Area Golf News

Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Announces Inaugural Inductees

February 10, 2009, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Representatives of Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday announced today the six inaugural inductees in the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame. Clay Brittain, Jr., W. Cecil Brandon, Carolyn Cassidy Cudone, Jimmy D’Angelo, General James F. Hackler, Jr. and Robert White will be the individuals honored during the March 12th Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Pine Lakes Country Club, the home of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.

Individuals were nominated by members of the Myrtle Beach golf industry and the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Board reviewed each nomination before selecting the most outstanding candidates.

Clay Brittain, Jr. played an instrumental role in uniting the golf and tourism industries in Myrtle Beach. Brittain was an important partner in the birth of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday in 1967. In 1971, he was one of the original owners of the Myrtle Beach National Company and as the president, developed it into one of the largest course and accommodations ownership groups in the Southeast.

Through his tireless marketing efforts, W. Cecil Brandon brought worldwide recognition to the Myrtle Beach area and to the state of South Carolina. One of the founding fathers of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, Brandon has long been credited as the mastermind behind Myrtle Beach’s booming golf industry. He worked closely with the PGA TOUR to build the Tournament Players Club of Myrtle Beach for six consecutive years

Carolyn Cassidy Cudone will be remembered as the pioneer of the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Association. Cudone was the driving force behind the area’s original junior golf program over the next 20 years. Thanks to her insight and hard work, more than 15 Grand Strand area junior golfers earned college golf scholarships.

Jimmy D’Angelo’s marketing acumen helped brand Myrtle Beach as a major golf destination. His brainchild, the 1954 testimonial dinner for course architect Robert Trent Jones, quickly developed into the annual Golf Writers Association of America Championship, a media tournament tradition that ensured Myrtle Beach an audience with the golf media industry.

General James F. Hackler, Jr. revolutionized the Myrtle Beach golf industry by combining tee times and accommodations to form the first golf package. He was also instrumental in the 1972 opening of Bay Tree Golf Plantation, Myrtle Beach’s first three-course facility, and helped bring the 1977 LPGA Championship to Bay Tree, attracting national media attention to the Grand Strand area.

Robert White was the original architect of Myrtle Beach’s first golf course, the Ocean Forest Country Club, that opened in that 1927, now known as Pine Lakes Country Club. He was chosen as the first president of the United States Professional Golf Association of America when it was founded in 1916 and he served in the position until 1920.

“We are excited to open the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame and feel that these six individuals really exemplify the intent of the Hall of Fame; to honor the men and women who played significant roles in all aspects of the Myrtle Beach area golf industry,” said Bob Swezey, executive vice president of golf and resort operations for Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. “The Board received more than 30 nominations for the inaugural class of 2009 and it was a very difficult decision to narrow the nominees down to the six names. We applaud the dedication and commitment by these individuals to the Myrtle Beach community.”

The Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame was created in September 2008, in conjunction with Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, to honor the men and women who have played significant roles in all aspects of the Myrtle Beach area golf industry, from teaching to playing; course design and construction to administration. The Hall of Fame reopening will be held in conjunction with the reopening of Pine Lakes Country Club and will be situated in Pine Lake’s new Hall of Fame Garden adjacent to the newly renovated clubhouse. Each inductee will be honored in the garden surrounding the Sports Illustrated monument that memorializes the birthplace of the magazine at Pine Lakes in 1954. Six inductees will be honored in 2009 with additional members inducted each April on the anniversary of the PGA of America’s foundation; in honor of Robert White, the designer and first professional at Pine Lakes, as well as the first president of the PGA of America.

“March 12th will be a special day as we honor the individuals who helped make the Myrtle Beach area the unparalleled golf destination in the world,” said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “The Hall of Fame Board had a difficult decision to pick the inaugural inductees and we congratulate the six selections and thank them for their service to our golf and travel industries.”

About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association of 76 championship golf courses, 107 golf package providers and five golf schools in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization has been and continues to be the driving force behind the growth of the Myrtle Beach area golf market. The originator of the “Stay and Play Package,” Golf Holiday provides non-biased information about the area accommodations and golf courses to assist golfers in making the most informed decisions when planning for their next vacation. Golf Holiday also hosts seven events and tournaments annually to help grow the game of golf and attract golfers to the Grand Strand during slower times of year. In addition to hosting the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament each spring, Golf Holiday also manages the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world's largest on-site golf tournament, the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the Spring and Fall Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. For more information, call Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday at 1-800-833-8798 or visit GolfHoliday.com.

About Pine Lakes Country Club
Pine Lakes Country Club, Myrtle Beach’s first golf resort, has served as the epitome of the traditional golf resort since opening in 1927 as the Ocean Forest Golf Club. Designed by St. Andrews, Scotland native Robert White, Pine Lakes put Myrtle Beach on the map as the destination of choice for the country’s wealthiest families. Owned and operated by Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc., Pine Lakes just completed an extensive 20-month, multi-million dollar restoration project that has transformed the course and clubhouse back to the status enjoyed in earlier days. The restoration of the course was directed by well-known golf course architect Craig Schreiner who preserved many of the historical golf corridors that made Pine Lakes famous throughout the years. For more information, visit PineLakes.com.

About Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc.
Burroughs & Chapin’s residential developments include the award-winning Grande Dunes, a 2,200-acre four-star community stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to west across the Intracoastal Waterway. Burroughs & Chapin has created numerous commercial developments offering national and regional name brand shopping. These include Broadway at the Beach – an award-winning 350-acre festival shopping, entertainment and dining complex surrounding the 22-acre Lake Broadway; Coastal Grand Mall, a one million square foot regional shopping mall joint ventured with CBL & Associates Properties of Chattanooga, Tenn.; Seaboard Commons; South Strand Commons; Arcadian Shores Commons; and many smaller “jewel box” centers.

Burroughs & Chapin Golf Management offers many of the finest 18-hole championship golf courses in Myrtle Beach, including the Resort Club and Members Club at Grande Dunes, Pine Lakes Country Club, Myrtlewood Golf Club, Tidewater Golf Club and Plantation, Meadowlands Golf Club, Farmstead Golf Links and River Hills Golf Club. The management group also handles two Par 3 courses, five themed mini-golf courses and supervision of the Ripken Baseball operations in Myrtle Beach.

A leader in golf and vacation packages, Burroughs & Chapin’s Myrtle Beach Trips offers visitors to Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand the “one call” convenience of a direct connection to the most popular attractions in the area and packages them together in a variety of ways to suit different tastes and budgets. With one easy call to Myrtle Beach Trips at 1-800-819-2282, visitors can unlock all the thrills and excitement of many of America’s favorite family seaside destinations.