Stocks in the red? Myrtle Beach's best value season for golf is around the corner

If you’re like me, your portfolio is seeing more red these days than a slasher film.

And if you watch business channels for a half hour a day like me, chances are you’re so freaked out you’re cutting your budget left and right: Toothpaste is for the elite (tap water has perfectly good fluoride). I haven’t had a decent breakfast since Lehman Brothers went down.

I even stopped buying ringtones, so forgive me if you hear my “Destination Calabria” ring at the bar (sooo spring 2008, I know).

So I can bet some of you golfers out there are planning on skimping - or even canceling your winter golf trip to keep the gas on. But if you can’t go all winter without a golf trip, there is hope.

I’ll fill you in on something I discovered last fall: the best deals in Myrtle Beach all year are between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

Now, most courses are cheaper in the summertime, but you’re often dealing with heat and the greens, especially the bent grass greens in town, aren’t at their fastest.

It’s also hotel peak season in the summer, so any money you save on the golf course is probably going to be taken back if you want an ocean view room.

But in December, it’s still often warm enough for shorts (actually, I’ve realized it’s always shorts weather for Canadians, even on a 40-degree morning in January…), and course conditions are at their near-best (only spring is better). While the rough is probably going to be dormant by then, most courses overseed their fairways and aerate their greens in October, meaning smooth putting surfaces abound by December.

Yet a round is nearly as cheap at this time as in the summer and in some cases cheaper. Why?

Basically it’s because Thanksgiving thru New Year’s is family vacation time. So everyone’s in Des Moines visiting Aunt Sally - not in the south playing golf with their buddies. Courses are empty. So are hotels. That equals the best value of the year.

Examples: Caledonia Golf and Fish Club is $174 now, $110 in December. King’s North at M.B.N. is $140 now, $93 in December. Tidewater Golf Club is $152 now, $82 in December (which is more than $20 cheaper than it is in the summer). Check MyrtleBeachGolf.com for packages at that time that will offer hotels and golf combined at even cheaper rates.

For golfers who often come in the spring and their budget can’t get them on the sixteen elite courses in the Grand Strand, I’d recommend coming down in December, where they can upgrade their midlevel courses to the best in town - and they’ll probably still save money on the trip.

I was in Hilton Head for a few days at this time last year and it was the same deal - but I still think the best courses in Myrtle Beach are better than Hilton Head’s top ones - and in the “variety” category it’s a landslide to the Grand Strand.

So this year, make Aunt Sally meet you in a beachside condo in Myrtle Beach. Sally likes mini-golf, right?

King’s North at Myrtle Beach National is a steal during the holiday season.