Tidewater Set to
Re-open, Surf Club
to Go Private

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (July 30, 2002) - Rumors, rantings, and other things admissible as news from around the Grand Strand golf scene …

Tidewater Golf Club and Plantation will re-open on Aug. 6 just in time to get geared up for the fall golf season. The Ken Tomlinson designed track closed on May 27 while the course installed new TifEagle Bermuda greens. This is Tidewater's second "re-opening" in two and a half years, the first coming when the course closed for three months in the winter of 1999/00 to install the A-1 bentgrass greens that were replaced during this closure.

Seeing as how TifEagle was a legitimate grass option 2.5 years ago, it would seem that the true flavor of the month at Tidewater is crow, rather than turf. But in an interview with MyrtleBeachGolf.com last month, superintendent Bob Graunke went on record saying the decision was strictly due to the fresh water shortage that is plaguing the course's water source. However, Graunke did say that TifEagle was considered the first time around, but Tomlinson wasn't convinced the grass was through its experimental stages.

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Good news for Tidewater fans, however. While the greens were being converted, Tidewater aerated the entire course from tee to green and refurbished other aspects of the 12-year-old layout. Tidewater, love it or not, remains the only course in the Strand that has the distinction of being named "Best New" by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest. When it is in prime condition, it is arguably the best layout in the Grand Strand.

Surf Club to Go Private

The Grand Strand's fifth oldest golf course is sick and tired of competing with new, multimillion dollar semiprivate and daily fee facilities, and has elected to close its doors to the public once it meets a membership threshold of 650 members. Or least this is the logical conclusion that can be drawn from the venerable facility's decision to go private. The club is now semi-private with about 450 members, and course officials say they will take the next two to three years to sign up the additional 200 members. As of July 1, initiation fees are $7,500.

Murray Brothers to Bring Caddyshack to the Strand

Bill Murray and his wacky band of brothers pegged Broadway at the Beach as the location for the next Caddyshack Restaurant. The golf themed restaurant opened in July, and (gasp) is designed to feel like a country club gone awry. According to its proprietors, the joint "combines the Murray brothers' sense of irreverence with their love of golf." Just don't expect to see gopher on the menu, or to sit next to the Dalai Lama at the bar. The place has neither a pool nor a pond, so don't get your hopes up.

The menu is bar food extraordinaire and includes "Starters" that range from wings to peel-n-eat shrimp; "The Greens" a plentiful selection of oversized salads; "Sand-Wedges" like hamburgers, chicken, and signature clubs; entrées featuring steaks, barbecue, fresh seafood, chicken, ribs and pasta; and as the name suggests, "Sweet Spots" which features a full dessert selection to round out the meal. Cheesy? Perhaps. But it is worth a visit just to rattle off all the old lines from the vintage flick with a few buds over a couple cold ones.

This Week's Sign that One Golf Course
Has too Much Time and Money on its Hands

Julien Lancrerot joined the Grande Dunes Ocean Club as Executive Chef. Lancrerot has more than 10 years experience and expertise in all aspects of food preparation and presentation. A graduate of Les Costes de Villebon and Albert Camus College culinary schools in Paris, France, Lancrerot established a solid foundation in French cuisine while working with award-winning restaurants throughout Paris and the United States. How this bodes for the chilidog at the turn remains to be seen.

"We're very excited about adding a classically-trained, world-class chef to the Grande Dunes team," said Dowdell Brown, Senior Vice President of Grande Dunes Development Company, LLC. "Julien is committed to creating extraordinary dining experiences for our members and their guests. There is no other chef along the Grand Strand who has the training and skills of Julien."

Ya think?

Idea: pit Lancrerot against Perry "The Big Dog" Bellamy, the clam chowder chef at Pine Lakes International. Our money is on the Dawg. Once the Frenchman imbibes a couple of Bellamy's famous mimosas and sets his eyes on the Granddaddy's female food and beverage staff and their short plaid skirts, its over.