Courses Re-Open With New Greens

Great Greens! Myrtle Beach Golf Courses Reopen

By

Chris King

  on September 9, 2011 2:35 PM | Comments (0)

River Club is in outstanding condition after installing new greens this summer.

Fall golf season is nearly upon us and the seven Myrtle Beach area layouts that installed new greens this summer will be ready to welcome golfers.

Each of the seven courses installed an ultradwarf Bermuda grass that replicates the best qualities of bentgrass while thriving during the warm summer months in Myrtle Beach.

The most popular of the new ultradwarf grasses are Champion and MiniVerde and they were the grasses of choice for Myrtle Beach courses again this summer.

The Norman and Fazio courses at Barefoot Resort installed Champion Bermuda, as did River Club. The virtues of Champion were on display for a national audience this summer because Atlanta Athletic Club, host of the PGA Championship, uses the grass.

The Avocet Course at Wild Wing, the West Course at Myrtle Beach National, Quail Creek and Lion’s Paw at Ocean Ridge Plantation all installed MiniVerde. A course with MiniVerde has never hosted the major championship but it has received raves from the world’s best golfers as the surface of choice at TPC Sawgrass and East Lake, home of the Tour Championship.

Because the ultradwarf grasses thrive in the summer heat, they take root quickly and provided an outstanding putting surface upon reopening.

“It’s growing in its growing season,” Max Morgan, the director of golf course maintenance for Myrtle Beach National, said. “People like firm fast greens, and they are going to love Myrtle Beach this fall.”
Six of the seven courses that installed new greens have reopened, with the one exception being Quail Creek, which will reopen on October 3. Quail Creek, a Coastal Carolina University owned layout, is doing more extensive course work than the other layouts.

In addition to new greens, Quail Creek is lengthening the 16th hole, redoing its bunkers and moving the second and 18th greens closer to water. Quail Creek is also substantially improving its practice facilities, increasing its putting green to 12,000 square feet, and creating a short-game practice area.