Features and Commentaries

With a choice of more than 100 golf courses and 90,000 accommodations, the Myrtle Beach area is the perfect spot for a golf vacation. The mild Carolina climate allows residents and visitors alike to enjoy their favorite outdoor activities almost any time of the year. And after your rounds, if you have the time and energy, there are plenty of other activities to enjoy, including shopping, sight-seeing, amusements and attractions.

While the Internet has made it considerably easier to gather information about the Myrtle Beach area, it takes substantial time and effort to become an expert on all there is to see and do. That’s why most visitors still rely on the experts at area package providers to help them arrange their golf vacations. Most area golf package providers maintain a staff of golf directors who are knowledgeable of the local courses and can assist you with your course and lodging selections based on ability, budget and location.

The concept of packaging golf with hotel accommodations was invented in Myrtle Beach more than 40 years ago. Since then, we have been steadily refining the process to provide golfers the ability to book an entire visit as easily and affordably as possible. The package providers and golf courses are networked together to allow the golf directors to quickly search and reserve tee times, up to a year in advance, at the very best rates available.

A great number of prestigious Myrtle Beach-area courses and package providers are members of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Myrtle Beach golf packages and assisting golfers around the world with planning their visit. It is working. Last year, more than one million golfers made Myrtle Beach their destination of choice, logging more than four million rounds of golf, and just as the area’s golf and hotel landscapes have changed, so have the packages offered by Golf Holiday’s members.

Today, Myrtle Beach golf has evolved from the traditional groups of four, eight or 12 guys coming to the beach for a few rounds. While that group still accounts for a large portion of the total rounds, couples, families, and groups of female golfers are increasingly common on the Myrtle Beach courses. Packages can be created to suit the needs of each group at some terrific values, often with reduced rates for golf early in the week (Sunday through Wednesday) or afternoon tee times.

Booking a package through a Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday member almost always results in preferred rates and tee times. Package providers and courses negotiate the very best rate for their guest at the time they desire to play. With a few less courses this year than last, the demand for available tee times is expected to increase significantly. A typical golf package includes lodging, breakfast, greens fees and a golf cart. If golf every day is not your cup of “tee,” your package can be adjusted accordingly. Likewise for those rabid golfers who crave 36 holes a day.

With leisure time at a premium, more and more visitors are placing a higher value on a well-planned vacation. An increase in the local population and the changing landscape of the Myrtle Beach area has seen a reduction in the availability of tee times. The myriad of accolades rewarded to area golf courses has also caused an increased demand for tee times, reinforcing the benefit to utilizing the convenience and affordability of the golf package for your next Myrtle Beach golf getaway.

It’s no secret that one of the most frequent complaints about golf is “slow play.” Most agree, the average round should take no more than 4.5 hours. And if you are on vacation and have scheduled a 36-hole day, there is a good chance you may not make your second tee time if you get trapped behind some slow golfers. So, for the benefit of all, here are a few thoughts and suggestions that should help everyone get around the course just a little bit faster.

•  Arrive at the course at least 30 minutes prior to your tee time to allow adequate time to check in and loosen up.
•  Each golfer should take responsibility for not slowing down the group.
•  Unless you’re playing a formal match, forget the honor system. Whoever gets to the tee first should plug a tee in the ground and fire away.
•  If unsure whether your ball is OB or may be lost, hit a provisional ball so that you won’t have to return to the spot to replay the shot.
•  If you are not driving the cart, get out and walk to your ball. Even if your ball is in front of another player, you can walk to your ball, get prepared and then move out of the way.
•  If using a cart on a cart-path-only day, take more than one club with you when you walk from the cart to your ball.
•  Use the time you spend getting to your ball to think about the next shot - the yardage, the club selection. When you reach your ball you’ll need less time to figure out the shot.
•  Begin reading the green and lining up putts as soon as you reach the green. Don’t wait until it’s your turn to putt to start the process.
•  Never delay making a stroke because you’re chatting with a playing partner. Put the conversation on hold, make your stroke, then pick up the conversation again.