MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – This is a given. If you’re in search of a golf destination Myrtle Beach will never let you down. So many courses, an oceanfront location for beach goers, lots of other entertainment options, lodging and dining options. It’s all there.
I’ve made annual trips to MB for about 15 years and played multiple rounds each time. One question I’ve regular gotten is `What’s the best course there?’ and my answer is always the same — `Probably the last course I played there.’
We attacked that issue a little differently this year during a Golf Travel Writers of America stay that involved playing three of the best layouts in Founders Group International, Myrtle Beach’s largest golf course ownership group. Founders has 21 courses spread over 18 facilities and also owns MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com, the leading provider for stay-and-play golf packages and online tee times in the area.
This time we won’t be tricked into considering what course is “the best.’’ Instead we’ll focus on which is the “most important.’’
That’s easy. It’s Pine Lakes.
Without Pine Lakes there wouldn’t be a Myrtle Beach as we know it, and plans are underway to underscore that at the course’s centennial celebration in 2027.
“We have a fun year coming up,’’ said Kurtis Kuhn, Pine Lakes general manager. “We’re still working on a lot of things, but we’ll try to market it more as Myrtle Beach turning 100. The celebration won’t just be about us but about Myrtle Beach golf.’’
Parts of Pine Lakes’ past have been reported, but more will be revealed in the next couple years. For now it’s a public course with 275 golfing members. There’s also some social members, but Pine Lakes has never had a famous player as its representative or hosted a particularly big tournament. And, the course has no real estate component.
“In the beginning it probably was private,’’ said Kuhn. “We may have a membership push, but Pine Lakes will never be fully private. Anybody can play here.’’
Pine Lakes is the oldest course among Myrtle Beach’s courses. It opened in 1927, and the second one, the Dunes Golf & Beach Club, didn’t open until 1948. The community once had over 100 courses, but now the number is back in double digits thanks to a changing economy.
In its early years Pine Lakes wasn’t Pine Lakes. It was called Ocean Forest and was connected to the Ocean Forest Hotel. The course’s name was changed after the hotel was demolished.
Originally designed by Robert White, a Scotsman who was also the first president of the PGA of America and co-founder of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. He also built the first putting green on the White House lawn.
As the oldest course in Myrtle Beach Pine Lakes had its big moments, if not big tournaments. Sports Illustrated magazine was created in a meeting in the Pine Hills clubhouse in 1954. The club also won a well-publicized legal dispute over its logo with clothes designer Ralph Lauren. Now Pine Lakes doubles as the site of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.
And that’s all been done as a public course. Kuhn appreciates that fact, but isn’t awed by it.
“If you want a true private course the only one (in MB) is The Dunes Club,’’ he said, “but there are packages available where people can still play there. That’s just the nature of Myrtle Beach.’’
As for Pine Lakes, the old club was appropriately dubbed “the Granddaddy’’ long ago. It’s thrived through constantly changing times, and we found the course perhaps the best conditioned one we’ve played in Myrtle Beach – and that’s even after a trying year in which the area dealt with snow in late January and threatening forest fires.
“An interesting year weather-wise,’’ said Kuhn, “but Pines Lakes isn’t going anywhere. We’ve seen a lot of courses get sold for homes, but this place will be a golf course for a very long time.’’
He has his own opinion as to why the club has thrived.
“It’s the history,’’ he said. “It started what Myrtle Beach is today. There’s no place like it.’’
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT to Pine Lakes, it’s hard to leave Myrtle Beach without keeping up with some of its other significant courses.
Kings North, at Myrtle Beach National, was the most interesting on this trip. The three-course property was built by the Arnold Palmer Group in the 1970s and Palmer was on hand for the Kings North renovation in 1994. Now Founders wants to elevate the course’s profile.
Brandon Johnson, a designer with a most fertile imagination, is with the Palmer group. He finished a renovation of Kings North’s front nine that was stunning. Now the back side is getting his attention. Given the extent of his work on the front side, one wonders what surprises he’ll unveil on the back.
General manager Ryan Ruddy won’t give many details, but the white sand used on the front side will be used on the back and the 18th hole will be toned down. It has a stunning 43 bunkers now. Ruddy says “they’ll be reduced…they’re a maintenance nightmare. But there’ll be a lot more of the waste area.’’
GRANDE DUNES, the last course built in Myrtle Beach in 2000, has become one of Founders’ most popular courses. It underwent its own extensive renovation three years ago.
The original course was designed by Roger Rulewich and John Harvey, who worked with Rulewich on the original design and construction, renovated the greens – largest in the area – back to their original size and also worked on every bunker.
“We wanted to bring Grande Dunes back to its original roots,’’ said Tom VanHoogan, the general manager. “After 20 years we wanted to revitalize it. But the clubhouse may have been the biggest thing. Now it’s very inviting for golfers, and it’s been brightened up.’’
The pro shop grew by 400 feet, an indoor-outdoor bar was added and outdoor seating expanded.
