start at 12:00 except Beechwood which is 1PM

Top Myrtle Beach Afternoon Special Golf Courses
Woodland Valley , this is a steal
Eagle Nest
Island Green
Carolina Shores
Heron Point, also an early AM special
Beechwood, also an early AM special
Oak Island

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Pawleys Plantation has several interesting holes as you head east toward
the ocean on the back nine. The front nine plays around tall Carolina pines,
condos and houses. The front nine lulls you to sleep and the first 3 holes
on the backside start to get your attention. Then you get to hole # 13. The
NUMBER 13 is well represented by this hole. In your cart, you drive off the
mainland onto a very narrow causeway about 14 feet wide. Marshes and
lakes surround you and the next sliver of a piece of land ahead of you is
the green. There is enough land on the causeway for your cart and an
elevated tee box which is about 8 feet wide and 30 feet long. As you go
up the stairs to the tee box you get your first look at the work at hand.
145 feet away across the marsh is a little sliver of land where a very small
piece of land has an elevated green about 8 feet above the marsh. The
sides of the green are wood pilings. As you look out over the marsh you
see a multitude of colors… white balls, orange balls, sweetie pink balls and
plenty of fiddler crabs. Davey Jones locker for sure.

Then you feel the ocean breeze in your face…usually 15 to 25 m.p.h. Now
you’ve got to judge the length, the breeze and the trajectory of your shot.
You’ve got a very very small piece of land to hit and you have got to stop
your shot quickly or you will hit the green and bounce into the drink.
9 of 10 players will be in Davey Jones locker with the fiddler crabs. At low
tide you might even restock your bag when you crawl down the embankment
to the hoard of crabs and balls. If you are lucky enough to hit and stay on the
green … you can look back at that sliver of land you just crossed and marvel
at the skill you used to get where you are at. A birdie is possible as the green
is very small and you won’t have to putt very far. You’ll remember this hole for
years to come.. just say the # 13 and a vivid memory will occur.

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WE WANT TO PLAY SCENIC COURSES

This is a statement that comes up from golf leaders. The group wants to play the most scenic Myrtle Beach Golf Courses. So what courses in the Myrtle Beach golf area are the most scenic?

I have my opinion of course having played all of the public and resort courses here. I think the “one” course that stands the tallest against all others is Rivers Edge with it numerous holes along the Shallotte River. That to me is the easiest to pick. Now, what are the others? Here are my top 15 (in no particular order other than Rivers Edge being #1).

Rivers Edge Heritage Club Pawleys Plantation

Oyster Bay Grande Dunes Tigers Eye

Tidewater Pearl West Brick Landing

Bald Head Island Dunes Club Caledonia

Glen Dornoch Barefoot Norman Barefoot Fazio

It’s all in the eyes of the beholder. Can you think of any others that I’ve overlooked?

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Center.. or.. Central. How do you define these words. When the Grand
Strand golf courses stretch from Georgetown in the south to Bald Head
Island in the north..some 120 miles apart…where is the center ? A good
question for golf groups to consider. WHY ? Well most of the golf groups
want to get up in the morning…eat breakfast…drive to their first course… hit
a few practice putts or a few warm up shots on the range before getting
to the 1st tee. If the group plans to replay in the afternoon…..the early bird
get the worm..ER..best chance of replay. First out is first back in for lunch
and a chance to play in the afternoon. That puts a premium on the driving
time in the wee hours of the morning. Getting up in the dark and traveling
to the course with the sun coming up is a daunting task to get to where you
are playing. CLOSER is better for most groups. If your group wants to play
center or central….stay close and play close…where do you stay ?

If you want to travel a maximum of 30 minutes (which most groups prefer)
then you have to chose your lodging….FIRST…then the courses that fit
your criteria and budget. Most of the nonsurcharge courses close to Myrtle
Beach were closed for real estate development when their land became
more valuable than running a golf course. The resultant change meant that
economically budget minded groups either had to raise their budgets or travel
further out to play their preferred courses.

The center beach area as defined by actual physical area starts on the south
end at the Junction of US 501 and US 17 Bypass and north at the NC / SC
border. These boundaries will reflect 35 miles south to Georgetown and 35
miles north to central Brunswick County, NC. 40 % of our courses are north
of the NC / SC state line and 30 % of our courses are south of the US 501
and US 17 Bypass Junction. Therefore the actual physical center location and
course locations match up. STAY CENTER-PLAY CENTER….STAY NORTH
-PLAY NORTH… STAY SOUTH-PLAY SOUTH. If you pick your lodging
location 1st..then you can pick the courses that will fit your travel time and
budget. A large number of groups are picking staying in North Myrtle or along
the border. WHY ? If you travel north 30 minutes, then you can play most of the
better NC courses and if you travel south you can pick up most of the courses
in the center Myrtle Beach area. Being equi-distant north and south means
that the center beach for golf courses is in the North Strand.

