Myrtle Beach golf landscape changing -- at least on the greens

If you haven’t been to Myrtle Beach lately to play golf, you might be pleasantly surprised. Seven of the Grand Strand’s most revered courses have new greens, which bodes well for the upcoming season. And they’re all Bermudagrass, some of them being converted from bentgrass.

What the operators of these courses understand is that the newer Bermudagrasses, such as Mini-verde, TifEagle and even the older Champion, are far superior to old TifDwarf and better than bentgrass, which struggles to survive through the Southeast’s hot, humid summers.

I got to play one of those courses earlier this fall – King’s North at Myrtle Beach National. Even just a few months after they reopened this summer, they were terrific, albeit a little firm. I would imagine by late spring, they’ll be near-perfect. (You can read my review of the course here and check out the photo gallery here.)

Other Myrtle Beach courses that made the transition include the Dye Course and Love Course at Barefoot Resort (joining the other two courses that had already changed over to Champion), Grande Dunes Resort, World Tour Golf Links, Meadowlands Golf Course (in Calabash, N.C.) and Prestwick Country Club. All of them reopened in advance of the fall golf season and should do well come spring.

King’s North reopened in late August. The Arnold Palmer design has long been regarded as one of the area’s best and most creative designs. Four of the courses that installed new greens – Barefoot Dye and Barefoot Love, King’s North, and Grande Dunes – have been ranked among America’s top 100 public courses in recent years.

“The reaction has been positive by both membership and guests,” Dave Genevro, Barefoot’s general manager said. “The transition to Champion Bermuda on all four of our ourses assures players a better, more consistent putting surface throughout the year.”