Recently in Grande Dunes Category

Written by: Matt

I was recently invited to play in a four man scramble at the Resort Course at Grande Dunes located just across the Intracoastal Waterway on the north end of Myrtle Beach about a quarter mile from the Dixie Stampede and Carolina Opry.  Needless to say that I didn't have to be asked twice.  Any time I can play this great course, I jump on it.

The first thing that I can say about the round was it was HOT.  We teed off shortly after 10:30 am, and if you're not familiar with summer golf in Myrtle Beach then your best bet is to generally try to tee off in the 7:30 - 8:00 am timeframe.  This way you can get out while the temperature is around 80 degrees and creeps up into the 90's during the latter part of the round.  By 10:30 the temperature was already over 90 and needless to say we went through a couple of gallons of water on the golf course.  Nevertheless golf on a hot day certainly beats not playing golf on any day, and playing at Grande Dunes was an added bonus!

We managed to finish in a tie for second, but we lost the tiebreaker so we settled for a third place finish.  Our ringer Eric, who is a three handicap, carried us for the first several holes and we nearly witnessed his first ever hole in one on the difficult par 3 eighth hole, as his tee ball was literally hanging over the hole.  If his ball had turned just a hair more, then he would have a hole in one on his resume and we would have tied for first place.  Instead it was a ho-hum birdie if there is such a thing on a difficult par three.

Grande Dunes is one of the more fun courses to play in Myrtle Beach.  The experience starts when you cross over the private bridge to the Grande Dunes development and pull up to the lavish clubhouse.  Though not the largest on the Grand Strand, it certainly is one of the nicest clubhouses in the area.

There are six sets of tees, so every golfer should be able to find a set of tees to match his or her abilities.  Many of the fairways are wide so you can be aggressive with the driver and the greens are mostly pretty large so if you're not accurate with your irons then you can definitely be left with some pretty lengthy putts.  What really sets the golf course apart however, is the beauty of many of the holes.  Four of the holes have a view of the Intracoastal Waterway, including the breathtaking par 3, 14th hole.  Standing on the tee box looking down on the wide but shallow green is one of the more intimidating feelings on any Myrtle Beach golf course.  A few looks to the right to watch some of the boats floating by are needed to calm your nerves before you hit your tee shot.  I am also a huge fan of the par 4, ninth hole that also overlooks the waterway and features a downhill slope in the fairway that can take a well hit tee shot an extra 20 or 30 yards.

I think it's pretty clear, but I would definitely recommend playing the Grande Dunes Resort Course if you ever get the chance.