Kings North Golf Course
South Carolina–Golfer’s Paradise
Myrtle Beach is known for being the golf vacation capital of the United States, and no season is a better time to play than the fall. The weather is great, averaging temperatures in the mid 70’s, hotel rates are reduced drastically from the inflated summer rates, and the greens are in great shape.
October is definitely the best month to come to the beach for golf. There are more golfers in town this time of year than any other, but that does not mean that you can’t get on the course. In fact, it tends to be easy to pick up a round with others looking to play.
I was sitting in the steam room at the hotel that I work out at just the other day (many of the hotels offer inexpensive membership to locals for the gym and pools), when I was offered to take the place of one of their guys who had to head back up north early.
These guys turned out to be a great group, and I didn’t embarrass any of them too badly. I have always figured it to be bad manners to tag along and play for free and beat everyone, so I took it easy on them. Not like I could have beaten any of them anyway. I have never been a serious player, which is a good thing because my playing really is quite comical.
A Great Way to Make Friends
Anyway, we got in a great round of golf and I got the chance to meet some new friends. You never know who you will meet. If you decide to travel alone, don’t fear. It’s easy to find golfers at Myrtle Beach. The hotel bars are a great place for this; all it takes is a willingness to talk a stranger into becoming a friend.
Then there’s always my buddy Louie. Not only is he a great bartender, but he’s a better golfer, and he is always looking for someone to play with. He will invite guests sitting at his bar to play with him while they are in town; Louie is a perfect example of how easy it can be to find someone to play with.
The Best Way to Work is to…Golf?
Organizing a golf excursion with the office buddies or the guys you play with regularly at home is a great excuse to get away—it makes for a great “business conference!” Make it your next challenge to convince the boss. Whether you come down alone with the guys from work or make it a nice getaway for you and the boss (we all know who she is), Myrtle Beach has a great variety of courses to choose from. With over 120 golf courses (at last count) there are courses that offer great opportunities and beautiful fall surroundings.
Recommended Courses in the Myrtle Beach Area
Since I only know how to use my driver and my other clubs never get taken out of the bag, I prefer places where I can hit the big stick. Among my favorite courses for going deep are:
Grande Dunes Resort Course – Grande Dunes is Myrtle Beach’s longest track, with over 7,600 yards from the championship tees. This Roger Rulewich (an apprentice of Robert Trent Jones) designed course has plenty of fairway on most holes where you can really swing away. There is also plenty of out of bounds and water hazards.
Barefoot Resort, Love Course – This course is one of four at this popular resort along the intercoastal waterway. My favorite hole is the par 5 4th hole, which plays in under 400 yards from the Championship tee. The trick I have learned here is to swing for the fences and use the old slave quarter ruins behind the green as a backstop. These bentgrass greens offer plenty of big play with a total of 7,047 yards from the championship tees.
King’s North – This Myrtle Beach National owned course is by far one of my personal favorites. Kings North has very generous fairways if you can keep the ball out of the straw or away from the Carolina Pines. If you are like me and tend to play the ball right to left off the tee then you will love all the dog leg lefts of Kings North. There are plenty of water and sand traps—particularly the 3rd hole! The trick to the third hole is to be able to drive it from the tee. This is possible if you carry over 230 yards from the tee.
All along the southeast coast you will find golf towns just waiting for you to hop on a plane and come down and play.
These three are just a few of my favorite courses and some of the best of what Myrtle Beach has to offer. Most courses have some great packages available that can be found online or from your favorite travel agent. Many of the hotels along the beach have golf packages that offer greens fees and rooms at a good rate.
Other Southern Favorites
I also like to try to get out of town for some of the other great courses in the south. A littler south of Myrtle Beach is Pawley’s Island. There are a number of expertly designed courses set in a southern atmosphere of palmetto trees and rolling greens. Among the great courses you can choose from are Caledonia, True Blue and Pawley’s Plantation.
A day’s drive from Myrtle Beach is the beauty of Savannah, which invites you to enjoy the serenity of the Deep South. Awaiting your visit are courses like The Landings and the Wilmington Island Golf Course with its Donald J. Ross designed course.
Just north of Savannah, back across the state line, is Hilton Head, with its world famous courses like Daufuskie Island Resort. Daufuskie features two amazing courses; the main course, known as “Bloody Point,” and the “Melrose” course, were both designed by Jack Nicklaus. The Melrose course was ranked by Golf Magazine as one of the top 100 public courses in the world.
The lists of warmer climates that offer great courses are long, and the names listed above are just a few of the places the “guys” could get away from the cold, play some great Golf, and, of course, attend that “business conference.”
About the author: Retired Air Force Master Sergeant and father of 5, Oz “The Beach walker” Shulver, lives a stone’s throw away from the sand of Myrtle Beach, SC. His passions include beach combing, golf, bikes, cooking and cavorting with his two grand children. Read more from this author
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