For generations, many South Carolinians have lived in the "upstate" region and owned vacation homes at the beach, a trip of no more than 3 1/2 hours from even the farthest regions of the state. In fact, Pawleys Island, just south of Myrtle Beach, claims to be America's first beach resort. Whether it is or isn't, Pawleys is just one of many golf happy areas of South Carolina, led by its neighbor immediately to the north, Myrtle Beach, which even after some pruning in the golf course ranks, can still boast about 100 layouts in the area. Farther down the coast, in the Low Country, Kiawah Island (10 golf courses within 12 miles or so) can boast of arguable the best in the state, the fabled Ocean Course by Pete Dye. But don't ignore upstate, where Greenville, a sophisticated burgh can lay claim to top 5 Chanticleer, one of Greenville Country Club's two outstanding tracks. We could go on about South Carolina golf (and reference Bluffton, Beaufort, Aiken, Columbia and other areas); we encourage you to go see for yourself.
Who among us can resist bragging about bargains we have landed? My go-to bargain story is the week in 1969 I spent playing golf in Myrtle Beach with a friend. We took advantage of a golf package that...
This is the second and final part of an update on the Myrtle Beach golf community market. Local Market Monitor (LMM), a service we have referenced here before, estimates that home prices will...
The Myrtle Beach market is something of a microcosm for golf community real estate in the U.S. No single area, except for perhaps Pinehurst, is more dependent on golf living and golf vacations for its...
This is the second and final part of a review of The Reserve at Lake Keowee, a golf community in the upstate region of South Carolina, less than an hour from Greenville. The private and upscale...
When I first visited and reviewed The Reserve at Lake Keowee in 2006, the fledgling development was operating in the shadow of The Cliffs Communities, whose $14 million annual marketing budget at...
My dirty little secret (until now) is that I prefer Greenville, SC, to the lavishly praised Asheville, NC. Asheville’s surrounding elevation may give it a slight edge topographically speaking, but...
Golf course designers are psychologists too. They know that the popularity of their golf courses are directly related to the memorability of their finishing holes. And, of course, the final hole can...
In writing recently about The Cliffs Communities and some of its financial issues, I referred to a few residents and club members who had told me they rarely traveled to the Cliffs golf courses...
The McConnell Group has decided to shutter its Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton, SC, at the end of November after membership rolls there did not grow as fast as the company had planned. This...
Before we left our condo in Pawleys Island last week to return to Connecticut, my wife asked me: “Should we bring in the patio furniture?” “Nah,” I responded as quickly as I always do when long odds and...
The one and only time I played the famed Wentworth golf course south of London, I flinched at the top of one backswing when a railroad engineer blasted the whistle on his passing train. A rail...
If you are a homeowner, you know the roof starts to leak at about the 20-year mark. If you are a golf club operator, you know the irrigation system is on about that same schedule. The mid 1980s...