Beachwood Golf Club: Fun, Affordable, Convenient
Beachwood Golf Club was North Myrtle Beach's second course.
Gene Hamm designed Beachwood Golf Club in 1968 with the traveling golfer in mind, delivering a layout that was long on playability and devoid of trickery. Forty-three years later, one of the Grand Strand’s pioneering courses continues to deliver on its original promise. Fun, affordable, friendly and convenient are the words used most often to describe Beachwood and it’s a time honored recipe for success.
Beachwood’s popularity starts with a course that is designed to challenge but certainly not overwhelm. The layout is 6,844 yards from the tips and has subsequent tees at 6,347, 5,695 and 4,947 yards, long enough for all while offering everyone a chance to score.
The layout is as open as any course along the Grand Strand, giving players room to spray the ball off the tee. The fairways are lined by trees but not the heavy pine forests some layouts are carved from. Drives that are off the fairway will likely find a clear path to recovery and possibly the green.
Beachwood is a good course to have in a golf package and it’s a great layout to have first in the rotation. Because of the course’s playability, it gives players time to adjust to the heavier air (typically balls don’t travel as far at sea level as they do at higher elevations) and start their trip on a positive note.
While Beachwood is among the area’s most playable layouts, it’s not a pushover. At 6,347 yards, the white tees are relatively long and players still have to deliver shots to score.
The 14th hole, a double dogleg par 5 is the course’s sternest test. At 581 yards from the tips and 560 from the white tees, it’s a true three-shot hole. There will be no cutting of corners or eagle putts on the 14th. Three good shots will result in a birdie putt, anything less could lead to trouble.
Conversely players will have a chance to score on the par 4 seventh and 12th holes, both short, relatively straight holes that leave the vast majority of players with a wedge into the green.
Beachwood only requires one carry across water – on the par 3, fourth hole – but water is visible on 11 holes.
The course enjoys the benefit of having the Grand Strand’s longest tenured superintendent, H.L. “Hubby” Bellamy, who uses 43 years of experience to keep the course and its greens in outstanding condition.
“We heard all spring that our greens were the best golfers played,” director of golf Kevin Lawson said.
Beachwood’s greens don’t have the proverbial elephants buried in them, making speed the most important component of a good putting round. With the latitude players have off the tee, the putter is the most important club in the bag.
One of Beachwood’s under-the-radar strengths is course drainage. The layout drains as well as any course on the beach and, as a result, carts are almost always allowed on the fairway.
The Verdict: Beachwood features good conditions, outstanding value and friendly customer service. Mix in the fact that there are no houses or condos, and Beachwood delivers a round of golf that folks are happy to see on their itinerary. A good layout and the opportunity to score well is a tough combination to pass up.
Beachwood Golf Club: 5 Things You Need to Know
Beachwood Golf Club is one of the area's friendliest and most playable layouts.
Beachwood Golf Club is one of the founding fathers of North Strand golf. Opened in 1968, it was North Myrtle Beach’s second layout and helped pave the way for an area that now boasts more than 36 courses. The 43-yard-old layout is full character and good old fashioned Southern charm. With that in mind, here are five things you need to know about Beachwood Golf Club:
Nobody Knows It Better: Beachwood rightfully prides itself on its conditions and a primary reason is superintendent H.L. “Hubby” Bellamy, who has held the same position from the day the course opened! He is the Grand Strand’s (possibly the nation’s?) longest tenured superintendent. Bellamy knows every inch of the layout and how it reacts to changing conditions, and golfers benefit from his expertise.
Elbow Room Aplenty: Set on 180 acres, there isn’t a house or condo to be found at Beachwood. The course has as much room as any layout along the Grand Strand and the result is an undisturbed round of golf.
Location, Location, Location: What makes Beachwood’s tranquil setting a surprise to some is its location. The entrance to the course is directly off of Highway 17 in the heart of North Myrtle Beach. Once you enter the property gates, the surrounding hustle and bustle dissipates. Meanwhile, the location makes the course easily accessible to everyone.
Don’t Look For the Bag Drop: Beachwood is the area’s only course that doesn’t have a bag drop. Attendants meet players in the parking lot and ferry their clubs to their golf cart, meaning you never touch your clubs and don’t have to circle the parking lot. Just pull in and things are taken care of.
Good Forever: Beachwood places an emphasis on customer service and makes good on its word. In addition to a friendly staff, rain checks are good forever. Beachwood once honored a rain check 23 years after it was issued! That’s not a typo. A man received the rain check in 1970 and redeemed it in 1993. The same policy remains today
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