Pro of the Week-Robert Spangler
of Tradition Golf Club in Pawleys Island

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. -- Just a few miles outside of Myrtle Beach is the little town of Socastee - as rural an quiet a town as Myrtle Beach is crowded and bustling. Its amazing that such a short (but increasingly congested) trip down Highway 544 can provide a time warp back to coastal Carolina pre "Myrtle Beach Golf and Country Music Capital of the World" days.

I know Socastee because I used to work there with my uncle. Everyday for an entire 90 degree, 90 percent humidity summer at the old Four Seasons nursery across from the Food Lion. Everyday I would drive by Robert Spangler's old alma mater, Socastee High School, on my way to work and wonder just where in the hell all the kids came from to actually fill up a school located in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

Well, Spangler, the Head Pro at the Tradition Golf Club in Pawleys Island, came from right there in Socastee - his house hid amongst the thick patches of pines and oaks in the coastal plains of South Carolina. Spangler started playing golf for Socastee High when he was in 7th grade, so tales of his young talent were not greatly exaggerated.

"We had a great golf program there," says Spangler about his school were he played for close to six years.

From being around the "business" side of golf since he was five years old, Spangler knew from the start that he wanted to either play or teach golf for a living.

"I turned down a bunch of scholarship offers to turn pro when I was eighteen," says Spangler. "I played on a mini tour back in 1986 and 1987, but in 1988 I started working full time at Quail Creek."

From Quail Creek it was on to Indigo Creek where Spangler eventually made the Head Pro rank his final year at the course. Working for a corporate golf machine, he was often moved around at the whims of the owners, but you'd hear no complaints from Spangler. Through stints at Indian Wells and Island Green, Spangler began to develop his reputation for being the man to successfully open and operate new golf courses.

It was in 1995 that Spangler finally landed at the newly opened Tradition Golf Club in the beautiful lowcountry of the South Strand. And he has relished every bit of the journey through the many golf courses of his homeland.

"I just enjoy being around people," says Spangler. "That is my favorite aspect of this profession . I remember people from years back, and they remember me from my days back at Quail Creek."

The teaching philosophy that Spangler has developed during his various stays at various courses is one built on simplicity and practicality.

"In my teaching, I don't get too technical," adds Spangler. "Most golfers I see have been playing for 15 or 20 years, and I want to teach them some things that will help them accomplish their short term goals."

As far as Spangler's short term goals, they are as simple as his teaching philosophies: spend time with his wife and his 15 month old daughter, make the Tradition the premier place to play and eat on the south strand, and play more golf around Pawleys Island and Murrells Inlet.

"I love the south end of Myrtle Beach," says Spangler. "That is the great thing about Myrtle Beach. No matter where you are staying there a good tracts of golf courses within a five minute drive of each other. You can stay on one side of the town and never leave."

I enjoy good Lowcountry food as much as the next South Carolinian, so I asked Spangler to give me the 411 on where I can find the best golf course grub in the South Strand. His answer was both honest and promotional.

"Caledonia is the place to eat on the South Strand," confides Spangler. "We look to Caledonia as the model to follow, but we want to exceed their quality here at the Tradition. The big plan at the Tradition is to do a big food and beverage makeover. We want to have great lunch specials and a great evening menu. Right now we are doing a lot of weddings as well."

An elegant meal at the Tradition is about as far away from a fried catfish dinner in Socastee as you can get in Myrtle Beach, but Spangler is handling it like everything else in life - in stride.