SPRING GOLF PREVIEW

Here's to you,
Myrtle Beach
golf group leader

The second installment in an ongoing myrtlebeachgolf.com series

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Feb. 3, 2004) -- Potholes, carbs and Survivor playoffs -- the world is full of things to avoid. How about being a group leader on an extended golf trip to Myrtle Beach? Some run from the responsibility. Others embrace the challenge.

Myrtle Beach golf group leader is a pressure-packed position. Between three and 23 of your closest buddies are counting on you to come up huge in the clutch. The fellas have been snowed in for four or five months watching golf infomercials and PGA Tour events broadcasting from sun splashed places like Hawaii, Scottsdale and La Quinta.

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Come March and April, they will be craving the first tee like an Atkins dieter eyeing his first carb of the day. They won't necessarily expect the conditions to be perfect or the service to be country club for a day. But they are certainly entitled to green grass, cold beer and friendly service.

So what's a golf group leader to do?

More information exists on golf and golf courses today than ever before. The Internet, glossy magazines, and regional golf publications contain reams of course reviews and descriptions. There are more Internet chat rooms and message boards dedicated to golfing in Myrtle Beach than any other golf destination.

Chin up, Myrtle Beach golf group leader. An informal poll of local area golf insiders reveals some helpful planning tips.

Golf package or a la carte?

Myrtle Beach is widely considered the birthplace of the golf package -- the practice of packing golf, accommodations, and even meals together for one daily or weekly rate. Under this model, courses and hotels pass along discount rates to packagers and the packager passes the savings along to the group.

In theory, the group also gets an impartial third party to guide it toward the courses that best fit the budgets and skill levels of its members. But savvy group leaders also can realize significant savings by negotiating with the individual course's group sales directors.

By dealing directly with a course, group leaders often can avoid middle man spats over rain checks and refunds. As one local industry observer succinctly stated, the question of golf package vs. a la carte really comes down to time. Group leaders who have plenty of it can tackle the research and leg work involved with arranging an a la carte golf trip. Those who don't should opt for a fiduciary relationship with an established local packager.

On the beach or off it?

Whether Myrtle Beach golf group leader is a micromanager (a la carte) or delegator (package provider), the group has to sleep somewhere. Time was, the majority of the Grand Strand's room inventory was along the beach. As the region's arsenal of courses burgeoned, so did the availability of off-beach accommodations.

Golf villas, condos and even single family homes rentals are now plentiful in the recently developed portions of the Strand. At first look, the cost of renting a multi-bedroom facility can pop an eye. But spread out among group members, the cost is competitive if not lower than bedding down along the beach in individual rooms.

On-course accommodations typically include living rooms, kitchens, patios with grills, washer/dryer units and even pools and hot tubs, thus significantly sweetening the pot. For some groups, however, there is no substitute for high end hotel pampering on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Not to mention, it is hard to close the hotel bar in a golf villa.

Avoid that course or not?

Golf group leaders, like others in positions of power, typically seek to retain that power. A sure-fire way for golf group leader to lose the next "election" is to chock a spring golf fling full of courses that are in bad condition, or are too difficult (or easy) depending on the group's collective skill set.

A course's relative difficulty or ease is quantifiable through slope and course ratings provided on scorecards, yardage books and official course websites. Getting accurate condition information is a different animal.

Many golf packagers make it a point to visit the courses they do business with at least once a month. As such, a good, reliable packager should be up to speed on near-current conditions. For golf group leaders going the a la carte path, a simple phone call to the head professional or golf director can clear up conditioning questions. As one local head professional put it, a piece of false information one year equals ten rounds forgone the next.

In recent years, golfers have moved to the Internet to disseminate information on course conditions and service levels. Golfboards.com's Myrtle Beach section and www.forums.prospero.com/mbgolf are two popular cyber spots to swap information and stories.

The enigmatic Myrtle Beach Golf Association's homepage, mbga.com is also long-standing website professing to provide up to date course condition information. The site is updated a number of times throughout the year using information gathered by "insiders." Golfers are also encouraged to vote on their top 20 best and worst courses. But as the website qualifies, "golf course ratings by their very nature are subjective and should be considered so."

For instance, Pawleys Plantation is listed in the latest version of "The Basement," the MBGA's bottom 20. But sources close to MyrtleBeachGolf.com played the course last week and reported it was in fine shape. Similarly, Crown Park was in good condition as of two months ago (we were there), but the recently revamped layout is also listed in The Basement.

Other courses, such as Deer Track South and Toski, and Azalea Sands, have gained beach-wide reputations for below average conditioning. While Colonial Charters and Carolina Shores -- part of the Shore Golf Group -- are in the cellar in part because of a recent bankruptcy filing.

Happy hunting, and here's to you, Mr. Myrtle Beach golf group leader.

Have a Myrtle Beach golf group leader experience, good or bad, you'd like to share? Contact Shane Sharp and he'll post it in next week's installment.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. 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.