With over 80 championship golf courses, fantastic weather, the beautiful Atlantic Ocean, and many luxury resorts to choose from that are second to none, the Grand Strand offers more than any other location for the avid golfer.  NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com has already seen an influx of golf packages booked throughout the year, and project an ongoing trend of the increase in tee-times booked for 2010.

With an increase in direct flights to the Myrtle Beach airport and Myrtle Beach’s storied history for golf and entertainment, it is no wonder to see an increase in golf reservations as well as condo reservations.

Check out the press release about the Myrtle Beach golf season.

Once again Monday After the Masters Celebrity Golf Tournament was an enormous success. The 16th annual event organized by Hootie & the Blowfish, played in front of sellout crowd of 6,000 fans, for the fifth consecutive year.   Hosted by The Dye Club at Barefoot Resort & Golf in Barefoot Landing, the Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament attracts thousands of people who enjoy the music of the two-time Grammy award winners as well as the friendly competition between the band and their celebrity and PGA professional friends.

Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, said, “Each year, the list of great athletes and celebrities continues to grow, and to know we come to Myrtle Beach to have fun and raise money for a great cause, it is without a doubt one of things I look forward to doing every spring.”

All ticket proceeds benefit the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation, which supports the educational needs of children in South Carolina and the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation. Last year, the event recorded its fourth consecutive sell-out and raised $155,000 for various South Carolina charities.

Over the past 15 years, the Monday After the Masters has donated more than $4 million to the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation, which supports the educational needs of South Carolina and the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation. The 2010 Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament kicked off Sunday night with a Live Auction and Pairings Party at the House of Blues.

Headlining the 16th annual tournament were PGA TOUR players Jim Furyk, John Daly and former Coastal Carolina University star Dustin Johnson; professional wrestling legend Ric Flair; NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino; NFL Hall-of Famer and Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers; former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar; NASCAR drivers Kyle Petty and Michael Waltrip; LPGA golfer and Myrtle Beach area native Kristy McPherson.

“It’s always a tournament and event that’s special to my heart,” McPherson said. “It’s good to be back near home and having a good time and getting the hometown crowd and raising money for some good causes.”

Representing the music world were country sensations Colt Ford, Jack Ingram, Steve Azar and Johnny Lee; R&B singer Javier Colon; pop rock performer Edwin McCain; musician Branford Marsalis; Alter Bridge drummer Scott Phillips; Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel and Dan Tyminski of Union Station.

Other former NFL players George Rogers and Sterling Sharpe competed, and former Major League Baseball stars Mickey Tettleton and Chuck Finley participated in the 16th annual celebrity golf tournament.

Anyone who could not attend this year’s tournament in “The Golf Capital of the World,” GOLF CHANNEL will broadcast a highlight show in May with interviews and footage from the 2010 Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Tournament.

Check out other Myrtle Beach golf news on NorthMyrtleBeachGolf.com

Below is a list of courses here at the Golf Capital of The World, that offer a 48-hour special discount. These courses can be booked up to 48-hours before the day you would like to play.

Rates vary by course, email golf@northmyrtlebeachgolf.com for more information on how to save on the Myrtle Beach Golf Courses.

Arrowhead

Barefoot – Dye

Barefoot – Fazio

Barefoot – Love

Barefoot – Norman

Heron Point

International Club

Sandpiper Bay

River Hills

World Tour

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TPC – Myrtle Beach Golf Course Review

TPC – Myrtle Beach, located on the south end of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet. South Carolina, was designed by world renowned golf course architect, Tom Fazio and 2009 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Lanny Wadkins. Since the course opened in 1999, becoming the 100th golf course in Myrtle Beach, TPC – Myrtle Beach has ranked annually as one of the best courses in the country.

With an opportunity to play the only course in Myrtle Beach to receive a 5-star rating from Golf Digest, I could not pass on a day with great Myrtle Beach weather and good competition with the monthly Grand Strand Golf Directors.

