A large fire that engulfed part of Horry County on Thursday has spared the Myrtle Beach golf community the worst of its wrath to this point.
The fire ravaged some private homes but the area's tourism infrastructure was unaffected.
Heading into what is expected to be the nicest weekend of the year, only two Myrtle Beach golf courses are expected be closed on Friday as a result of the fire.
Barefoot Resort & Golf, home to two of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, faced the most serious threat. All four Barefoot courses were closed Thursday, but the Norman and Dye layouts plan to reopen on Friday.
The Fazio and Love courses suffered some cosmetic damage and will be closed on Friday. Both courses need to repair a few bridges, but each layout is intact. Barefoot officials were pleased with the relative lack of damage, given the danger the area faced at one point.
It was erroneously reported on Wednesday evening that the Waterway Hills had caught fire. The layout is unharmed and golfers were on the course Thursday morning.
The Grande Dunes Resort Course, another Top 100 public layout, wasn't affected by the fire. The course was open for play Thursday morning as well.
This story will updated as additional information becomes available.
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