Featured Package Specials for Individuals and Golf Groups:

Golf Tips:

• Golf, especially putting, is more mental than physical. During practice develop a routine so that you can click into auto-zone during the game. 
 
• In putting, keep all thoughts except the club, the ball, and the goal out of your head and go into the putting "zone" of your mind. The 2010 winner of The Open Championship held at St. Andrews uses the "red dot" method of staying focused. He puts a red dot on his putter to remind him to keep focused.
 
• In reading your putt, especially on long putts, go halfway between your ball and the hole, and look both ways. You should be able to see any slope. What needs to be done to make this putt?

Noteworthy Comments:

~Gene Sarazen invented the modern sand wedge. In 1932, he kept it a secret during practice rounds until he revealed it at the British Open at Prince's Golf Club. He won the tournament. Despite his diminutive stature (he only stood 5 feet 5 ½ inches tall), Sarazen could hit the ball quite a distance compared with larger, stronger players.

~Early Scottish golf courses evolved from sandy land, soil-covered dunes, coastal conditions, and beaches. This is the origin of the term "golf links."

Golf Quotes:

• Golf is a game where the ball always lies poorly and the player always lies well. –Anonymous
 
• Golf teaches us that we all have handicaps... and that hardly anybody knows what they really are. -Rabbi Gellman and Monsignor Hartman
 
• It's great to win, but it's also great fun to be in the thick of any truly well and hard fought contest against opponents you respect, whatever the outcome. -Jack Nicklaus

Hot off the Tee Box:

48 Hour Tee Times

Want to play golf within the next 48 hours? 48HourTeeTimes.com is a new service just for you. From a wide array of Grand Strand premier golf courses, simply select play dates, golf courses, and tee times. We arrange your golf for you for free and send you confirmation to your email address. We book 24/7 so that you can get last minute tee times when you want them. Click here for more details.

Sandpiper Bay ~ MBGCOA 2010 Course of the Year

Sandpiper Bay Golf Club, NC, has been selected from 100 area courses as the 2010 Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association Course of the Year. This award is based on course conditions, quality of ownership and management, contributions to the community, and effort to improve the growth of the game. New renovations at Sandpiper Bay over the past three years have meant a conversion to Mini-Verde Bermuda grass, plus enhancements to everything from cart paths to drainage to clubhouse.

The course is owned by the father and son team of Don and Blair Tanner with the General Manager as Tim Tilma, who accepted the award from David Durant, president of the MBAGCOA. The course's head professional is Richard Kascsak, and its course superintendent is Jay Varallo. The neighborhood country club boasts more than 350 members. Sandpiper also encourages junior golfers with programs and lessons and clinics, plus quality golf for all players at fair prices.

If you would like to play Sandpiper Bay Golf Course, let us arrange the tee times for you and your group.

• August 4. Family Tournament at Grande Dunes. Three divisions (open, couples, and adult/youth). Cost is $60. For information call 1.800.833.8798.
 
• August 11. Family Tournament at True Blue. Three divisions (open, couples, and adult/youth). Cost is $60. For information call 1.800.833.8798.
 
• August 12. Nineteenth Annual Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association's Time Warner Cable Hospitality Classic. Myrtle Beach National Golf Club – west course. Noon to 6 PM with shotgun start at 1:30 PM. Details at 843.916.7313.
 
• August 18. Family Tournament at Black Bear. Three divisions (open, couples, and adult/youth). Cost is $60. For information call 1.800.833.8798.
 
• August 30 – September 3 PGA Tour Superstore World Am Handicap Championship. Four rounds of net stroke tournament play on a different Grand Strand course each day. Flights assigned by handicap in six divisions with prizes in each flight. Details at www.WorldAmGolf.com or 800.833.8798.
 
• September 11 Rally for the Cure® Golf Tournament. Held at the Eagle Nest Golf Club, this tournament supports the Susan G. Koman Rally for the Cure® working hard to spread awareness about health and breast cancer in support of Susan G. Komen for Cure®. Registration available online or directly with the Myrtle Beach Golf Authority Rally organization. Details at 888.272.7263.
 
• September 29-30. Rally for the Cure® Golf Tournament. Held at Sandpiper Bay Golf and Country Club. This 18-hole shot-gun start tournament and fund raising event for the Susan G. Koman Rally for the Cure® includes a cocktail reception and auction held at the Sandpiper Bay Golf Clubhouse on September 29th from 5 PM – 8 PM. Then the tournament takes place on September 30th with registration at 7:30 AM including breakfast, a putting contest, the golf tournament, and a 12:30 luncheon. For details contact peggy@atmc.net or call 910.579.1163.
 
• October 7-10. Fourteenth Annual Carolina Couples Classic at Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort. Entry fee is $595 includes gifts, prizes, golf round, welcome reception, cocktail party, lunch on Friday and Saturday, and awards' night party on Saturday. For details call 1.888.714.5935 or go online to www.CarolinaCouplesGolf.com.
 
• November 7-12. National Law Enforcement Offers Memorial Golf Classic. Open to any golfer in support of a great cause, entries are limited to the first 1,200 applicants. Ask about the "kids play free" deal. Details at http://www.nleomf.org/ or 843.249.2129.
 
• November 25-27. George Holliday Junior Tournament. Three championship rounds played Thanksgiving weekend and limited to 420 players. Young players are encouraged to book early. Details through Michael Burnside at 800.882.2614.