Top 5 Golf Courses of Myrtle Beach and the Men Who Built them
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Often called “the Golf Capital of the World,“ it's no secret that Myrtle Beach, South Carolina boasts some the finest golf courses in the world. Through the years, Myrtle Beach has attracted many of the most renowned golf course architects, including Robert Trent Jones, Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, and the world-class courses they have designed make Myrtle Beach a top destination for golfers. There are 120 golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area and the majority of them are public courses. Myrtle Beach golf courses have earned top awards and honors, and there are courses designed for every budget, as well as every style and skill level.
#1) The Dunes Club
http://www.thedunesclub.net
Myrtle Beach's highest rated golf course was conceived in 1947 by a coalition of Myrtle Beach businessmen and designed by famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones. Completed in 1948 and still recognized as one of the best in the country, the Dunes Club has been consistently designated one of America's top 100 courses by publications such as Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, Golfweek and Links. Ranked number 48 in GOLF Magazine's most recent list of "The Top 100 Courses You Can Play," the Dunes Club underwent an extensive greens restoration project led by architect Rees Jones in 2003.
Robert Trent Jones, considered by many to be the greatest golf course designer in the game's history and nicknamed the "Dean of Golf," designed more than 500 golf courses around the world during his long career. An outstanding golfer himself, but prevented from competing due to health issues, Jones channeled his love of golf and intimate knowledge of the game into a celebrated career as a golf course architect. Trained at Cornell University in landscape architecture, horticulture, agronomy, surveying and hydraulics, Jones delighted in devilish water traps and perfected the art of utilizing the natural features of the land to enhance the design of the course. For his great contribution to the sport of golf, Jones was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1987, the same year he was award the Old Tom Morris Award by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
#2) Barefoot Dye Club
http://www.barefootgolf.com/
Myrtle Beach is the home of the renowned Dye course at Barefoot Resort, which has hosted championship matches. Pete Dye created his gorgeous course at Barefoot with exceptional elevations and Dye's signature pitfalls. Ranked number 99 in Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses 2009-2010 and number 10 in Golf Digest’s 2005 Top 50 Courses of Myrtle Beach, Barefoot Dye offers exceptional views and was designed to provide a one-of-a-kind golfing experience. Dye set out to make golfing at Barefoot unforgettable, and he succeeded.
Hailing from a family of golf course architects and married to noted golfer and course designer Alice Dye, Pete Dye was a promising amateur golfer. Fortunately for his fellow golfers, Dye soon realized he was born to create unforgettable golf courses. Long considered one of the most influential course designers alive and cited by illustrious golfer and designer Jack Nicklaus as an inspiration, Dye pioneered the use of railroad ties in course design. To the bedevilment of players, Dye delights in the creation of pitfalls to trap wayward shots. Dye received the Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America in 2003, and in 2005 he was awarded the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award. The crowning achievement of his career occurred in 2008, when Dye was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
#3) TPC (Tournament Players Club)
The permanent home of the Senior PGA TOUR Championship, the Myrtle Beach Tournament Players Club is the only golf course in Myrtle Beach to be awarded five stars by Golf Digest. This is the course for anyone who has ever wondered what it would feel like to play where the greats play. Making the most of coastal South Carolina's magnificent natural endowments, TPC features towering native pines and rustic wetlands. TPC Myrtle Beach was designed specifically to give all players the opportunity to experience what it is like to play a tour caliber course. Designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1999, TPC is counted among the best public golf courses in America by Golf Magazine.
Considered by many to be the greatest golf course designer alive today, Tom Fazio began his career as a golf course architect early, working for his family's business, but soon went into business for himself. One of the most productive course designers, Fazio has designed 120 golf courses during his career. As gifted as he is prolific, he has more courses ranked among the top 100 in the country than any other golf course architect. Fazio has had a tremendous impact on the game of golf and has received a great deal of recognition for his efforts. Golf Digest has named him the Best Modern Day Golf Course Architect three times, and in 1995 he became only the second course designer to be given the coveted Old Tom Morris Award by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
#4) Bald Head Island
Designed by George Cobb and first opened in 1974, the golf course at Bald Head Island is designed to blend so closely with its breathtaking natural surroundings that even the wildlife can’t tell the difference. Herons, egrets, foxes and alligators make their homes in such close proximity to the greens that golfers can expect to encounter them as they play. Golf Digest awarded Bald Head 4.5 stars with very good reason. The 18-hole course incorporates sand dunes, 15 lagoons and a maritime forest as well as the seaside into its magnificent design. Bald Head has just undergone a complete restoration under the direction of famed designer Tim Cate, whose vision included transforming 35 previously unused acres into sandy areas planted with grasses native to the area.
Bald Head Island’s designer, George Cobb, was a landscaper by training who began his career in golf course architecture when he was asked to design a golf course at Camp LeJeune to help rehabilitate soldiers who were returning from duty in World War II. Perhaps it was the therapeutic nature of his first contract that influenced Cobb’s approach to golf course design. He believed that golf should heal and stimulate, not punish and frustrate, and anyone who has ever played his courses has benefited from this unique philosophy. Cobb’s courses are considered some of the most enjoyable courses to play in the world.
#5) Caledonia
Named after and built in historical Pawley’s Island on the site of one of the largest plantations in South Carolina, Caledonia was completed in 1994 and was designed by Mike Strantz. A more inviting natural setting could not be found anywhere in the Carolinas. The course design incorporates rolling terrain, dramatic elevation changes, tidal marshes and freshwater creeks. The lane leading up to the entrance of the clubhouse follows the path of the original Kings Highway built in the sixteenth century and is lined with magnificent 100-year-old oak trees curtained with Spanish moss. Caledonia was named number one on Golf Digest’s list of the top 60 courses in Myrtle Beach.
Inspired by a meeting with design legend Tom Fazio, Mike Strantz stumbled by chance upon a career as a golf course architect, but once he decided upon his lifelong course he never faltered. Every course he designed has been included by Golf Digest in its list of the top 100 modern golf courses in America. Golf World chose Strantz as Architect of the Year in 1998. Golfweek called him one of the top ten greatest golf architects of all time, and he was proclaimed the golf architect highest in demand in 1999 by Golf World. Strantz’ career ended with his untimely death in 2005, but his legend lives on in the timeless elegance of Caledonia Golf and Fish Club.
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