Friday, September 04, 2015

Golf Club Demos, Food and John Daly at Myrtle Beach 19th Hole

Each year thousands of golfers descend upon the golf capital of the world for a chance at being named best in their flight - I am happily amazed at the growth of the Myrtle Beach Amateur Handicap Championship.

The tournament which started in 1982 with 682 participants has increased five-fold and is played on such well-known and beautiful golf courses as Caledonia Golf and Fish Club and the Barefoot Courses. Although there is a serious competitive spirit surrounding the Tournament, the focus is on FUN.

Myrtle Beach has around one-hundred golf courses, soft-sand beaches and, from last count, about 1700 restaurants so it's easy to understand why the Amateur Handicap Tournament is so popular year-after year. 

 Is it the golf or the fun that brings the players back to the Beach? If you said both, you're RIGHT!


The World's Largest 19th Hole is a golfer's dream with celebrities, music and even a pro golfer in the midst. Taylor Hicks, American Idol winner, entertained, John Daly was mixing it up with his fans and stirring up the cocktails with his new vodka/tea drink (yes, it's another specialty of his) and there were putting and chipping contests, simulators and a line of PGA Tour Superstore booths filled with the latest golf equipment for hitting and testing by the participants.

My neighbor has been talking about the latest Wilson D200 driver and, lo and behold, there was a left-handed club waiting for me to test! My current driver is a Callaway X2 Hot so I went armed to the hitting booth ready to compare the two - here are my findings.

I could feel the "Reactive Face Technology" with every hit - there was definite forgiveness from the club as my shots seemed pretty straight from the get-go. I found the D200 to be very light but, for me, the head seemed to lag a bit (could have been the shaft). Overall a pretty good golf club to test against others when you go to PGA Tour Superstore to get fitted for your next driver. I also tried (and loved) the Ping G30 hybrid; high, straight, sweet-spot shots from the get-go, 

 Barry got a hold of several irons too - he found the Titleist AP1 to have the best ball action off of the club face.

Booths each night were filled with a variety of tasty treats from southern barbecue and crab meat wontons to Shocktop and other refreshments. The lines, although a bit long, were quick moving and very chatty with golfers from Tennessee to Wisconsin talking about their day on the links.

I know that the Myrtle Beach World Am is all about the golf but...Thursday was the last night to attend the festivities and I'm getting hungry just thinking about my experience!



Have you attended the Myrtle Beach World Am Handicap Championship? Which was your favorite golf course...or was it the 19th hole that took center stage? Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on our Golf for Beginners blog.


Thanks to Chris King - Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday


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