Nick Nicholas

The Heathland Course at Legends Resort is smack in the middle of Myrtle Beach, but it’s easy to see why visitors have visions of the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Heathland, a Myrtle Beach golf favorite, is one of three very different courses at Legends Resort off Highway 501. The course opened in 1991 with a links feel, including miles of panoramic views, taxing winds, pot bunkers and tall, wiry heather grass interspersed throughout this 6,800-yard layout.

The ``old country’’ openness created first by Mother Nature and later architect Tom Doak can easily remind golfers  of what it’s like...

Heron Point Golf Club is all about a family-friendly Myrtle Beach golf vacation.

It’s extremely affordable – Heron Point is a past recipient of a ``Best Bang for Your Buck’’ accolade presented by "Golf Magazine." It’s not an overly complicated layout. From the championship markers the course offers a player-friendly 70.9 rating and 129 slope. And it’s a course that underwent a well-received facelift.

Heron Point is located near the center of fun offered on a Myrtle Beach golf trip. Families that golf together at Heron Point don’t have to rush to watch the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Class...

Tradition Club is a hidden gem in Pawleys Island, surrounded by some of the area’s most heralded courses. But fun and sun certainly shine on Ron Garl’s only Myrtle Beach golf course and the players who tee it up there.

One of a dozen courses that make up the Grand Strand’s Waccamaw Golf Trail, Tradition Club stands on its own reputation for quality golf. Its star is bright, good enough to earn a prestigious 4 ½-star ranking from Golf Digest and it is a former South Carolina Course of the Year.

In fact, Tradition Club mirrors Pawleys Island’s tranquility. Its green location was developed on a...

Arcadian Shores Golf Club is a staple of many Myrtle Beach golf vacations.

The course opened for play in the mid-‘70s with its traditional layout designed by an offspring of legendary architect Robert Trent Jones. No one could have predicted in 1974 that Rees Jones would transform his career out of the shadows of his father to be known as the U.S. Open Doctor.

Arcadian Shores is where Rees Jones got his start.

Nearly 40 years later, Arcadian Shores continues to be a ``must play’’ for Grand Strand golfers.

Two holes are so popular they were Dream 18 selections by the Myrtle Beach Sun News, a...

The soothing tranquility and serene nature that run through Meadowlands Golf Club emulate the lifestyle associated with its Calabash, N.C., home.

Meadowlands Golf Club is home to a 7,054-yard course – from the challenging Raven tees – built by architect Willard Byrd in 1997. High-handicappers need not worry as the course, much like its staff, is friendly to all guests. Meadowlands’ design integrates five different teeing areas for all skill levels, as well as large greens and spacious fairways.

Players on a Myrtle Beach golf trip escape to Meadowlands and get lost in a good way, amid a...

A golf vacation to Myrtle Beach presents unique experiences not found at other destinations. One of the qualities a trip to Myrtle Beach offers is a who’s who list of PGA Tour players who have left their signature on the Grand Strand.

Arrive in Myrtle Beach and you can challenge a course designed or co-designed by major championship winners like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ray Floyd, Greg Norman and Davis Love III. There is even a major titleholder, who along with nationally-renowned architect Clyde Johnston, designed his only layout, Wicked Stick Golf Links, in Myrtle Beach:...

Visitors spending Christmas Day in Myrtle Beach will discover the PineHills Course at Myrtlewood Golf Club offers a distinctive present under its giant trees: Free golf.

It’s a Grand Strand tradition that players are allowed to walk at no charge at either PineHills or Myrtlewood’s Palmetto Course on Christmas Day. On December 25th, PineHills is the more appealing of the two because golfers making the turn are closer to the clubhouse parking lot. Keep your fingers crossed for a 60-degree day, something not out of the ordinary for Christmas time on the Beach.

Thus PineHills presents the most...

Awards continue to pile up for Lion’s Paw Golf Links and the other three Big Cats at Ocean Ridge Plantation, one of two four-course facilities on the Myrtle Beach golf scene.

In June, Where to Retire Magazine selected the Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., facility as one of America’s top places to retire. It was the seventh time Ocean Ridge Plantation was chosen for the honor.

Lion’s Paw opened in 1991 as the first “Big Cat’’ course. A top 50 selection in the Myrtle Beach golf market by Golf Digest, Lion’s Paw is especially unique because of its wide variety of challenges and spectacular scenery. Lion’s...

Beware of the Bear along the Myrtle Beach golf scene’s North Strand: the Long Bay Club.

Open for business in 1988, Long Bay Club is a distinctive, albeit totally diverse style course designed by golf’s all-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, one of two Myrtle Beach golf courses to his credit.

Nicklaus’ signature of favoring left-to-right shot making isn’t the focal part of this design. Instead, the Golden Bear and his design team force golfers to hurdle greenside bunkers, unique waste areas, and an unforgettable island green par-3.  Thanks to an abundance of eye-catching moguls the course is...

The name Indian Wells has a coast-to-coast connection with golfers.

Many are familiar with the Indian Wells located in California: the resort hotel founded by legendary entertainers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the ‘50s whose course eventually became the annual host for the PGA Tour’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

But the Myrtle Beach golf scene has its own Indian Wells: the one designed by architect Gene Hamm in 1984, renovated by Hamm in 2002 and two years later named Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association Golf Course of the Year.

For our purpose, let’s meet the East Coast’s Indian...

Azalea Sands Golf Club was a landmark long before Myrtle Beach became christened Golf Capital of the World.

Next year the North Strand course will celebrate its 40th birthday, and Azalea Sands, a long-established staple of many Myrtle Beach golf trips, is as popular as ever.

Playing alongside the Intracoastal Waterway, Azalea Sands prides itself on offering players a fast-paced by round. By no means is it a layout that favors the short hitter. It begins and ends with 500-yard plus par 5s and in-between has four lengthy par 3s including two that stretch 207 and 221 yards, respectively.

Azalea...