Patrick Wilkenson, General Manger of Black Bear Golf Club, joins host of Tee It Up Grand Strand, Shan Coughlin, for this edition of Play Black Bear Golf Club May 2015 Update. Spring golf season is fully underway but to start the interview, Shan gets an update from Patrick on his son, Ryan. Last month when they talked, Ryan was getting ready to play in his final tournament of his collegiate career and he finished 9th in his conference tournament. He was also named player of the month of March and finished up with the 8th lowest scoreing average in the history of Newberry College. As a congratulations, his dad has him working at the golf course today.
Patrick shares that the new owners are now set to put some money into the golf course now and he is excited for what is to come. but unfortunately, these last three weeks have proven challenging. Blackbear has experienced vandelism and theft as 9 carts have been stolen along with several chargers. Most people don’t realize how much costs add up even when they drive on the driving range and greens or just take one or two carts. These courses prosecute to the fullest, especially when the police are waking the GM up at 3am.
While some of the carts have been found and they are moving forward with that, Patrick tells Shan they are not happy with the greens right now. They elected to not over seed for the 4th year in a row and it didn’t work out so well. Everything else on the course has plenty of grass and looks great. Black Bear had and still has the fastest greens in the area but a bit thin on the grass. They are looking at a three to four week turnaround. Patrick says if you are interested in playing, to please call and they will be up front and honest about the conditions and the rate will also reflect the conditions. For those they were not able to move, they are giving rain checks for them to come back next year. While you certainly cannot please everyone, they are finding that most appreciate the communication and are good with the solutions.
Patrick goes on to talk about the PGA (Play Golf Again) 4 and PGA 5 package for this summer and fall where golfers can pick from about 20 different courses on the East Coast Golf Management program and each player gets a $100 or $150 gift card that can be used for replays, food, beverages – yes adult beverages – merchandise or hard goods. Black Bear is a part of this program and says it has been great for business and players who may not have selected Black Bear are certainly glad they did. While certainly not “far”, it is a few miles further than some of the other courses which may have an impact, but the drive is easy and with no stop lights, you can be there in 20 minutes or less from North Myrtle Beach.
Patrick wants to leave everyone with this – Give us a few weeks and Black Bear Golf Club’s greens will be back and ready to go. We appreciate your interaction with TheGolfDirector.com and for your interest in Black Bear Golf Club. You can find out more by clicking on their banner to go directly to their website PlayBlackBearGolf.com or you can check out their feature golf course page here on thegolfdirector.com’s Myrtle Beach Destination page. Thank you again and we hope to see you on the fairways!