MYRTLE BEACH FEATURE

Jingle balls? Grand Strand's good news comes in nick of time

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Dec 2, 2003) -- The old fall golf season, she is what she used to be according to a recent report by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.

Golf rounds played along the Grand Strand increased by 9.1 percent in October 2003 compared to the same month last year, according to the venerable non-profit marketing association comprised of 77 accommodations and 95 golf courses. There were 393,335 rounds played in October of 2003 compared with 360,657 in October of 2002.

• Travel Golf Guy gives nods to winter trips • Myrtlebeach golf course guide • Myrtlebeach golf features • Overrated and underrated of the Grand Strand

"That seems in keeping with what we saw out here," said Patrick Crean, general manager of Crow Creek Golf Club in Calabash, N.C. "The weather cooperated and people are starting to travel again."

October is traditionally one of the busiest months of the year for Myrtle Beach area courses and is the heart of the fall golf season. All the elements fell into place this year for Grand Strand course operators: day time temperatures hovered around the low and mid-80s; rainfall was sparse, allowing a smooth transition from Bermuda grass to winter rye; and the new Veteran's Highway (S.C. 22) and Carolinas Bays Parkway (S.C. 31) reduced gridlock on U.S. 501 and 17, allowing golfers to get around the Strand with relative ease.

Can the string of fortuitous fortunes and rising rounds continue into the winter off season?

"We had a solid November, and we are doing quite well into the beginning of December," said Rob Rone, an assistant professional at the Thistle Golf Club in Sunset Beach, N.C. "Some of it is due to the weather and some of it is probably due to the price."

The Thistle's peak October rate is $105, while the winter rate plummets to $59. With the bearish economy in recent years, golfers have become more sensitive to the difference in rates between the two seasons. Local courses that charge upwards of $150 for a round in the fall often drop their rates below $100 during the winter. Even the Strand's "value" courses get in on the act. Rates at the Classic Golf Group operated Crown Park in Longs dip below $40 as of Dec. 1 and the course even offers a $15 replay at its sister course, Black Bear.

"Golfers can expect savings of around 30 percent at the majority of courses and over 50 percent at the high end courses," said Rob Moye with Carolina Golf Travel, a golf packaging service based in Wilmington. "We have some diehards who come down December and January every year. About five out of seven times they win with the weather and the conditions. They are price driven and they don't mind those odds."

The odds were looking good until temperatures dipped into the 30s at night and 50s during the day this week. Sunday's forecast calls for a high of 40 with winds gusting to 30 mph. A number of local courses are reporting full tee sheets for next week, however, as temperatures climb back into the mid-60s.

Around the green

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club reopened Dec. 1 after being closed since July in order to allow for the installation of new A-1 bentgrass greens. The project was fronted by Rees Jones, whose father Robert Trent Jones was the original architect of record. Jones restored all 18 greens to their original shapes and made changes to the first, eighth, 13th, 16th and 18th to handle the increased speed of the new grass. Look for the MyrtleBeachGolf.com course review in the weeks to come.

The Surf Club, the Strand's third oldest 18-hole course, will officially close its doors to outside play after Dec. The venerable George Cobb designed course will honor all of its prebookings for 2004, course officials said. Bill Campbell, the club's longtime head professional, said the membership quota was finally met.

"We are excited about the prospect of becoming a private club and being independent of the market," Campbell told MyrtleBeachGolf.com last month.

The club's membership increased from 320 in 2000 to 575 today. A membership special of $7,000 for a full, non-equity membership is cited by club officials as the reason for the dramatic increase. Membership dues are $250 a month and the club's goal is 650 members.

For the money, members get one of the better, traditionally designed tracks in town. The Surf Club was renovated by Cobb's former protégé, John LaFoy, in 1996. The course's Bermuda grass greens were replaced with G2 bentgrass and are widely considered some of the best putting surfaces around.