FEATURE STORY

Play it easy at the Grand Strand and get your groove back

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., (March 13, 2006) - So you and your buddies have been in Myrtle Beach a few days now. You've played Tidewater, True Blue, Long Bay, Grand Dunes, maybe the TPC. You're all beat up, starting to turn on each other. You're taking those good-natured insults a little too seriously. Your confidence is sapped, and you're starting to wonder why you ever took up golf. The beach looks more and more inviting.

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It sounds to me like you're ready for some wide-open fairways, generous landing areas, big, flat greens and the hell with forced carries. You need to get your "A" game back, and what better way to do it than to attack, attack, attack. Go easy, golfer.

The golf euphemism is "playable," or maybe "player-friendly," but we all know what they mean by that - easy. Or, at least, "easier."

The Grand Strand is full of courses that will knock your socks off, but there are some that will let you keep your socks and a low scorecard as well. One of the best guides is slope ratings, which give the average hacker a good indication of how easy - excuse me, playable - a course is. Slope ratings take into account such factors as length, width of fairways, size of greens, forced carries and various other hazards.

So try some of the following courses and start to feel good about yourself again.

• Island Green Golf Club is only 6,272 yards from the back tees, with a slope rating of 118. From the whites it's 5,847 yards with a slope of 111. It's a 27-hole layout, and it does have some island and peninsula greens, but you still should get around here pretty easily.

• Sandpiper Bay Golf Club is a little longer, and the Sand and Piper nines don't have as much water as the Bay nine. It's a 27-hole Dan Maples layout in Sunset Beach, N.C., a course that has been designated as friendly for beginners, juniors and seniors.

• The Surf Golf and Beach Club sports a 119 slope for the men, and is short at 6,360 yards. It's a traditional layout with big greens that are usually in good shape. The fairways are flat with few serious hazards.

• Wicked Stick has John Daly's name on it (though it was actually designed by Clyde Johnston), and Big John likes plenty of room to blast it. You'll find that here, without the encumbrance of things getting in your way, like, say, trees. The slope from the white tees is 117.

• The South course at Deer Track Golf Resort is currently undergoing renovations, but it's doubtful that what emerges will be much tougher than its current slope of 119 from the blues. If that's just too easy, take on the other 18-holer, the Toski Links, which has just emerged from a renovation that vastly improved the course.

• Beachwood Golf Club has a slope of 120 from the blues (6,844 yards) and 117 from the whites (6,347 yards). It has reachable par 5s, and a number of birdie opportunities.

• Play Eastport Golf Club soon because it's due to close for redevelopment in the spring of 2006. It's one of the Grand Strand courses that's won awards for best layout for beginners and seniors, and it has only two water caries, on Nos. 14 and 18. The course starts you off easy and gets a little more difficult as you progress.

• At 6,751 yards, Sea Trail Plantation's Maples course isn't overly long, and it offers a combination of fairly easy holes balanced by some moderately tough ones, especially the longer par 4s. Women request the course often: the ladies tees, one of four sets, are 5,090 yards.

Solid seconds

If those courses don't help you get your groove back, here are some others:

Black Bear Golf Course can be a bear from the tips, but move forward to the whites and you'll find a slope of only 118. Same for Blackmoor Golf Club - move to the gold tees and you'll have a slope of 111. Brunswick Plantation's 27 holes are a fun play with open fairways, very little bunkering and no water carries off the tee. Indigo Creek Golf Course is only 5,593 yards from the gold tees, Litchfield Country Club is an easy walk in the woods from the gold tees at 6,000 yards and Possum Trot Golf Club is very player-friendly from the golds. Kings North at Myrtle Beach National is difficult, but the West Course and SouthCreek are popular with those not looking to get hammered.

The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.