Myrtle Beach’s Granddaddy: Where it all Began
Storied Pine Lakes Country Club & The Creation of a Sports Icon.
Photo Courtesy of Kingfisher Communications
Myrtle Beach is one of the world’s most recognizable golf destinations. The city is synonymous with miles of pristine beaches and endless golf options. It would be surprising if playing a world association game, that one wouldn’t respond with, “golf,” when prompted by the name of this South Carolina ocean-side paradise. The area has a wealth of facilities, ranging from gentle residential golf courses to expansive resort complexes, whose architects and layouts are world-renowned. Only one, however, has been given the title The Granddaddy of Myrtle Beach golf.
Myrtle Beach wasn’t always dotted with dozens of creative courses; until the twentieth century, the thin coastal strip hadn’t fully embraced its potential as a tourist destination. It wasn’t until the roaring twenties that the area committed to bringing tourists to the South Carolina shore, and the first golf course was developed on the natural dunes found along the beach. The Ocean Forest Country Club opened in 1927 as a 27-hole design with its own clubhouse and inn. Two years after its construction, the 1929 stock market crash caused Ocean Forest to close one of the nines and the inn. Thankfully Myrtle Beach’s original course was able to retain its 18 hole footprint and the stunningly elegant clubhouse which was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1996.
The ambitious founding of Myrtle Beach’s first golf facility utilized the expertise of a pair of influential professionals in its creation. The task of designing the course was given to Scottish immigrant Robert White, whose legacy in American golf is difficult to surpass. White started his career as a golf professional in 1895. He quickly ascended amongst the ranks of club professionals, eventually being selected as the first president of the Professional Golfers Association in 1916. He also pursued a parallel career as a golf course architect, designing more than 20 courses. His work as an architect led to his invitation to join the American Society of Golf Course Architects. White joined prominent contemporaries Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones and Stanley Thompson as one of the 14 founding members. Being included in this esteemed company, along with having held the highest title in the PGA of America is a feat unmatched. Unfortunately the inn and nine of the original holes were lost, but there is still plenty to draw those wanting a round soaked in rich history.
The contributions of these two esteemed men in the initial development of Ocean Forest alone creates a wealth of history in the club. The club had a change of ownership in the 1950’s which brought a name change. This newly anointed Pine Lakes Country Club was both a golf and social hub in the quickly developing tourist destination. It was shortly after the ownership change, in 1954, that the corporate leadership of Time Magazine arrived in town for meetings. Pine Lakes hosted the group and it was during this junket that the commitment was made to publish a sister magazine devoted to sports. It was at Pine Lakes that the iconic Sports Illustrated was founded. Visitors to the club can check out a framed letter from Time’s executives and a commemorative copy of the first issue in the Robert White Pub.
Another of the unique experiences found at Pine Lakes is a visit to the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame. It was established in 2008 to celebrate the legendary figures that have helped put the city in the forefront of golf and travel packaging. The most recent inductees are native son and current World Number One ranked player, Dustin Johnson and South Carolina celebrities Hootie and the Blowfish. Other inductees include the course’s architect Robert White and golf media personality Kelly Tillinghast, amongst many more all connected to the growth and development of the game in Myrtle Beach.
The clubhouse and course underwent a major restoration and renovation in 2008. Local golf architect Craig Schreiner utilized many of White’s original blueprints to draw inspiration. His final product sculpted the footprint to bring it back to the stylings of its 1927 origins. Schreiner focused on utilizing the natural movement of the land to craft a challenging tribute to golf design from decades past, yet giving it a modern playable feel. From the tips the course plays 6675, but to a par of 70. Water impacts play on more than a dozen of the holes while he accentuated the natural flow of the property creating more pronounced undulations and elevation changes adding to the challenge of the routing. The round provides a wonderful glimpse of period golf design principles, complimented seamlessly with the history of one of the world’s most noted golf destinations all in one location.
In April of 2021Craig Schreiner was brought back to further renovate Pine Lakes. The course’s greens are being expanded and resurfaced with Sunday Bermuda grass. Additionally, all the bunkers will be updated and improved. “Pine Lakes holds a special place in the Myrtle Beach market, and this project, highlighted by the new Sunday bermudagrass greens and the bunker restoration, will ensure the Granddaddy continues to deliver the type of experience golfers have enjoyed for more than 90 years,” said Founders Group International President Steve Mays. “This is the first step as we begin looking forward to the 100-year anniversary of Pine Lakes’ opening and the birth of Myrtle Beach as a golf destination.” The work is scheduled to be concluded for July and see a return of golfers looking to savor the historic routing that was the beginning of what has become the Myrtle Beach destination.
** (Update: The course has reopened for play on July 13, 2021 with updated greens and bunkers)**
Pine Lakes is one of the 22 courses in the Founders Collection and part of the Myrtle Beach Golf packagers.
