Myrtle Beach World Am and Golf Courses Celebrate the Amateur Golfer

Billed as the "Largest Single-Site Golf Tournament in the World" with 72 holes of net, stroke play on many of Myrtle Beach's most exquisite (and demanding) golf courses, the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Tournament draws 3,300 golfers from around the globe for both the competition and the camaraderie.

Golfers have been coming to this tournament for years, some since the 80's when the World Am was called the "DuPont World Amateur Handicap Championship in Myrtle Beach" and only offered ten golf courses along the Grand Strand. Within thirty years, the number of courses in this tournament has swelled to over fifty and the number of players has grown in kind.

A few of our favorite golf courses in Myrtle Beach which offer its own mystique include:

Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, which never fails to impress players with its stately demeanor.
Pine Lakes Country Club, well known on the Grand Strand as "The Granddaddy" of Myrtle Beach courses.
Grande Dunes with its Intracoastal Waterway views and technology-driven Golf Performance Center.
World Tour Golf Links, unique as its holes simulate some of the finest in the world!

Pine Lakes Golf Club - The Granddaddy of Myrtle Beach Courses

To play the World Am is definitely a golfers dream and, if you love to compete in a fun and rewarding environment, you should definitely punch your ticket for next year's event.

Each year that I visit the 19th hole, billed by the Myrtle Beach World Am as "a Really Big Golf Party", I speak with dozens of people.

Although the game of golf takes center stage, friendships are forged and merriment is high on the list of priorities - what could be better than playing golf by day and being wined and dined by local restauranteurs and entertained by some awesome dance bands?

Cool accessories!

Tin Cup was sporting their unique metal ball markers again this year and Snell Golf was debuting their hot, new golf ball (of which I received several sleeves for testing)...this golf ball's inventor also worked in R&D for Titleist and TaylorMade so this ball should show promise!

Visit the Myrtle Beach World Am website to view the full list of golf courses, scoring, handicap system and events and you will want to place this tournament on your bucket list!

Have you played in the World Am? If so, let us know your thoughts below in this golf blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners!


photo: PineLakes.com

Myrtle Beach World Amateur Championship - #Golf Major for the Rest of Us

It is the "granddaddy" of amateur tournaments and, each year, well over three thousand golfers turn out to play in the Myrtle Beach World Amateur wondering how their games compare to players from around the globe.

Anyone with a handicap can play in the World Am and many people return year after year to this tournament with a focus on fun. 

After speaking with several players, I learned that people come to this top South Carolina beach destination to play 72 holes of intense stroke play on amazing Myrtle Beach golf courses for the bonds that are formed and the ability to test oneself against others with similar handicaps.

One player and his wife in particular whom we met at the 19th hole told me that his wife first saw the event online, purchased entrance for him as a birthday present and are now here for their third annual tournament. He is a ten handicap and was very interested in sharing how he did during his rounds and how happy he was to be matched so evenly with his foursome. When I asked his wife if she played golf, she said yes and then we got into a conversation about how to get more power out of her driver.

In other words, the talk of the evening was all about golf, how to improve and about how to score low on some of the most pristine courses along the Grand Strand.

Top instructors were on hand to happily offer advice. Randy Joyner, who coaches players on both the Web.com and PGA Tour, took the stage and gave indispensable tips on ways to break 90, chipping and the full swing...I took notes during his lesson.

I was super stoked to receive a personal on-stage lesson from Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and PGA Master Professional in Instruction, Brad Redding, who showed me the benefits of improving my grip to increase my distance while maintaining accuracy (he also said I had great posture lol...thanks Brad!)

Several golf courses were represented in booths within the perimeter of the 19th hole; Caledonia, True Blue, Thistle and Legends to name a few and there were all kinds of new technology and fun giveaways to view, touch and play around with...for example...

I will be playing golf at Legends Golf Resort in a few weeks while trying out and reviewing their latest acquisition - the Golfboard (watch for my video and review).

Other companies showing off their wares at the 19th hole included gadgets such as Birdieball which is said to mimic the feel and flight path of a real golf ball but travel no more than forty yards, new ways to mark your ball from Golfdotz and Tin Cup and even nutritional energy bars...delicious snacks to help keep your hunger at bay on the course. PGA Tour Superstore had a large display of clothing to make sure attendees were dressed super-slick for the tournament.

Myrtle Beach is also a food-lovers destination. Visitors to the area can find every kind of delicacy that is available anywhere else in the country from sushi to ribs. At the 19th hole this week, delicious crab rangoons were served up by Black Thai Restaurant, awesome filet mignon was carved from Greg Norman’s Australian Grille and much, more including Barry's favorite...Chick-fil-A. Did I mention Friendly's ice-cream ...? Well, the Nuts over Caramel stole my heart...

Golf is the name of the game but the camaraderie, fun and sportsmanship found at the Myrtle Beach World Am is what keeps players coming back each year.

Did you attend this year's Myrtle Beach World Am? If not, do you plan to play golf in South Carolina sometime in the future? Send us a note either below in the comments section of this golf blog or on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

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 BEST 19th Hole in the World in @myrtlebeach this week at the World Amateur #golf tournament! Ready, set, GOLF! pic.twitter.com/THZR1yYUDM

— Stacy Solomon (@Golf4Beginners) August 31, 2015

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!

These folks (& ME) can't wait to taste tonight's Southern #BBQ at #MyrtleBeach World Am 19th hole! #golf pic.twitter.com/tHKtO2CyM4

— Stacy Solomon (@Golf4Beginners) August 31, 2015 

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

Experience the Largest and Best 19th Hole in #Golf at Myrtle Beach

Thirty-four countries and fifty-eight states know where the largest and most fun 19th hole is in golf... do you?

The Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship of Golf - one of the most anticipated and swinging events of the year at The Beach - has over thirty-four hundred (3,400) entries that love competition and camaraderie of the sport. Since this is a handicap event, all ages and skill levels are encouraged and welcomed to join in this family event.

The more than sixty golf courses on the World Am roster are the pride of South Carolina and are among the best in the USA.

From Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, number twenty-seven in GOLF Magazine‘s 2014 “Top 100 You Can Play” to Myrtle Beach National and Carolina National, if you have never played golf on and around the Grand Strand, this is a great opportunity to see what this vacation destination has to offer golfers of every age and ability.

After a day on the links, participants converge onto the 19th Hole - an experience, I heard, that you have to see to believe...and so I did!

The 19th hole, also known as the largest golf tournament party, adjourns nightly after entrants have had their fill of birdies, bogeys and beautiful scenery playing golf on one of the host courses.

So, what happens when thousands of party-loving golfers from millennials to seniors converge during a week-long super-extravaganza event at possibly the largest ever 19th Hole in the World and in no other place than Myrtle Beach, a City known for its golf courses and fun, beachy atmosphere?

Aside from the delicious and plentiful food provided by local restaurants with a different menu nightly, live entertainment and the Dark and Stormy's, you get the camaraderie of golfers sharing their day's good and bad shots, an array of putting greens, driving booths and anything and everything designed to make this a golfer's after-hours paradise.

Lessons from Golf-Tec teaching pro Trent had me hitting straight and removing that annoying left pull by showing me a video of my golf swing right on his smartphone. Announcers WinMcMurry and John Maginnes were on hand to call the shots on a 50-yard par-3 and I didn't know whether to play the Golden Tee games that were lined up or to hit a few into the golf simulator - so many choices but luckily there is an entire week to enjoy the fun.

The best part of my experience, however, had to be chatting with the players, many of whom return year-after-year. I asked several folks if it was the golf or 19th hole that kept them coming back for more and, I was told, both were hard to beat!

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