The GEOGRAPHY lesson is complete. It’s your choice of where you
STAY and PLAY.

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Sitting and drinking a brew after a recent round with my golfing buddies, we
started discussing the recent Myrtle Beach ‘ Dream 18 ‘ as rated by golf experts. These are the best 18 holes out of the 100+ golf courses in the area.

Our discussion centered around what should and shouldn’t have been included
in their decision of the best holes. As with most groups in the era of political
correctness… many holes and courses were chosen by the experts for just
that reason.

Our discussion of the better / scenic / challenging holes focused more on the
best challenging holes. One hole stands out. # 7 at the Tradition Club in Litchfield.
Island Green holes are challenging for all skill levels…but a par 4 – 380 yard
hole from the white men’s tee is a definite challenge. First, you have to hit a
good tee shot to even have a chance of going for the green. If not then you
have to hit a good second shot to lay up for a third shot over the pond to a
very different type of green. And what a green it is. It isn’t round or large in
width. It’s elongated in length across a 60 yard lake. It is unique as it has
bulkheads in the front of the green with sand emerging from the lake ..making
a small beach area to the green. The Tradition Club is about 2 miles from Litchfield
Beach and you normally have a 10 -20 m.p.h breeze from your back. That means
you have to judge the wind when you get your ball airborn. Don’t be short…left or
right or airmail the green with the wind at your back. The green slopes from the
back to the front, so that most putts are back down the slope. When the pin is in
the front of the green (where it is most of the time) you can litterally putt your ball
off the green back into the lake. I have seen that scenario several times.
Be prepared ?? If you do that, where do you place your ball ?? Know the answer
before you get to the 7 th tee. You might be glad you did.

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Cool Weather Beach Grasses…what to watch out for so that you can clean up on the greens.

PUTTING is key for most players.  If you have beautiful fairways, tees and
plenty of sand in the bunkers vs. poorly maintained greens,  what will your
lasting memories of the course be ?   I think that answer is self explanatory.
To many resort players the condition of the greens is 90 % of their memories
and the one item that they prefer to be in the best condition.  Most resort
players coming to Myrtle Beach play BENT grass greens on their home golf courses.
Brackish water from the aquifer and extreme hot weather are the natural
enemies of bent grass here in Myrtle Beach.  When the weather gets hot, the
courses have to ‘sponge down’ their greens.  The sprinklers may come on
while you are putting or you might see a ‘tanker cart’ filled with water and
going around green to green constantly spraying the greens with fresh water.
There are a variety of types of bent grass greens with some of them being
heat resistant.  Bent grass does not go dormant in the cooler weather months
and stays green all year long.  It is the best putting grass as it is more consistent in its growth.  The majority of the courses at the beach have changed from bent to bermuda greens primarily for expense reasons.

Bermuda grass has a wide variety of types and styles.  The original common
bermuda can been seen on the fairways and in the roughs.  The hybrid bermuda is on the greens.  Starting with Tif dwarf bermuda to the third generation grasses Tif Eagle, Jensens ultra dwarf,  and Champions  to the new varieties of mini verdi and the sea grass paspalm.  They all putt differently mainly because of the width of the blades of grass.  Some of the blades are thinner than bent and quicker than bent with more break.  The one thing they all have in common is that they go dormant and turn brown.  To keep the golf courses green in cooler weather, the courses have to overseed winter grasses.

The common fairway bermuda is overseeded with winter rye.  You can easily see this grass as it is a lighter kelly green vs. the dark bermuda or bent.  On the greens the courses can overseed or paint their greens.  Most greens are overseeded with winter rye and poa triv.   Winter rye grows straight up and then bends down.  Poa triv is a short Kentucky Blue grass native that comes up and grows horizontal with a wider blade.  On many greens in cooler weather you may have three different grasses on the greens.  The bermuda base has a second top level of winter grasses.  That means you have twice as much coverage and normally means that the greens are more firmer and your shots will hit and roll farther on approach shots. Meanwhile the bent greens are softer and hold you approach shots better.  In the hybrid greens you might see brown flecks of the underlying bermuda, the lighter kelly green of the winter rye and the dark green of the poa triv.  This hybrid green will have less break and be slower than the bent.

The best way to judge your putts is to look from the back of the cup toward your ball.  Especially note the final 5 feet and just around the cup.  If the grass is a brighter green ( winter rye ) then you will have a thinner blade and the putt will break more.   However late in the day or after a rain shower the winter rye will grow thicker and will slow down your putts.  Faster is better early in the day because of the growth of the winter rye.  I hope this mini putting lesson will help you clean up on some of your bets.  You’ll know have the local knowledge to make you a golf expert.

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