Curtis Henley Takes 34th Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship

Curtis Henley of Poquoson, Va., shot a gross 82, good for a net 66, to win the World Championship Playoff at the 34th annual Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship Friday at Barefoot Resort's Dye Club.

Henley edged James Dupont of Meadville, Pa., and Charlotte’s Jim Acord, who shot net 67s to finish tied for second place.

Hilton Head’s Wes Long fired a sizzling 68 to win the Gross Division and finished five rounds with a cumulative, gross score of 1-under par.

Making his first appearance in the event, Carl Myers of Dallas, Texas won the Senior Gross Division in a sudden death playoff against Kim Mansfield of High Point, N.C. Myers won on the first playoff hole with a par.

Virginians Ted Hartung and Thomas “Duke” Wagner won the Pairs Competition and along with it a trip to any destination in the world that GolfBreaks.com offers.

A 72-hole, net stroke play tournament, the World Am was contested on more than 50 of Myrtle Beach’s best golf courses.

Players from 49 states and 20 countries competed in the event, which was open to all men and women 18 years of age and older, and players were flighted based on age, gender and handicap. Each flight played a different course every day and after four rounds of competition, all flight winners and ties advanced to the World Championship Playoff at the Dye Club. The playoff was an 18-shootout to crown the event’s winner.

While the competition is initially what lures players to the tournament, it’s only part of what keeps them coming back. At the heart of the World Am’s appeal is the camaraderie among its participants and much of that kinship is fostered at the World’s Largest 19th Hole.

Each night of the event, the 19th Hole overtook all 120,000-square feet of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, providing participants with free food and drinks, live entertainment, celebrity guest appearances, a golf expo and more.

Among the big names that appeared at the 19th Hole this year were Golf Channel personalities Charlie Rymer, Damon Hack and Chantel McCabe, billiards legend Ewa Laurance and Paige Spiranac, one of the game’s fastest rising personalities. Players also received a gift bag that included a logo’d hat, shirt, PGA Tour Superstore gift card, NexBelt, and an assortment of other goodies.

For more information, visit www.MyrtleBeachWorldAmateur.com.

2017 World Am

Great once again to spend part of the week in Myrtle Beach a the 2017 Myrtle Beach World Amateur.

The largest golf tournament in the world with over 3000 entrants.

Read all about it as it wraps up on Friday at http://myrtlebeachworldamateur.com

Myrtle Beach Golf Back Open for Business

Sixty-Five Myrtle Beach Golf Courses Have Reopened in Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew

Nearly Every Course Will be Open for What is Expected to be an Idyllic Weekend Along the Grand Strand

Emerging from the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, 65 Myrtle Beach golf courses have reopened along the Grand Strand and nearly every area layout will be open for what is expected to be an idyllic weekend.

A 60-mile stretch of Carolinas coastline, the Grand Strand endured high winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Matthew, but area golf courses emerged without major structural damage. Course closures were primarily a result of fallen trees and debris that needed to be cleaned up.

“We are happy to welcome golfers back to Myrtle Beach this weekend and all the credit goes to the golf course staffs that have worked tirelessly to get their property ready to reopen,” said Bill Golden, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday president. “While we look forward to having full tee sheets this weekend, our thoughts will certainly be with our friends throughout North and South Carolina who are still battling the impact of the storm.”

For most of the next week, the Myrtle Beach area is expected to have near perfect weather. High temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 70s and will be accompanied by a slight breeze, which will help further aide courses in drying out.

“By this weekend, the courses will almost look like a storm never came through, other than some debris on the outer edge of the golf course we won’t have time to clear,” said Matt Biddington, head pro at Legends Resort. “From tee to green, the courses will be in great shape.”

Myrtle Beach More Than Just Golf

Sure there are almost a 100 golf courses and the folks at Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday do a great job putting on the World Am each year, but Myrtle Beach offers a lot that doesn't involve golf. Friendly people, restaurants, spas, shopping and it's close to a lot of historical tourtist attractions.

A great golf and beach destination and more.

4 Myrtle Beach Golf Courses Among Its Top 100 You Can Play

Nice recognition for Myrtle Beach Golf

Caledonia, Dunes Club, True Blue and Love Course Earn Spot On Prestigious List

Golf Magazine has unveiled its biennial list of the “Top 100 You Can Play,” a ranking of America’s best public courses, and four Grand Strand layouts earned a spot on the prestigious list.

A lowcountry classic, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club led the way at No. 29, followed by the Dunes Club (No. 39), True Blue (No. 77), and Barefoot Resort’s Love Course (No. 85).

The Top 100 You Can Play list, which was unveiled in the September issue of Golf Magazine, provided further validation of Myrtle Beach’s reputation as golf’s premier travel destination. The Grand Strand has been voted by best golf destination by readers of Golf.com and USA Today/10Best.

Caledonia, a Mike Strantz design, has long been a favorite of the Golf Magazine ratings panel. The layout, routed along a stunning piece of property, is equal parts art and architecture.

Strantz carved a masterpiece between soaring live oak trees draped in Spanish moss and alligator-filled, lowcountry water that used to feed a thriving rice plantation. The back nine, in particular, is golf at its finest.

The 11th is a devilish par 3 with a stream that snakes from tee to green, an understated but nonetheless daunting challenge. The 18th hole is a dogleg right that plays over water to a green that rests in the shadow of an antebellum style clubhouse, where golfers gather to watch fellow players finish.

The Dunes Club, a consensus top 100 public course, is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. masterpiece. With uncommon elevation change, arguably the state’s best greens complexes, and Jones’ architectural genius, the Dunes Club is the most revered Myrtle Beach golf course.

The layout is anchored by Alligator Alley – holes 11 through 13 – which play along the swash from the nearby Atlantic Ocean and Lake Singleton. If you are a fan of classic architecture, smooth, fast greens and a formidable challenge, Dunes Club is a must play.

True Blue, also a Strantz design and Caledonia’s sister course, deservedly retained its spot on the list. Everything about this 7,126-yard monster is big, including the fairways, greens and waste bunkers.

Golf Magazine said of True Blue, “Hole to hole, the variety is astounding. The course is mostly open, with beauty and menace mingling with lakes, marshland and plenty of scrub-filled natural sandy areas … Rarely has golf architecture had a shaper as artful as Strantz. The full measure of his formidable skill is on display at True Blue.”

When Barefoot initially opened its fairways, some skeptics wondered if Davis Love III would be capable of crafting a course that was equal to the work of more highly regarded architects Pete Dye, Tom Fazio and Greg Norman, who also designed courses at Barefoot.

Turns out Love bettered them and most of America. With its generous landing areas, creative layout, and Donald Ross-inspired greens complexes, the Love Course is among the Myrtle Beach’s most popular and playable layouts.

The faux ruins of an old plantation home anchor the fourth through sixth holes and provide the take home memories for many players.