his own courses and become president of
the PGA of America. “As we got in the ‘80s
and ‘90s, you needed signature courses and
signature holes to take it to another level.
That certainly worked for Myrtle Beach
National. The North was the same grass,
same contours, but had some tee and green
enhancements that made it a little more
dramatic and gave golfers better vistas.”
THE GAMBLER
Perhaps the strongest indications of a good
design are shot options and the ability to
recall every hole after the round. King’s
North offers that in abundance. Some
courses have island greens, but King’s
North has an island fairway on its most
famous hole, the 568-yard 6th known as
“The Gambler” because of the risk-reward
factor. There’s even a sign on the tee with
the lyrics from the Kenny Rogers’ song of
the same name. In fact, Rogers came to the
sign dedication after Palmer created the
hole during the renovation. Players have a
choice of either playing safely right with a
longer route to the green or taking a more
direct line via the island fairway, which is
about 30 yards wide.
“I always seemed to be singing the song
when I tee off,” says head pro Brad Crumling. “I have it hit right in between the
two fairways many times—the dreaded
straight ball.”
The layout also features an island green
at the 140-yard 12th, which also has the
distinction of two bunkers in the shape of
GRACIOUS HOSTS
The South Course is the shortest and
tightest of the three designs, winding
through community housing, while the
West is longer and more open without any
homes like King’s North. The West also
finishes on a brutal par three over water
that can be pretty daunting hole to end a
round on in one of the many tournaments
the club hosts each year. First and foremost
is the George Holliday Memorial Junior
Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend
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MYRTLE BEACH NATIONAL
the state’s initials to the left of the green, as
well as a drivable par four at the 365-yard
3rd. Golfers have the option of playing safe
to the fairway to the right and having a short
iron in or trying to carry the lake (about 220
yards from the white tees) and going for
the green. Another memorable hole is the
464-yard 18th where about all you see off
the tee are bunkers—there are 40 of them
alone on the hole.