FEATURE STORY

MyrtleBeachGolf.com April Notebook: Of Rankings, Reorganization, and Rites of Spring

By Shane Sharp,
TravelGolf.com Senior Editor

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (April 11, 2002) -- Rumors, rantings, ravings and other things admissible as news from around the Grand Strand golf scene:

The dust is still settling from the Links Group fallout, and the leases held by the now defunct golf course management company are being usurped by what the Grand Strand golf industry hopes are more capable stewards. Mike Matheny, a developer from Cary, N.C, recently acquired the lease to Cypress Bay Golf Club from owner Thurmond McLamb, and plans to add up to two more courses to his Myrtle Beach arsenal.

The Links Group operated Cypress Bay and 11 other Myrtle Beach area courses before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in December. At the time of its filing, the Links Group owed the Internal Revenue Service $700,000, Bank of America $2.4 million, Myrtle Beach area course owners $1 million, and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday $100,000.

• Reader Forums • South Carolina Course Guide • Review: Santee-Cooper Resort • Past reviews by Shane Sharp

While the Links Group is no longer involved in the operation of Cypress Bay, former Links Group President Ken Folkes reportedly remains on the course's payroll under the auspices of Southeastern Golf Managment. Sources close to MyrtleBeachGolf.com say that Folkes was actually pegged as the public relations manager for Carolina Shores until Watson and Matheny became uncomfortable with his track record.

Grand Strand Fares Well in National Rankings

Golfweek released its America's Best Courses in March, and the Dunes Golf and Beach Club and Caledonia (at right) held to their claims as two of the best courses in the country. Caledonia ranked 67th in the listing of Top 100 Modern Courses (built after 1960), and the Dunes Club was 99th in the classical category (pre-1960).

The Strand accounted for seven of Golfweek's top 10 South Carolina courses, lending credence to Myrtle Beach's emergence as a quality golf destination. Caledonia was third, the Dunes was fourth, Tidewater Golf Club was fifth, Barefoot Resort's Love Course was sixth, the Fazio course was seventh, the Legends Resorts' Heathlands Course was eighth, and the TPC of Myrtle Beach was 10th. Tiger's Eye at Ocean Ridge Plantation in Brunswick County, N.C. was rated sixth in the Tar Heel state.

The TPC and the International World Tour Golf Links have been named two of the top 100 golf pro shops in the country by Golf World Business. The award is the second for the TPC and the first for International World Tour.

Nine Championship Courses are the Only
Myrtle Beach Area Courses to Host This Sampling Event

Myrtle Beach National's golf courses will participate in a national golf ball sampling program April 20 and May 4. Golfers who play one of Myrtle Beach National's courses on Saturday, April 20 will receive two of Top Flite's new XL 3000 golf balls and on Saturday May 4, will receive two of STRATA's Tour Professional, Tour Ultimate or Tour Ultimate 2. These sampling campaigns will also take place at other golf courses nationwide.

Myrtle Beach National's championship courses including King's North, West Course, South Creek, Willbrook Plantation, Litchfield Country Club, River Club, Aberdeen Country Club, Long Bay Club and Waterway Hills will participate in this event. Golfers will receive two golf balls on a first come first serve basis. Golfers will also have an opportunity to win one dozen golf balls personalized with their name and the name of the course they played that day.

Grande Dunes Signs LPGA's Clarissa Childs to Promotional Contract

Grande Dunes has signed a promotional contract with LPGA rookie Clarissa Childs of Columbia, S.C. Grande Dunes is a 2,200-acre upscale residential and resort community in Myrtle Beach, S.C. that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the western side of the Intracoastal Waterway. Childs will represent the award-winning Grande Dunes Golf Course and wear a Grande Dunes logo on her hat, shirt and golf bag.

Childs, who had 10 top-10 finishes on the SBC Futures Tour from 1997 to 2001, recorded a hole-in-one at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open at Blackwolf Run Golf Course in Kohler, Wis., her first LPGA event. She earned her LPGA card by finishing tied for 31st at the 2002 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

A former collegiate standout at the University of South Carolina, Childs notched seven top-five finishes during her collegiate career and was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1994 and 1995.

Practice Facility Gets Lights

Garden City's contribution to Grand Strand golf, Tupelo Bay, has installed lights on the back nine holes of its executive course. The back nine measures 1,650 yards with two par fours and two par threes that stretch beyond 200 yards. The course's par three course and driving range are open nightly until 11 p.m.