From the moment you arrive through the gates on TPC boulevard, you start to get the feeling of the “kid in the candy store”. Why do you get that feeling? Maybe its the beautiful low country clubhouse over looking the Par 5 18th hole or maybe its the view of the practice facility knowing that some of the greatest players to play the game have practiced and competed on this very same golf course. Not to mention the famous Rolex starter clock by the practice green. For me, it was the chance to play a PGA style golf course and get the PGA experience, right here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

TPC – Myrtle Beach, located on the south end of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet. South Carolina, was designed by world renowned golf course architect, Tom Fazio  and 2009 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Lanny Wadkins. Since the course opened in 1999, becoming the 100th golf course in Myrtle Beach, TPC – Myrtle Beach has ranked annually as one of the best courses in the country.

From the moment you arrive through the gates on TPC boulevard, you start to get the feeling of the “kid in the candy store”. Why do you get that feeling? Maybe its the beautiful low country clubhouse over looking the Par 5 18th hole or maybe its the view of the practice facility knowing that some of the greatest players to play the game have practiced and competed on this very same golf course. Not to mention the famous Rolex starter clock by the practice green. For me, it was the chance to play a PGA style golf course and get the PGA experience, right here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The golf course was built among the South Carolina wetlands with the inherent beauty of the natural terrain, towering pines and gentle elevation changes that are visual from each tee box.The TPC – Myrtle Beach features 5-sets of tees making the course a great test for golfers with any ability. The black / tournament tees measure 6950 yards with a rating of 74.2 and slope of 146. The red / front tees measure 5118 yards and have a rating of 70.3 and slope of 125. Fairways have wide landing areas, however, Fazio and Wadkins have the bunkers strategically placed throughout the golf course, to make you focus on accuracy.

The greens at TPC – Myrtle Beach were perfect condition since the recent renovation to be the first golf course in Myrtle Beach to feature the new Mini Verde bermuda grass. Mini Verde is the 5th type of ultra dwarf bermuda and one of the best, if not the best type of green surface for the Myrtle Beach area. The green complexes at TPC – Myrtle Beach are very large and well guarded with strategically placed bunkers. Did I mention the greens were PERFECT CONDITION?

Although there is not alot of water on the golf course that comes into play through your first 16 holes. You get all you want on the Signature Par 3 17th and Par 5 18th hole. The Signature Par 3 17th hole is surround by water from the front of the green wrapping around the right side to the back of the green. The water makes this a visual challenge and similar to an island green with a two level putting surface.

The Par 5 18 hole, is one of the best finishing holes along the grand strand. it can be reached in two by longer hitters, however, a creek bed running across the fairway into the large water hazard lurking to the left side of the hole prevents the bomb off the tee. The water hazard is more like a pond or small lake with the low country clubhouse in the background and the stadium style viewing area left of the lake. This area was built when the TPC Myrtle Beach was host to the Senior Tour Championship in 2000 with the wining score of -18  (70-67-67-66=270) and the Senior Tour Championship going to Tom Watson. The tournament was previously held at the Prestigious Dunes Golf and Beach Club from 1994 to 1999, also located in Myrtle Beach. The 2nd shot will be a long iron / metal wood into the green with bunkers short right and back right.

Overall, the TPC of Myrtle Beach presents golfers with an opportunity to see and feel what it is like to be inside the ropes of a tour caliber golf course.

I highly recommend the course and I have it on my Top 5 Myrtle Beach Golf Course list. It is defiantly a PGA experience here at the Golf Capital of the World.

You can now play the TPC of Myrtle Beach on our Myrtle Beach National 4+1 and 6+1 or on our Supreme Golf Package. For more information on the Best Myrtle Beach golf packages or to book tee times visit our golf website www.northmyrtlebeachgolf.com and simply fill out our quote request.

Craig`s Corner is a golf blog written by Myrtle Beach Golf Director Craig Chinn. Craig`s Corner features Myrtle Beach Golf Specials, Myrtle Beach Golf Course Reviews and anything and everything to do in the World of Golf and the Golf Capital of the World.

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