The Grand Strand is a 90-mile stretch from Pawleys Island, S.C., that sneaks up into North Carolina with Myrtle Beach at the epicenter. But if you head north or south from Myrtle Beach, which area has the better golf for your group? Jason Scott Deegan investigated, and this is what he found.
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Several courses along South Carolina's Grand Strand have added an extra dimension -- the short par 4 -- to their designs. But which ones are the best to play? Ian Guerin offers up some of the Myrtle Beach area's top par 4s -- all less than 400 yards from the championship tees -- that make up for their lack of length in other ways.
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The Grand Strand's 100-plus golf courses are open for business 12 months a year and offer value plays and nationally acclaimed designs, but those aren't the only reasons to plan your next vacation in Myrtle Beach. What else? Brandon Tucker offers 10 reasons why your group should consider Myrtle Beach for its next trip.
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There's a lot more to the South Carolina golf scene than just the coast. The Palmetto State features hills and rivers and streams and a whole lot of history. And green fees, by and large, are very reasonable. From the mountainous escape of Spartanburg in the Pendleton District to the beaches of the Lowcountry and the golf in the shadows of the Masters tournament, this state provides everything a traveling golfer desires. Mike Bailey offers an itinerary for your South Carolina golf tour.
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Got three days to spare? Consider a getaway to Myrtle Beach. There's much more than golf to the Grand Strand, flush with fine restaurants, bars, luxury hotels and entertainment. Of course, the year-round golf can serve as the centerpiece for your trip. Myrtle Beach golf courses won't disappoint, with designs from classic to cutting edge. Brandon Tucker offers a guide to the perfect three-day weekend.
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Sushi has become a primary for many people on a Myrtle Beach golf vacation. The Japanese dish comes with enough options to satisfy most any palette, and with choice has come popularity. Sushi is available throughout the Grand Strand, but we are here to help you narrow the list. If you are looking for sushi, here are five Myrtle Beach-area restaurants that will please.
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Sure golf is the main attraction on a trip to Myrtle Beach, but the bounty offered by the nearby Atlantic ocean is hard to resist, especially at dinner time. Seafood tops everyone's menu when they come to town, and the area's stream of buffets is the answer for many. But for those with a more discerning palette, we offer up the five best places in the Myrtle Beach area for a great seafood dinner.
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Just because a course has pink soap in the bathrooms doesn't mean it should be at the top of the "Ladies Best" lists. Challenging, memorable and fair are words that come to mind more than trouble-free and undemanding, which evoke "Stepford Wives." So where to go? The Charleston area - enhanced by the ever-changing moods of the marshes and innate traditions of Southern hospitality - has a number of women-friendly golf courses, Katharine Dyson writes.
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So, you've come to Pinehurst, the home of American golf, and you want to do something else besides hit a small ball and chase it down, only to hit it again? Sacrilege. Well, if you must, there are other things to do in Pinehurst besides play Pinehurst No. 2 and the other not-so-famous 42 area courses.
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Those planning a visit to Pinehurst this fall are in for a treat. Most of the golf courses in and around this hallowed ground are already in good shape, ready and waiting, thanks to cooperative weather.
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Sea Trail Golf Resort and Conference Center is way up there in placid Sunset Beach, N.C. From the mainland you drive slowly over a one-lane bridge, salt marsh surrounding you, to a three-mile-long island blessedly lacking in neon-lit strip malls. Take off your watch. Take out your golf clubs.
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While most of us won't have the same thrill Michael Campbell did when he won the U.S. open in North Carolina, there are plenty of people who feel just as strongly about golf in the Piedmont region of the Tar Heel state. From the splendor of the Duke University golf club and the 36-hole Bryan Park, to designs by Jack Nicklaus and Davis Love III, there's a lot of golf courses to like in the area.
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So you say you want to go to Pinehurst and play No. 2. Then you check out the green fees: Yow! Next stop, Myrtle Beach. But wait - this area is home to about 45 courses within a 10-mile radius, many of them by architects such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and, of course, Donald Ross. The best part? There are a number of great options without the sticker shock of No. 2.
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Looking for a course with muscle and teeth? Duke's your best bet. Looking for genteel Southern charm and a better chance to score? Try Finley. Regardless of which shade of blue you prefer, both courses are guaranteed to turn you into a fan.
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As Tim McDonald discovered. there are quite a few courses that enthusiastically welcome women in North Carolina, both in their attitudes and their propensity to make the game more fun. Here are some of the golf courses in North Carolina that women seem to enjoy, including Hillandale near Duke University, which has four sets of tees ranging from 4,800 to 6,400 yards.
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Women looking for some luxury along with their golf have more choices than ever - more resorts
are offering golf/spa packages to help entice women, either solo or with their families. For example, the Pinehurst resort in North Carolina, which opened a $12 million spa in March, 2002, believes the spa/golf experience will attract more women to golf.
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The only question more common than "Duke or Carolina" around this state is "where are you going this weekend?" North Carolinians love their two- and three-day getaways, and you can bet your last bite of barbeque that golf is involved more times than not. If staying in state, the answer typically varies by around 600 miles. To the east, there's the beach; to the west, the mountains. In between is the vast, gently rolling Piedmont, home to the overwhelming majority of the state's population base.
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With the controversy over the hockey rink that was the 17th green at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club still stuck in its craw, the USGA now turns its attention to the Sandhills of North Carolina and Pinehurst Resort. The 2005 U.S. Open will be contested on the resort's famed No. 2 course, a Donald Ross design that last hosted the event in 1999. The ink had barely dried on Retief Goosen's victory check when the usual lineup of questions were posed regarding the USGA's plans for setting up No. 2: How fast will the greens roll? How long with the rough be grown? Will level par over four days be a respectable showing?
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Golf? In Columbia? That's right Hilton Head. You better believe it Myrtle Beach. Listen up Charleston. Contrary to popular belief, the Holy Trinity doesn't have a monopoly on fairways and greens in the Palmetto State. While it will never be mistaken for a hotbed of high end resort golf, the Capital City has the daily fee wherewithal to pluck duffers from long haul markets like Ohio, Michigan and Canada.
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Asheville has always had a reputation of healing. During the height of the tuberculosis scare of the early 1900s, Asheville became the premier center for treatment of the disease east of the Rockies. Now-a-days, with tuberculosis well under control (but not eradicated as some might think), the mountain air serves to heal another affliction -- a golfers' itch. As Jason Scott illustrates, plenty of options abound.
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