I spent a few days last week in Myrtle Beach. I hadn't been there since about 2005, and boy have things changed. The recession really did a number on the place.
My first stop was the Legends resort. I had played Heathland and Parkland before and really liked the courses and the practice facility (which was really what I was looking for). The resort was absolutely packed with what I would describe as a less-than-desirable crowd. I don't want to be a jerk, but these were golfers who give golf a bad name. Dropping cigarette butts all over the place, yelling to each other across the parking lot, wheeling in coolers of beer.
The practice facility at Legends, which I remembered as being really nice, was beat to hell. At the driving range, I was hitting balls off dirt from a downhill lie. Ugly.
That night, I searched online and found out that Grande Dunes has a good range. So I drove there the next day. For $20, it was all the balls I could hit all day. There was only one other person there. They also have a great chipping and short-game area. I was very impressed. After a few hours, I noticed that hardy anyone had teed off. After my experience at legends, I assumed I couldn't play without a tee time. But I went in and asked the pro, and he said he could send me out no problem. Because I wasn't a guest, it was $119 to play, but he took of the $20 I had aleady paid for the range since that was included in the tee time. Couldn't have been a nicer guy. I told him about my experience at Legends, and he said that periodically they run specials that includes breakfast, lunch, 2 beers and a round of golf for $19.99!!!!!! No wonder it was so crowded.
As for the course at Grande Dunes, it wasn't bad at all. Nothing spectacular about the architecture, but nothing terrible either. It was a very good warmup course for someone who hasn't touched a club since the fall. I played it from the blue tees at 6,700 yards and never felt overwhelmed. Some nice par 3s, and there was even a little elevation change here and there.
The only hole I didn't like was the 17th, a par 5 with a very, very tight drive. It's a long, straight hole with cart path down the right and water down the left. Blah.
The tee shot on 18 wasn't great either, with some trees kind of blocking the left side. Not terrible, but not in keeping with the openness of the rest of the course. The second shot on 18 was nice, however.
Anyway, as someone who hadn't been to Myrtle in a while, I now know to stay the away from Legends in March. If I go back next year, I'll look to stay at the marina at Grande Dunes and use their great practice facility to get ready for spring golf in New England.