Here's to you,
Myrtle Beach
golf group leader
The second installment in an ongoing myrtlebeachgolf.com
series
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.
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.
Course Reviews
