What golfer wouldn’t want this gig?

Golf Digest recently assigned five of its writers a “star-laden” destination each (i.e., a golf market full of highly rated courses within its “five-star” scoring system). The magazine told them to collect the best possible itineraries, with a goal of “collecting” as many stars as they could in four days.

The task complete, here’s how the markets fared:

1. Myrtle Beach, 27.5 stars
2. Southern Alabama, 25.5 stars
3. Florida, 25.5 stars
4. Phoenix, 22.5 stars
5. Orange County, California, 19.5 stars

Myrtle Beach and the Southeast U.S. destinations also fare exceptionally better than their Southwest counterparts in terms of value:

1. Southern Alabama, $17.02 in greens fees per star
2. Myrtle Beach, $20.21 greens fees per star
3. Florida, $24.90 greens fees per star
4. Orange County, California, $37.43 greens fees per star
5. Phoenix, $44.22 greens fees per star

Boosting the Myrtle Beach market’s scores was the inclusion of three Waccamaw Golf Trail courses in writer Mike Stachura’s itinerary: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (4.5 stars), True Blue Plantation (4.5 stars), and TPC Myrtle Beach (5 stars).

Check out Stachura’s article, and see how his views of the Grand Strand golf scene compare to yours!

1.  Charlie Rymer talks more through his own swing than anyone I’ve ever seen.

2.  Let’s see … In the time since he taped this show’s first four episodes, Josh Kelley showed he can:

• Hit a ball 300 yards down the middle of the fairway;
• Marry Grey’s Anatomy and Knocked Up star Katherine Heigl; and
• Carry a tune. Not only did he and Bryan collaborate on the show’s theme song, but Kelley released a new album (“Special Company”) that just this week debuted on Billboard’s “Top Heatseekers” list at No. 7.

3.  Mark Bryan and Woody Harrelson … separated at birth?

4.  It’d be great to see Perry Swenson make it as an LPGA Tour regular some day. Yeah, she’s got the looks, and she’s not afraid to showcase them (tastefully, of course). But when you combine that with a good golf game and the cheerful personality that makes her blend in seamlessly with the likes of this particular foursome, it makes it all the more easy to root for Swenson’s future success.

5.  The show offers a relaxing, fun, and very easy-to-watch 30 minutes that nicely showcases the best of what the Myrtle Beach area has to offer for your next golf trip. And for the sports fan who needs a break from basketball, hockey, Frank Caliendo and Congress saving the free world from Roger Clemens, it couldn’t come soon enough.

This ain’t your Whitman’s Sampler-type of lover’s holiday.

So instead of the last-minute, overpriced dozen roses you’ll pick up at the Kroger florist, why not put that money to better use toward a Valentine’s Day getaway package that both of you can truly enjoy?

It’s the Valentine’s Romantic Getaway special being offered at Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort in Pawleys Island. With rates beginning at $562 per couple, you can enjoy a three-night stay at the South Strand’s premier resort destination, with a boatload of extras including:

• Recreational options galore. You not only get a round of golf at nearby Litchfield Country Club, but unlimited tennis at one of the country’s “Top 50 Resorts” as selected by Tennis Magazine. You also get unlimited bicycle rentals, so you can “Bike the Neck” along one of the region’s most scenic trails.
• Your choice of either one massage or one facial per person (Monday through Saturday) – the perfect way to unwind after a day full of activity.
• Daily breakfast for two.
• Dinner for two at Webster’s Lowcountry Grill, which includes a bottle of champagne to celebrate your romantic getaway in style, and a four-course meal with entrée options including char-grilled local grouper, lemongrass-seared free range chicken breast and chateaubriand for two.

For more information, visit Litchfield’s Specials page or call 1-800-882-0684.

Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and GOLF CHANNEL are bringing the ultimate Myrtle Beach golf experience to 110 million homes worldwide with the February 5th debut of Road Trip: Myrtle Beach, the first reality show to be based in the state of South Carolina. Each original episode will air Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. and will be rebroadcast during the week.

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When it comes to booking your next Myrtle Beach golf trip, what matters most to you these days?

Do you prefer booking your trip for the “off-season” months (December & January), when great golf is at your fingertips with the deepest discounts you’ll find all year?

Do you favor the spring season, where rates are at their peak but so are the course and weather conditions?

Do you choose the summer months, where you can have your cake and wolf it down, too – benefiting from a peak-season price break on the links, while you and the family can also enjoy all the best beach attractions and happenings the Grand Strand has to offer?

Or do you lean toward the fall golf season, when the summer crowds have gone but the exceptional golf, beach and water sports options remain?

Whatever your preference, Ambassador Golf & Beach Vacations can assemble the golf/hotel package or tee-times-only itinerary that’s right for you. Check it out:

Myrtle Beach- Top Rated Golf Destination, Vacation Spot Or Both?
By Mike D'auria

In the winter of 1990 I was contemplating planning my first golf vacation. At that time I had been playing for about 13 years, approximately once a week, either with my golf club at Marine Dunes Golf Course in Brooklyn on Flatbush Avenue or at Dyker Beach Golf Course in Dyker Heights. The course was located in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and at the time it was the most played public course in the country.

I always wondered what it would be like to go on vacation for an entire week and be able to play golf every day if I wanted to. In conversation with my golf club comrades and reading my favorite golf magazines, Golf Digest being at the top of the list, it became clear to me that Myrtle Beach would be a great choice. I had one dilemma, my significant other was joining me on the trip and had never played golf before. So I offered her this option - Learn to play golf or wait for five or six hours, while I played, for my return. She was into sports, softball, baseball and football like myself, and athletic so she opted to learn to play. Her decision to learn posed my second dilemma, which was how to teach her to play in four or five weeks before we had to embark on our trip. A crash course with an instructor or should I take on the challenge?

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A quarter century after Oyster Bay Golf Links ushered in Golf Digest’s first-ever ranking of the nation’s best new courses, another Grand Strand course has made the cut.

Leopard’s Chase Golf Club at Ocean Ridge Plantation capped its memorable debut season with two prestigious honors – being named as one of Golf Digest’s “Best New Public Golf Courses $75 and Over” for 2007, as well as one of Golf Magazine’s “10 Best New Public Golf Courses in the United States.”

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Golfweek, the “publication preferred by serious golfers,” has just released its largest publication: Golfweek’s Definitive Guide to the Golf Life 2008. And in addition to its listings of the Best Residential and Resort Courses, the Guide prominently features a two-page spread on one of the country’s oldest resort destinations that’s quickly gaining new prominence as among the nation’s leading golf destinations.

The write-up on the Waccamaw Golf Trail details all the features that are making the South Strand an increasingly popular choice for golf vacations.

Though the Guide is not available online, the annual, book-bound glossy is mailed to all Golfweek subscribers and can also be ordered at GolfweekHomes.com for the cost of shipping and handling.

While you’re waiting, you can check out plenty of Waccamaw Trail videos (after the jump).

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