MYRTLE BEACH SHOWCASES

Carolina
Golf and Travel

TravelGolf.com Staff

WILMINGTON, N.C. - In 1988, golf professional Jerry McGraw decided to make a career change after his golf club in Wilmington was sold to a new owner. Little did he know that it would be one of the best business moves he would make in his life.

Nearly 13 years later, McGraw is a managing partner at Carolina Golf Travel, one of Myrtle Beach and Wilmington's leading golf package providers. McGraw opened his first golf package business, Coastal Golfway, in Wilmington back in 1988 with a partner he had met in college.

After a few months of booking packages, McGraw decided that the Wilmington golf market just wasn't big enough to support a golf package business.

"We were doing Wilmington, but we figured out we couldn't make a living just doing Wilmington," McGraw says. "So then we went to Brunswick County, and then we figured out that if we did Brunswick, then we'd have to do North Myrtle, and if we did North Myrtle, we'd have to do Myrtle, and so on and so on!"

In 1992, McGraw's college buddy Keith sold his partnership to John Rendleman, and the two proprietors decided to expand their business into the Charleston area. McGraw and Rendleman figured that if they served Wilmington and Charleston, which were smaller golf markets, that Myrtle Beach could be the "stuffing" in between.

Over the next seven years, Carolina Golf Travel would emerge as one of the most successful independent golf package providers at the beach. McGraw and Rendleman's staff has grown from three employees to seven full time staff members.

McGraw says the reason for the company's success is that Carolina Golf Travel has filled a major void in golf package provision in the Grand Strand.

"If you call me, what we'll do is customize your package," McGraw says. "Where do you want to play, where do you want to stay. The biggest difference is that we are not affiliated with any motel, hotel or golf course property. We are trying to put together the best package we can get for them."

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"My philosophy is that if you go on a package and play four great golf courses and play in a nasty motel, you'll come back next year," McGraw says. "If you play nasty golf courses and stay in a nice hotel, you won't come back. We are about putting people on good golf courses for the right price."

McGraw and Rendleman pride themselves on offering the same packages, seven days a week. Golfers never have to read any fine print, and Carolina Golf Travel's rates rarely fluctuate from year to year. And because Carolina Golf Travel is not affiliated with any specific golf course in Myrtle Beach McGraw and his staff do not hesitate to tell it like it is.

"If you call us and tell us you want to play a crappy golf course, we won't try to change your mind," McGraw jokes. "But we are all golf professionals or golfers, and we have played these courses. We aren't just sitting in some room taking reservations. We get out there and play."

CarolinaGolfTravel.com is your best choice for golf packages on the North and South Carolina Coast. Let us handle the arrangements for your next golf vacation. Choose Wilmington, N.C., or Myrtle Beach, S.C., or anywhere in between, including the Brunswick Isles. Call 1-866-409-2177. Updated online Seasonal Specials all year 'round.