EDITORIAL

Rounds Up or Rounds Down, Grand Strand Shouldn't Rest on its Laurels

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

CHARLOTTE – Depending on the source, the Myrtle Beach golf industry is either a) experiencing its biggest slump in over a decade, or b) logging golf rounds at a record pace and reasserting itself as the golf capital of the world.

Later this week at MyrtlebeachGolf.com, we’ll examine the situation, both empirically and anecdotally in an attempt to see exactly where the truth lies.

Why, you may wonder, would we want to look at the Grand Strand through anything less than rose colored glasses? After all, our livelihood depends on getting hordes of visitors this golf rich region each month.

The answer is simple.

We want the Grand Strand to be a better place to play golf. In the long run, taking a hard look at what is going on at Myrtle Beach area courses will improve the overall golf experience for locals and visitors.

If rounds are on the downswing, we need to know and we need to know why.

It could be that the Grand Strand is simply in the trough of the business cycle; a natural ebbing that is taking place because of the sheer number of new golf courses that have opened over the past two or three years.

If this is the case, it stands to reason that the problem could be self-correcting, and Grand Strand courses can just sit back and wait for the players to arrive this fall and next spring.

But maybe it’s not that simple.

Maybe, as the Grand Strand made money hand over fist in the late 1990’s, the region became too cocksure about its ability to lure golfers back each season.

The first signs of this arrogance could have been almost undetectable.

A couple of outside service employees may have let a group of players load their own clubs on their cart, figuring that they’d come back and play the course again if for no other reason than to escape the cold of the great white north.

A week later, those employees could have been sharing a cold one with some outside service employees from another course. They exchange war stories, and it leaks out that loading bags really isn’t all that important anymore.

Then, the false bravado could have made its way into Grand Strand proshops. High end surcharge tracks that previously felt a responsibility to dole out yardage books, bag tags, and range balls could have retracted their free handouts.

“The golfers will be back next year, so why not hit them up for all we can right now,” the pro shops may have reasoned.

Meanwhile, Joe Duffer in Akron, Ohio is planning his golf trip to Charleston, Hilton Head, Pinehurst, or Florida, snubbing the Grand Strand the way it snubbed him on his last visit.

The above theory may not be totally accurate. But then again, it may not be entirely off base.

Just the other day I spoke with some friends that had just gotten back from a golf trip to Scottsdale, Ariz. As you might guess, the Phoenix region is primarily a “fly market” when it comes to golf based travel and the area’s golf industry stands to be heavily impacted by the ongoing war against terrorism.

According to my friends’ report, the Valley of the Sun is putting nothing but its best foot forward when it comes to service and conditions at its many fine golf courses.

My friends played a solid sampling of the Valley’s upscale courses, and here is what they found:

Golf bags were lifted out of trunks and onto carts, even on the weekdays.

The proshop staff called them by name wherever they went, and yardage books, tees, bag tags and range balls were on the house.

Rangers stopped by periodically to see if they needed anything, and they meant anything. On one course in Chandler, my friends were handed mango scented hand towels at the turn.

After the round, they were chatted up by the head pro or one of his assistants, and they were asked to give honest feedback about the experience.

The courses were in immaculate shape, and if there was any overseeding or aerification going on, they were warned about it in advance.

My friends live in Myrtle Beach. Now they want to live in Scottsdale. If folks are willing to pick up and move to the other side of the country in order to experience a different level of golf, don’t you think even more people would be willing to change their travel plans from one golf destination to the other?

If rounds are down in Myrtle Beach, there’s no reason to panic. For the most part, the region has far more rights than wrongs: The weather is awesome, southern hospitality still lurks around almost every corner, and the golf is still some of the most affordable in the country.

All this and Myrtle Beach is accessible by car from most east coast population centers.

But some golf destinations don’t have it so good, and they aren’t resting on their laurels. Let’s hope the Grand Strand doesn’t either.