Chris Cooper of Tidewater Golf Club in Little River South Carolina shares December updates, golf packages and course features with host Shan Coughlin on location in this edition of Tee It UP Grand Strand. With warm temperatures and sunny skies, Cooper said it’s a pretty day, but it’s always pretty at Tidewater. “It’s crisp this morning, but you can see, the golf course is full. The tee sheet was full today. So, we are still playing golf here even in December,” he said. “That’s important for folks to know, because of the recent headlines about the weather on the Grand Strand,” Coughlin said. “Gosh, you guys had 21 inches in one weekend?” she asked Cooper. “And we’re on the fairways within a week, though. That’s the part we’ve got to get out there.” “That’s right,” Cooper agreed. “Well, I mean, our golf course did well. We didn’t have any damage here to speak of. A lot of rain but none to the golf course, and like you said, we were riding the paths for the first few days, but within a week, we were off. You can see we’ve overseeded the golf course, we’re just getting ready to mow it, so we’re going to get those pretty stripes that everybody likes here soon,” he said.
Standing on the tee box of hole No. 3, Cooper points out the Cherry Grove saltwater marsh to the left, and explains the hole is a short par 3 with a three-tiered green and a lot of bunkers. Cooper shared with Coughlin that Tidewater’s signature hole is No. 12, which is a long par 3, along with hole No. 13, which is a long par 5 and features a view of the ocean from the green. Cooper refers to these holes as the “signature corner.” Coughlin pointed out that Tidewater is part of Myrtle Beach Best, which offers great golf packages and she highly recommends visitors take a look at that if they are planning to visit the Grand Strand to play more than once. She added that winter golf offers such a great value and there are still some tee times to be had.
At this time, Coughlin said listeners are going to want to head over to TheGolfDirector.com and click on the streaming media tab to see the beautiful scenery that Tidewater has to offer. Listeners can also log onto the YouTube channel at The Golf Director, and look up the Tidewater December Update. Coughlin said, “What we are standing on and looking at and showing is absolutely breathtaking. With the saltwater marsh out here. We’ve got some hotels in the distance; vacation homes and people actually get to live there full time.” “It’s just a beautiful area,” Cooper agreed. “If you haven’t been here, you really need to come just to see it.”
With winter golf in full effect, players are starting to look ahead to spring season. Cooper said he is often asked about the greens. He explained that new greens were put in not last year, but the summer before and people want to know how they are doing, especially with October’s bad weather. Golfers can rest assured that the course is in excellent condition. Cooper said Tidewater is way ahead in bookings for April, already. “People are coming back and we’re happy to have them. And this golf course is going to be fantastic in the spring,” he assured. Coughlin added, “Well I always say, golf is played worldwide, but is a very small community. And words gets out. And you brought up a good point: whenever a golf course puts in new greens, maybe because they’ve had an issue in the past, word gets out and it takes a little while. So the fact that everyone’s coming back in droves – that says a lot.”
Cooper said Tidewater put in miniverde greens and they are excited about them because they have been fantastic. He described them as really firm and really fast. He added that the response has been phenomenal and everyone is really looking forward to next spring. Coughlin said that although Tidewater Golf Course is not the easiest course to play on the Grand Strand, it is certainly one of the prettiest. Additionally, the course features five sets of tees, making the course playable for all levels. Cooper added that they allow members to combine two sets of tees to make it even shorter and allow for more yardage.
For more information about playing at Tidewater, or to see a photo of each hole, visit www.TidewaterGolf.com or log onto TheGolfDirector.com.