MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Aug. 9, 2005) -- Representatives from Classic Golf Group today announced plans to build the Pawleys Island Golf Club on the site of the former Sea Gull Golf Club in Pawleys Island. The opening of the new club will mark the opening of the first public golf course in the Myrtle Beach area in almost five years. Designed by Thomas Walker, former lead designer on several Gary Player Design golf course projects, Pawleys Island Golf Club is scheduled to open in late 2006.

Early estimates for the project begin at more than $7 million with a construction time of about one year. Plans call for an entirely different course design and layout than Sea Gull, which opened as the Myrtle Beach area’s 12th public golf course in 1966. A practice facility with a pitching, chipping and putting area will be included in the complex. Plans also include a new entrance to the golf club and a new Lowcountry-style clubhouse overlooking the 18th green with a wrap-around porch, dining and meeting facilities and second floor office space.

“This new course will be exactly that – a brand new course – on the Sea Gull property,” said Rowland Thomas, one of the owners of Classic Golf Group. “Our goal is to create 18 distinctively different holes so our guests will come away remembering each hole. Because of the changes in elevation and topography in this Thomas Walker design, everything from reducing our total maintained area and offering stunning visual Pine Valley style vistas to isolating tee areas to changing cart path routing only around tees and greens will result in our guests having a totally different experience from a challenging but fun course that they will want to play again and again.”

Based in Palm City, Florida, Thomas Walker Golf Design is dedicated to providing first quality, world-class golf design. Walker has more than 30 years experience in golf course design, construction and maintenance and has been involved with the design and construction of more than For more than six years, he served as vice president of Gary Player Design Company, where he worked on more than 20 projects such as Hawthorne Valley at Snowshoe, named as one of GOLF Magazine’s top 40 resort courses; Olde York Country Club in Columbus, New Jersey; as well as three South Carolina courses – Hilton Head National in Hilton Head Island, River Falls Plantation in Spartanburg and Blackmoor Golf Club in Myrtle Beach. He has served in key positions in design, permitting and engineering integration and construction of 23 golf courses in Florida, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Missouri, Maine, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Walker was the designer of the world-class Canyon Springs Golf Club in San Antonio, rated among the top ten golf courses in Texas by Golf Digest.

“I am extremely enthusiastic about this project,” said Walker. “Every course I design has to be the best and I look forward to everything this project will require to be the best. To have an opportunity to build a visually stunning and challenging but fun and playable course in such a highly competitive market as Myrtle Beach is a tremendous honor. I feel confident that this course will appeal to golfers of all skill levels to truly stand the test of time.”

This announcement comes on the heels of several years of improvements to many of Classic Golf Group’s golf course properties. Just this year, the Group’s Burning Ridge Golf Club was a finalist for Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association’s (MBAGCOA) “Golf Course of the Year” award. In 2004, the Group’s Indian Wells Golf Club received the “Golf Course of the Year” award. A Classic Golf Group course has won the Myrtle Beach Golfing News “Hospitality and Operational Excellence Award” for the past three years.

In 2004, Classic Golf Group unveiled a new Indian Wells Golf Club featuring more than $1.5 million renovation of the golf course, clubhouse and related facilities. In addition to the physical improvements, the staff at Indian Wells implemented numerous programs to upgrade the training and development of all staff in concert with providing an outstanding work environment. This commitment requires that all staff at Indian Wells as well as all other Classic Golf Group operations and facilities complete the nationally recognized ‘Above and Beyond Customer Service’ training program.

The Classic Golf Group is an established golf management company that provides operational and management services for a wide range of courses. Led by Rowland Thomas and Ed Jerdon, the Classic Golf Group team of professionals creates an exceptional golf experience on quality courses for a competitive price as a result of their commitment to the game, the product and to the customer. Currently, the Classic Golf Group manages several Grand Strand area golf courses including Burning Ridge, Sea Gull, Indian Wells, Black Bear, International Club and Crown Park.

For additional information about Classic Golf Group, call 1-800-TEE-0FFS or (843) 293-8008 or log onto www.classicgolfgroup.com.