Host Shan Coughlin joins Doug Donner of the International Club Golf Course of Myrtle Beach onsite at hole No. 9 to discuss some of the course’s unique features as well as fall golf season, on this edition of Tee It Up Grand Strand. “The golf course itself – it’s a Willard Byrd design – he designed it to try to be fair to everybody,” Donner explained. “The biggest thing you’ll notice is there’s a lot of trees that are off the side to catch the real errant shots. We’ve got some water hazards, like you see here, and that’s kind of again to catch the errant shots; the big things to reward the good shots. If you hit a good shot out there, you’re going to have a good chance at birdie and even some eagle chances out there,” said Donner, vice-president of operations, general manager, and head golf professional at the International Club.
To see the course, beautiful weather and great scenery at the International Club Golf Course, listeners can log onto TheGolfDirector.com, click on the TV tab and see this interview online. In addition to lots of trees, water and beautiful scenery, the Murrells Inlet course offers some unique features which set it apart from other courses. First, each hole at International Club is named after a different country. Donner said his favorite hole is No. 18. The par 5 is the finale hole of the course and is named for the U.S.A. Donner said he enjoys hitting the driver and having the chance of getting an eagle by hitting in two strokes. He explained that this hole is the longest of the par 5s at the course, and also the hardest chance to score and eagle.
Another interesting feature at the International Club Golf Course are the tees for all levels of play – specifically the forward tees. Donner said the course is one of the few with a tee set all the way forward, which is generally used for junior golfers and also for the senior ladies. Coughlin asked Donner if more people were beginning to play the forward tees to start to see more pars and birdies in their playing. In response, Donner said, “They’re starting to. Yeah, the biggest thing we are actually seeing is in the ladies. You know, they’re not tied down to the red tees. That was where they always thought they should play. We had the Ladies Association out here and they said it’s really tough to play from those tees. So, we actually had them move up to the blue tees and they had a ball once they did that.”
Coughlin agreed, “It is all in where you play from, and I think it’s important, especially when you go on vacation or you’re at an unfamiliar course, to definitely look at the score card, check that yardage and make sure you’re playing from the appropriate tees because this game is supposed to be fun, it’s not supposed to be difficult. And again, you get to be out here and enjoying nature and the sunshine and everything that has to offer, and no sense struggling,” she said.
As fall golf season is here, golfers should look ahead to winter golf at the International Club, when rates are great and the course is a little less crowded. Additionally, the course staff use an innovative technique for keeping the course green year-round. “That’s right,” Donner said. “It’s actually a great golf course out here. We use the new system of painting the grass, and it actually makes a great putting surface on the greens so the game out here in the winter is just as good as the summer.” Donner said that because the entire course is painted – a trend that about 70 percent of local courses are implementing – there is no need to overseed the grass, as it will look great any time of year.
For additional information about the course at the International Club of Myrtle Beach, tee times, as well as great specials offered by East Coast Golf Management, visit www.internationalclubgolf.com. There golfers will find everything you need to know on there about scheduling a visit at the International Club.
