Fall golf in Myrtle Beach beckons
Good golf weather conditions this summer in the Cape Region were fitfully present at best, as the local golf pros will tell anyone who asks.
While a Cape Region fall is usually a great time to make up for a crummy summer of heat waves and downpours, local golfers also look south to Myrtle Beach for an end-of-season getaway.
For some, this means competing in the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship, held this year Aug. 26-30. More than 3,000 golfers are signed up, and registration closed Aug. 8.
For the rest of us, there are plenty of courses and tee time openings available on the Grand Strand, along with some enticing package tour options.
To help those considering a Myrtle trip this fall, here is what I thought of the five courses we played during the annual Conlon Brothers spring trip last April.
We began play at Crow Creek, a new venue for our gang, and which also featured some very pleasant condominium accommodations (CrowCreek.com; 877-287-3081, Calabash, N.C.). The course was well maintained, and every challenge presented could be clearly seen by observant golfers, which is not always the case.
Most of our group would have enjoyed a second round at Crow Creek, especially compared to our general dissatisfaction with Black Bear in nearby Longs, S.C. Those greens were sketchy, and the course suffered in wet weather. Perhaps things have improved over the summer, but I would check first. (Classicgolfgroup.com; 800-842-8390).
We then returned to an old favorite, Oyster Bay in Sunset Beach, N.C. (legendsgolf.com; 800-697-8372). Our tee times came with breakfast, lunch, and two drinks, which is certainly one way to maintain a pricing scheme that might otherwise demand deeper discounts. We still love this course, even if it didn’t love us when the wind kicked up.
We also enjoyed a reunion with The West Course at The Pearl in Calabash (thePearlGolf.com; 910-579-8132). It had been well over 15 years since I last played Pearl, and the place has grown in nicely. My wretched play on the par 5s can’t be blamed on the golf course.
Our scramble round brought us back to The Long Bay Club in Longs (longbaygolfclub.com; 800-344-5590). This was a fun place to play captain’s choice, but we were reminded regularly that it would have been far more difficult playing as singles.
Local club competition results
The Rehoboth Beach Country Club Ladies Day event on Aug. 14 used a best two balls of four net format.
Bailey Scheurer, Robbie Robinson, Tina Brinsfield and Diane Strickley won first place with a net total of 127.
Second-place honors went to the foursome of Joan Crowley, Carole Ann Medd, Eileen Clark and Carol Smith, who finished two strokes back.
In the blind draw net category, a combined 124 score won it for Robbie Robinson, Beth Forbes, Sheila Halfpenny and Joan Crowley.
Scheurer was low gross for the day with her 78, while Bee Ekdahl’s 71 was low net. Diane Strickler won closest to the pin on the 15th hole.
The Kings Creek Country Club 18 Hole Ladies Golf League played a 3, 2, 1 format on Aug. 15. That competition usually calls for counting the three best net scores for a foursome on all par 3 holes, the two best net scores for all par 4s, and a single best net score for the par 5s.
Tricia Ritthaler, Barb Hines, Atom Irwin and Terry Derville won first place for the day. Ana Dittel, Julie Dickson and Amy Micholas finished in second place, and third place went to the team of Linda Outlaw, Dorrie Spilman, Brenda Butterfield and Ann Bailey.
Barbara Wisnewski won closest to the pin on the fifth hole.
The Kings Creek CC 9 Hole Ladies Golf group played Aug. 19. Pat Devoll took first place, with Chris Sullivan coming in second, Monica Fleischmann in third and Sue Eisenbrey finishing in fourth place.
Fleischmann also won closest to the pin for the day.
