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South Carolina
For generations, many South Carolinians have lived in the "upstate" region and owned vacation homes at the beach, a trip of no more than 3 1/2 hours from even the farthest regions of the state. In fact, Pawleys Island, just south of Myrtle Beach, claims to be America's first beach resort. Whether it is or isn't, Pawleys is just one of many golf happy areas of South Carolina, led by its neighbor immediately to the north, Myrtle Beach, which even after some pruning in the golf course ranks, can still boast about 100 layouts in the area. Farther down the coast, in the Low Country, Kiawah Island (10 golf courses within 12 miles or so) can boast of arguable the best in the state, the fabled Ocean Course by Pete Dye. But don't ignore upstate, where Greenville, a sophisticated burgh can lay claim to top 5 Chanticleer, one of Greenville Country Club's two outstanding tracks. We could go on about South Carolina golf (and reference Bluffton, Beaufort, Aiken, Columbia and other areas); we encourage you to go see for yourself.
Fond memories: Myrtle Beach Family Fun Week
The first time my son and I played in what was once called the Father/Son Event in Myrtle Beach, SC, he was eight years old. A few years later, we won our flight of 10 teams, mostly because, at age 11,...
That’s the Spirit: My one-way ticket to Myrtle Beach just $56
Getting to and from Hartford, CT, by plane is neither easy nor cheap. Most flights from anywhere to Hartford involve at least one change of planes and a few hundred dollars minimum. Other...
Columbia Country Club: Throw ratings, slope out the window
Many golfers, me included, love firm and fast greens as long as the greens are not too small and entrance points are generous. Columbia, SC’s eponymous country club, which actually moved decades...
Buy to Rent: To defray golf home costs, look to Myrtle Beach
There are two ways that a vacation golf home can pay you back –- and then some. One, of course, is if you choose the right market at the right time and your property increases in value until it...
Extra Extra Free: Discovery Package Adds Day of Lodging, Golf
If you don’t subscribe to our monthly FREE newsletter, Home On The Course, then you missed the announcement in the March issue that Savannah Lakes Village, one of the best buys in Southeastern golf...
The Terror of Tiny Greens
Many of us will look on with awe tomorrow (Sunday) during the final round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass when players in competition for victory face the daunting 17th hole with its...
Middle Earth a Bad Place on Nicklaus Course
When Jack Nicklaus’ golf course design career was in its infancy, he developed a particular design quirk to call his own -– like Pete Dye’s railroad ties, or Tom Fazio’s cloverleaf bunkers and...
Orange You Glad: Lake Keowee Residents Celebrate Clemson Win
Some years ago, when I stayed overnight at the South Carolina golf community The Reserve at Lake Keowee, I ate dinner in the clubhouse on a Saturday night and, afterwards, headed to the sprawling...
Myrtle Beach continues to prune golf courses
Myrtle Beach area golf courses, whose total once stood at over 120, continue to be under pressure in a still-oversaturated market. Local news outlets are reporting that River Oaks, a golf community just...
Cliffs Communities May Change Hands
At this stage it is just rumor, but the noise coming from some residents of The Cliffs as well as from local developers is loud enough to invoke the old “where there’s smoke there’s fire” adage....
Less Is More at Pawleys Plantation
My home course in Pawleys Island, SC, was recently re-rated by the USGA. In the last few years, a few changes made the course marginally easier to play. And yet, from virtually all tee boxes, the...
Nicklaus lays it out for Pawleys Plantation members
Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear, spent the afternoon and early evening this past Monday at Pawleys Plantation Golf Club, one of his signature designs of the late 1980s, about the time his golf...