Ranking golf courses

Of late Myrtle Beach area golf courses have fared quite well in various “Best of…” categories. The awards are well deserved. How rankings are done varies by publication, but people that know what they’re doing do all.

I have never been provided the opportunity to rank courses for major golf publications. I do have the opportunity to annually author more than 25 course reviews for web sites and regional publications.

My system of review is simple and begins with always being able to find something good about every golf course. From that point there are four basic criteria that contribute to a course’s character.

1. Hospitality: Simply stated there’s no reason for visiting golfers to ever be treated poorly. A good experience with the bag drop, pro shop and starter gets you started in the right frame of mind. Bad experiences upon arrival have the opposite impact on your day.
2. Playability: At the risk of oversimplification playability simply means that you’ll shoot a favorable score regardless of your index or ability. Forced carries, extended dog legs, and in play hazards are not the primary character of the course.
3. Challenge: Not every golf course falls into the “challenge” category, but each needs to have some holes that do. Big drop offs between the No. 1 and No. 3 handicap holes does not a challenging golf course make.
4. Beauty: A golf course that’s appealing to the eye ranks high in my book. I’m from the school that believes a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work. Next time you’re first in the hole and holding the flag, look back down the fairway and enjoy the moment.

One caution is in order. If you start thinking too much about the four points above, you’ll lose concentration and your game will suffer. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

Makin’ the turn

Every once and a while we like to drop a few words about something strange that happens on the golf course. I’m talking about something stranger than my swing. Here’s one your going to love.

July 4^th was a great day for our family to play golf. The weather at the beach was perfect with unseasonably pleasant temperatures, clear skies and a slight breeze. We called Myrtle Beach National first thing in the morning and made a 2:00 PM tee time for Kings North.

It looked like we might have this premium course to ourselves! No other players were checking-in, the range was vacant and the starter said we were wide open. We played the front nine without seeing another golfer until we got to No. 9 and noticed a single on the green.

We made a quick stop at the clubhouse for a drink and some crackers and went directly to No. 10. Just getting out of their carts at the tee box was a foursome! They were not in the clubhouse. They were not behind us. They were not in front of us. Where did these guys come from???

I asked, “Did you just finish the front nine? Are you sure you’re on the right course?” There are three 18-hole layouts at MB National. They assured me they had just finished the front nine on Kings North.

We watched as they teed off. They were all over the place. We immediately headed to No. 11 with plans to play No. 10 at the end of the round. We tend to play quickly and had some fun dinner plans for that evening. I did not want to wait one minute on our mystery foursome.

Writing this I still have no idea where these guys came from. In fact it’s almost comical, but they must have belonged there. As they teed off on No. 10 there wasn’t any question from the ranger. However, once we finished No. 18 and headed to No. 10 tee, he was right there asking where we were headed. We quickly shared the story, had a good chuckle and finished our round.

No, I do not believe alien golfers invaded Myrtle Beach!