IT’S TIME TO HEAD INSIDE TO the Simulators at the Schaumburg Golf Club located at 401 North Roselle Road. The outdoor version of the Todd Quitno renovation of SGC is available indoors on the simulators. Chandlers Chophouse is back open and the pro shop is filling with the new products for the 2024 golf season. So book a simulator bay today by calling the pro shop at (847)-885-9000 or online at SchaumburgGolf.com.
THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy or connect on LinkedIn/Instagram.
Welcome to Pine Lakes Country Club-The Granddaddy of Myrtle Beach SC.
THE GRANDDADDY is open for play.
Myrtle Beach South Carolina is one of the great golf destinations inn the world.
But while these days there are as many courses as there once was, there are still plenty of very good options.
ONE OF THEM is the historic Pine Lakes Country Club. But yes this country club is open to the public, and after a recent renovation, the club and the clubhouse might be just better than ever.
Because the professional staff is on a mission to increase the level of service to all who come and play. Kurtis Kuhn is the new GM-Head Golf Professional and Zach Medford is the new second assistant golf professional. Both have transferred over from Pawley’s Plantation that’s a few miles down the road.
Pine Lakes has a historic clubhouse that not only serves golfers, but was the birthplace of Sports Illustrated Magazine.
Pine Lakes is part of the Founders Group International (FGI), that manages close to 20 golf courses.
FGI has stepped up and hit repeated home runs on renovation to several of it’s properties.
So as a result FGI courses are in demand from both local golfers, and ones traveling in from other states on golf trips.
Many of the FGI courses will be part of the famed World’s Largest Golf Amateur Championship, that will hit the tee’s boxes in late August. But in the meantime-clubs like Pine Lakes, Grande Dunes, Pawley’s Plantation and TPC Myrtle Beach continue to fill up the tee sheet from those ready to hit the links in the Grande Strand of golf.
THE SHACK IS BACK now with 7 simulator bays (4-new ones) and a new putting green. The food and beverage always taste great while you are playing. So plenty of more space inside the expanded shack golf club. Yes golf season just got longer. Come play this week. 1717 Chestnut Ave. in Glenview (847)-904-2905.
PINE LAKES is coming up on it’s centennial season in 2027. Kuhn says the planning for 2027 will probably start this year before long.
The course architect Robert White, went on to be the first president of the PGA of America.
But an ever bigger historical note, is that Pine Lakes is the birth place of the famed Sports Illustrated Magazine. A copy of the first issue of SI, is under glass and hanging on the wall.
Where the luncheon was held that started it all. Yes you can go eat in that room, if you choose to do so.
the par-4 14th hole is handicap #2 and plays 437 yards from the back tees.
Pine Lakes isn’t the longest course at 6,675 from the back tees.
But it only plays to a par of 70, since the course only has two par-5’s.
The last par-5 the golfers see all day, is the par-5 tenth hole, that at 554 yards is the longest hole of the day.
So the strength of the course is found in it’s par-4’s, some of which are quite demanding. Handicap hole #1, is the third hole, it plays 463 yards from the back tees. But the front tees are still demanding for less skilled players at 370 yards.
The finishing stretch gives golfers six par-4’s in the final seven holes, with one par-3 the sixteenth hole at only 180 yards all the way back.
Chicago’s largest dome-The Willow Hill Dome at 1350 Willow Road in Northbrook. Golf hours are M-F 8a to 3p, before youth sports takes over. Sign up is starting for the summer golf leagues. WillowHillDome.com.
SO IF YOUR thinking about a wedding in the Myrtle Beach area.
Pine Lakes is one the top places for weddings and receptions.
Because the outdoor area behind the clubhouse is the perfect setting. The back porch of the clubhouse even has light options.
Which include hanging chandeliers, or glass cases with long white candles that shine through the night as well.
When you arrive on warmer days, the golf staff might be dressed in knickers. That reminds golfers that you have arrived at “The granddaddy.” Put this classic golf course on your Myrtle Beach hit list. The club is less than 1 mile from the Atlantic Ocean.
See PineLakes.com or call the club at (843)-315-7700. Really good golf, really great all-around historic atmosphere.