Recently by Chris King

The Road Trip: Myrtle Beach cast had just reconvened from all parts of the country on a sun-splashed day at Thistle Golf Club in early October. Tee time was set for 2 p.m., but timeliness wasn’t a priority.

  Road Trip: Myrlte Beach returns to the air on Tuesday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m. and you get a first look behind the scenes of the hit Golf Channel show with this exclusive video. The remaining episodes of the...

They had to get out the fishing gear, stare man-eating reptiles in the eye, put on their dancing shoes, and as always, play a lot of great golf. Yes, the cast of Road Trip: Myrtle Beach had a surplus of fun during its swing through the North end of Myrtle Beach's Grand Strand, and now it's time to relive the fun.

Myrtle Beach long ago carved out its niche as America's most popular golf destination, and now it can lay legitimate claim to being the best and most cost effective place to learn the game. The Grand Strand is home to two of the "Top 25 Golf Schools in America," according to Golf Magazine. The Phil Ritson-Mel Sole Golf School, located at Pawleys Plantation, and Classic Swing Golf School, located at Legends Resort, were both named to the prestigious list.

Founders Club opened its doors in February 2008 convinced it was ready take a place alongside the South Strand's lineup of elite courses.

The clubhouse is as stunning as it is large. Built with stone, timber beams and stucco and rising from the ground like an ancient Scottish mansion, the new clubhouse at Thistle Golf Club is among the finest in region, if not the country.

Kelly Thurman has watched every "Road Trip: Myrtle Beach" episode, rarely failing to tell his wife, Nancy, what a great group Mark Bryan, Josh Kelley, Charlie Rymer and Perry Swenson would be to play with.

Woods vs. Nicklaus. Lakers vs. Celtics. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Bentgrass vs. bermudagrass. Yes, great sports debates can carry over to the greens of your favorite golf course. For many people on a Myrtle Beach golf trip, the bent vs. bermuda debate most closely resembled the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

From a stroll on the Marsh Walk in Murrells Inlet to the drive down Oak Alley on the way to Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, the South Strand has its own distinct flavor. In a vacation destination renowned for its surplus of activities, the southern end of the Grand Strand is a relaxing alternative.

 

The Myrtle Beach area trumpets its 1,000+ restaurants, and some of the best are on the South Strand, despite the recent closing of Louis's at Pawleys, home of the best shrimp and grits around. If you are in the South Strand, here are five restaurants worth your time to visit:

The following is a list of Grand Strand layouts with bentgrass greens: Arrowhead Country Club Avocet at Wild Wing Crow Creek Dunes Golf & Beach Club

The golf is great, entertainment is abundant and there are enough restaurants to bring Ralphie May to his knees, but none of those are the primary reason Myrtle Beach and the Central Strand, remain the area's most popular landing spot for golfers.

Golf might be what brings you to Myrtle Beach, but you have to eat when you get here. Just as you play new courses when you are in town, here are five local restaurants you should make it a point to frequent.

Myrtle Beach is the Grand Strand's most vibrant community, and no attraction, other than the Atlantic Ocean, of course, generates more buzz than Broadway at the Beach.

Plans for the renovation of Pine Lakes International Country Club began over four years ago. Craig Schreiner, the architect hired to restore the Granddaddy to its place among the Grand Strand's elite, drew up 12 different layout scenarios over a period of 18 months. Pine Lakes and its famed clubhouse are also part of the National Registry of Historic Places, adding another set of eyes the course's renovation plans had to please.

Pine Lakes Country Club Hole-By-Hole Guide Hole No. 1 Par 4, 346 yards-- Formerly hole No. 10 -- Pine Lakes opens with three shorter and straight holes purposely designed by Craig Schreiner to build the golfers' confidence at the beginning...

South Carolina state senator Dick Elliott, the owner of Eagle Nest Golf Club, compares course architects to homebuilders. If an architect and a builder do a good job, people become attached to their work, grateful for the creation of a product that brings joy over an extended period of time.