 FEATURE STORY
Future of Grand Strand comes nine holes at a timeBy Shane Sharp,
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (April 7, 2003) -- Nine holes at a time. This is how expansion in the self proclaimed Golf Capital of the World takes place in this brave new market place. Two of the most talked about projects in the Grand Strand these days are the new sets of nines in the works at World Tour Golf Links and St. James Plantation. My, how times have changed. Just three years ago the Grand Strand was coming off one of the most remarkable golf course building booms in the history. From 1999 to 2001, 20 new courses opened in and around Myrtle Beach. This meteoric rise was part of a larger expansion that took place from 1987-2001 when the total number of courses increased from 43 to 120. It was truly the Golden Age of golf in the Grand Strand.
Only one new 18-hole course is on the drawing board as of now - Leopard's Chase at Ocean Ridge Plantation in Sunset Beach, N.C. Most local golf officials and industry observers agree that it could be years before another new public access course opens. When and if new courses are added to the Grand Strand lineup, real estate will be the driving force, experts predict. "You will not see the construction of a golf course with the intent of selling golf and making money," says Rich Westin, director of golf at World Tour Golf Links, the beach's only replica hole facility. "Courses will be part of real estate developments and they will be an amenity. This was not the case in the past in Myrtle Beach. We had an incredible number of golf courses built here just for the golf."
"We are real estate driven and we are offering an entirely new product," says Grande Dunes director of golf Mike Buccerone. "We are attracting people who might have relocated to Arizona or Hilton Head. We offer them everything they can imagine. I think what you'll see in the future is courses securing year-round business through full time residents and memberships." Grande Dunes is currently in the planning stages for a new private 18-hole course to serve its burgeoning, upper crust populace. The course will be only the fourth private track in the area - remarkable considering the Grand Strand's 120 course tally. Still, Buccerone and others don't foresee private golf as being the wave of the future. "Courses will go after members but they will keep their doors open to the public," says Buccerone. "I don't think courses will want to put all their eggs in one basket." If they build them, where do they go?The majority of new course construction over the past five years took place along the periphery of the Grand Strand. Courses like Diamondback and Crown Park went up along the Hwy. 9 corridor; Farmstead Golf Links and the Thistle opened to the north in Brunswick Co. (N.C.); Shaftesbury Glen opened to the west along the Hwy. 905 corridor; and the International Club opened in Murrells Inlet to the south. The heart of the beach held its own during this time as well, with Grande Dunes, Barefoot Resort and World Tour Golf Links all opening within a 15-20 minute drive of downtown Myrtle Beach. So if there is another building boom, where will the new courses go? The Hwy. 9 (Little River to Loris) and 905 (Conway to Hwy. 9) corridors would be prime candidates for development, reminiscent of the golf soaked Hwy. 501 corridor between Myrtle Beach and Conway. Brunswick County, already home to some 30 courses, is rife with vacant land. But local officials say the county doesn't have the infrastructure to support the hotels that would be needed to supply additional courses with golfers. The geographically constrained South Strand, already busting at the seams with nearly a dozen layouts, is virtually built-out, with some limited expansion possibilities along the Hwy. 707 corridor in Murrells Inlet. "Frankly, I think we are done with large scale expansion," says Westin. "The growth will be incremental if at all so where it goes is almost a moot point." Buccerone believes there will be expansion in the Myrtle Beach golf market, just not in the traditional sense. "Myrtle Beach is still growing like crazy in terms of population so I think you'll see more areas and courses being considered part of the Grand Strand," he says. "We are inching towards Wilmington to the north. Almost to the point that it (the city) appears on golf maps. Contraction a realityIt is taboo to mention in some circles, but it is possible the number of golf courses in the Grand Strand could actually shrink in the years to come. Independently owned courses that are not a part of large conglomerates and not aligned with mega hotels and resorts could find themselves facing a tough decision. "It happened at Gator Hole and I think it will happen again," said one head professional, wishing to remain anonymous. "Some of these mom-and-pop courses could be worth more as shopping centers in the future. If the pressure from the big three becomes too much, they could decide to sell." The "big three" would be Myrtle Beach National Co., Burroughs and Chapin Co. Inc. and the Legends Group/Sands Properties. Together, these three golf course/hotel conglomerates own or operate over 4000 hotel rooms and 25 courses. Myrtle Beach National was the first to marry hotel rooms to golf courses several years ago, as the Brittain family recognized the competitive necessity of the golf package. Legends Resorts bought into Sands Properties in 2001 and Barefoot Resort last July, creating a conglomerate of 2,000 hotel rooms and nine courses. Burroughs and Chapin's Golf Management division recently forged a partnernership with Patricia Resorts to form an affiliation of 1,600 rooms and seven courses. All told, it is estimated that the "big three" influence or direct 95 percent of the stay and play golf business in Myrtle Beach. Not only do they have the luxury of pushing traveling golfers towards their respective courses, they also send players to each others' properties. Many officials at independently owned courses believe this quasi monopoly threatens to disrupt the Grand Strand's competitive balance. Others view it as a fact of life.
Use what you've gotThe big three, independently owned courses and even golf packagers don't always see eye-to-eye on the future of Myrtle Beach golf. They can all agree on thing, though: Myrtle Beach needs to fill up the fairways it has before building any new ones.
Marketing cooperative Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday reports that total rounds were down once again for 2002. With the economy still spiraling downward, gas prices rising, and the duration of the war with Iraq an unknown, local courses are not likely to buck this trend in 2003 or even 2004. "People have always thought that we were saturated, but we kept building anyway and the golfers kept coming," says Westin. "We are lucky that we found a niche by giving golfers a chance to play famous holes from around the world." Brothers says the new Reserve nine at St. James Plantation will eventually be expanded to 18 holes, but it could be four to years before enough real estate is sold to justify its construction. "You don't just build on spec(ulation) like you did ten years ago," he says. |
"You won't see that again," says Rob Brothers, director of golf at St. James Plantation in Southport, N.C. "Courses are now reaching out to an upscale clientele. The new courses have the extra amenities, like Grande Dunes and Barefoot. The courses of the future here will be real estate driven, geared towards affluent golfers and they will be semiprivate with the intent of turning private."
The trend towards real estate driven golf development actually began in earnest with the opening of 
"Many independent courses are on their own in terms of working out deals with hotels for packages," says Patrick Crean, general manager at 
Crown Park
Myrtle Beach Insider