 FEATURE STORY:MyrtleBeachGolf.com's
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Planning a golf trip to Myrtle Beach can be harder than sticking an approach shot on an island green with a five-iron in a 20 mile per hour cross wind.
But it doesn't have to be. Over the next three weeks, we're going to help you sort through the Grand Strand's golf jargon, its 120 golf courses, and its endless array of eateries, and get you on your way to a spring season golf trip where the beer glasses are drained faster than two-foot putts.
Inside the Black Box: The Golf Package
If you are taking a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, the smart money says you are on a package deal. The way the golf package works is both simple and complex. The simple part: resorts, hotels, and golf villas solicit golf courses for discounted rates for their patrons, and in turn, send they golf courses business.
The complex part: Who books your package? Basically, there are two types of package providers - independent, and hotel/resorts.
An "Independent Packager" is a form of golf travel agent who works with a wide selection of lodging options and in the case of the larger independents- all of the golf courses. Some will offer air travel and car rental as well as lodging and tee-times, but today's computer savvy golfer can often organize these two elements more efficiently on his own through the internet.
Hotels and resorts are the more visible providers, and have traditionally driven the golf economy in the Grand Strand. Many visitors to the beach assume that the golf courses set the going rate for a round of golf, and nothing could be further from the truth. The Strand's largest hotels typically send the courses rate sheets for different times of the year, and presto - the tail wags the dog.
In recent years, some golf course conglomerates have gotten into the packing business as well. For instance, the Legends Group, which owns the Legends Complex off Highway 501, as well as Marsh Harbor, Oyster Bay, and the Heritage Club, offers packages that include theirs and other courses. Myrtle Beach National, purveyors of King's North (at right), South Creek, Willbrook, the River Club and Litchfield Plantation have also been providing packages for years.
So whom should you use? Hotel golf packagers approach the golf package with the goal of filling their respective property and should assemble a golf schedule that works well from that particular locations geography.
An independent packager typically offers a wide variety of lodging options - golf course villas, oceanfront properties and hotels adjacent the large entertainment, dining and shopping complexes. They are also able to monitor, adjust and upgrade their lodging offerings each year as conditions change on the Grand Strand.
If you have developed a particular affinity for a certain resort or hotel, and the courses it primarily does business with, then you'll probably be inclined to stick with it. If you are looking for a change of pace, more flexibility, and more off peak options, an independent provider may be the way to go. But the bottom line is most golfers shop on price, and what they get for the money.
"Choice of packager isn't a loyalty question most of the time," says Jerry McGraw, President of Carolina Golf Travel. "Its about the price, and whether or not the golfer enjoyed the course and the experience. The lodging is usually secondary. These are hard-core golfers, not sleepers. But know your courses and package them a great deal and they will come back."
Whichever you choose, make sure the person on the other end of the phone knows the difference between an iron and a wood. The majority of independent package providers are operated by former golf pro's who sample the courses almost every week. Most hotels and resorts worth their salt have a golf director that is also familiar with the golf scene. It's a buyer beware environment, and its your responsibility to make sure you are getting the skinny from a qualified representative.
Replays, Double Teeing, and other Myrtle Beach oddities
All Grand Strand courses offer replays either at their facility, nearby courses, or affiliated courses. The relationships between courses are as foggy as the pea soup rolling in off the Atlantic, and the best thing to do is ask your package provider. Discounts from replays usually approach 50 percent of the "rack" rate, and $20 to $25 a golfer from package rates. The drawback is you are not guaranteed a spot in the rotation, and could spend the afternoon making phone calls or driving around.
"Most of the time, replays are a collocation thing, but it also has to do with ownership," says Mark Rosenburg of Myrtle Beach Tourism. "If you play a Glens Group course in the morning, you can get a replay on a Glens Group course in the afternoon. But only 25 percent of the groups here that are playing 36 a day are on replays in the spring. Most people traveling all the way down here want that guaranteed tee time."
And for your morning tee time, know this up front - molasses could make its way down a 50-foot Maple tree before you putt out on the 18th hole. This is, in part, due to double teeing. In order to ram rod more golfers through the system, courses will send players off the No.1 and No. 10 tees until approximately 9:30 a.m. The next available tee times are usually between 11:30 a.m. and noon.
"Double teeing is a fact of life at most courses, says Rosenburg. "A lot of golfers that just want to play 18 holes a day and enjoy the nightlife here will play in the afternoon. Typically, they can play up to a half an hour faster, since the double teeing is over with before lunch."
Next on the First Tee …
Our ongoing "Must Know" series on spring golf in the Grand Strand continues with geographic breakdown of the Grand Strand's best courses, and a look at what's new for 2002.
Caledonia