The Grand Strand is worth celebrating in 2018
The Grand Strand is worth celebrating in 2018
THE GOLF RECESSION that started in the mid-2000s and ran into the 2010s was somewhat devastating. In 2013 alone, nearly 200 courses nationwide reportedly shuttered their doors.
The golfing mecca along South Carolina’ s northern coastline was not immune, as more than 20 courses closed up shop in a span of 18 years.
It makes 2018 that much more special for a handful of Founders Group International options in the area. Three courses under that company’ s umbrella will celebrate their 30th anniversaries this year, while two more will reach significant milestones of their own.
Four different design groups were responsible for the layouts, and the five courses in and around Myrtle Beach span the north end of the 60-mile stretch known as the Grand Strand all the way down to its southern-most course. There is a major renovation project, as well as another that outlasted two other full 18s on its own property.
Now, their unique offerings have them each ready to pop some champagne.
NICKLAUS AND NICKLAUS No one would fully credit the Golden Bear with the Myrtle Beach golf boom of the 1990s. After all, the likes of Robert Trent Jones and Arnold Palmer had previously designed courses There. Still, when Nicklaus signed on as the primary architect for two courses simultaneously, it bolstered the area with one of the biggest names to ever grab a club or lay out a course.
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