Unhappy ending for Thee DollHouse golf caddie venture

Thee DH Caddy Club at Azalea Sands Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach has closed after a tumultuous 2  1/2 -year existence.

The business leased Azalea Sands’ food and beverage operation and provided fun female caddies outfitted in thigh-length kilts, collared polo-style golf shirts and knee-high socks. Its operators have opted not to continue the lease at Azalea Sands, which will continue operating as a golf course managed by East Coast Golf Management.

The business was the brainchild of Michael J. Peter, a national mogul of adult entertainment and spinoff businesses who is a longtime owner of Thee DollHouse in the North Myrtle Beach area.

“Thee DH Caddy Club has ceased its on-site operations at Azalea Sands golf course,” Thee DollHouse director of marketing Jenny McCauley said via text message. “… We pulled the operations from Azalea to focus energy and resources on upcoming 2017 renovations at Thee DollHouse in North Myrtle Beach and the opening of our newest location in Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) next month.”

The caddie business opened in June 2014 as The Kilted Caddy Club & Café, and it originally contracted with the longstanding existing business the Myrtle Beach Caddy Girls to provide trained caddies.

But the business eventually changed its name and altered its business model following conflicts.

The arrangement with Myrtle Beach Caddy Girls lasted just three months before Myrtle Beach Caddy Girls owner Meghan Tarmey ended the agreement, citing Kilted Caddy Club’s failure to abide by terms of the contract. An attorney representing Kilted Caddy Club contended in a letter to The Sun News that some allegations in Tarmey’s dissolution letter were “uncorroborated and untrue.”

Within a couple weeks of its opening, the business was hit with a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by the Tilted Kilt restaurant chain. That suit was settled late in 2015, resulting in the name change to Thee DH Caddy Club.

Former DH Caddy Club president Kevin Brady stated prior to the business’ 2014 opening that despite their ties, Thee DollHouse and the caddie club would remain separate entities and no female DollHouse employees would also be working at Kilted Caddy Club.

But with the name change the businesses embraced the connection between the businesses that are just a half-mile apart on U.S. 17 South.

It created packages that included golf, caddies and VIP service at Thee DollHouse. Peter said in an email to The Sun News through Brady in December 2015: “While having fun in the evening with your buddies you can hire your cocktail waitress or entertainer to caddy if she’s completed the caddy training, or just have her pour your drinks and keep score.”

Thee DH Caddy Club had been charging approximately $150 for 18 holes of golf, a cart and caddie, and featured a small fleet of pink carts outfitted with the logos of the company and sponsors.

Operators had high hopes for the the business. When it opened, Brady said he hoped to establish the Strand business before taking the concept to Florida and possibly expanding to other destinations including Texas, Arizona, California and Nevada.

Prior to the caddie club’s opening, the bar and grill area of Azalea Sands’ clubhouse was renovated and included a dining area, bar, and lounge area with leather couches and large flat screen televisions. An outdoor deck and lounge area was also built.

The Caddy Club portion of the clubhouse was able to remain open after the golf course and pro shop closed.

McCauley said Thee DollHouse will still be able to provide caddies at Azalea Sands upon request and will utilize the course for fundraising charity tournaments.

“We are still advertising golf packages featuring Azalea Sands in all DollHouse advertising and will be booking DollHouse caddies for the groups prebooked and upcoming, only at the Azalea Sands course,” McCauley said. “We’ll still be working with Azalea staff and hosting golf tournaments and events.”

Azalea Sands is one of several Strand golf courses operated by East Coast Golf Management. East Coast executives could not be reached for comment Monday.

Bone in Dubai

Zack Bone of Pawleys Island, a bag drop assistant at Pawleys Plantation, will receive the royal treatment in early March in Dubai.

Bone, 33 and a plus-1.6 handicap, has qualified to participate in the World Final of the BMW Golf Cup International series from March 5-10 at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which will host next week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour.

Because the BMW Golf Cup U.S. Final at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 and 8 courses was held the weekend of Hurricane Matthew in October, some qualifiers couldn’t make the trip and Bone received an invitation from a friend to replace a local qualifier from Florida. He received the invitation at about 10:30 at night and agreed to travel to Pinehurst early the next morning for the event. He then played well enough to be among three U.S. qualifiers for the international finals.

Bone shot 74 on No. 8 and 72 in the rain on No. 2, and the final round was canceled because of the storm. “I was a last-minute invite,” Bone said. “BMW allowed me to take his place. They’ve been super nice to me. It’s been a fantastic experience.”

Bone and the other two finalists from the U.S., one of whom is from Hawaii, will represent the U.S. both individually and as a team against national winners from about 40 other countries.

BMW is paying the travel expenses for Bone and his selected caddie. He’ll be picked up at his house and brought to the airport and will have few worries after that while spending about seven days in Dubai. The trip will include excursions, as last year’s international final in South Africa feature the BMW driving experience and a jungle safari.

“I don’t know what all is in store but I’m really excited,” said Bone, who moved to Pawleys Island for his senior year in high school, attended Waccamaw High and played golf at Spartanburg Methodist.

Bone already received a gift pack in Pinehurst that included a jacket and other clothes designed by Peter Millar and another gift pack certainly awaits in Dubai. He said the estimated value of the trip is $25,000.

Bone said he has played in some organized gambling tournaments such as Calcuttas and has also played in some professional Coastal Players Tour events on the Strand, though he’s never been a full member of a pro tour.

NBC sportscaster Jimmy Roberts and Golf Channel instructor and personality Michael Breed took part in the presentations at Pinehurst in October, and eight-time European Tour Order of Merit champion Colin Montgomerie will conduct a golf clinic and present the trophies to the winners in Dubai.

DJ back on mainland

Coming off a tie for second in Dubai, Dustin Johnson will play his first tournament on the U.S. mainland in 2017 this week as part of a deep field in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

The Coastal Carolina alumnus is scheduled to play three of the next four weeks on the PGA Tour in California including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am from Feb. 9-12 and Genesis Open at Riviera from Feb. 16-19.

The world’s third-ranked golfer tied for sixth at the SBS Tournament of Champions in Hawaii on Jan. 8 and tied for 35th in late October in the WGC-HSBC Champions in China to sit 76th in 2016-17 PGA Tour FedExCup points.

Johnson had difficulty sleeping for much of the week last week presumably because of jet lag and has a quick turnaround following his runner-up in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and another long flight.

The field at Torrey Pines also includes world No. 1 Jason Day, No. 6 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 9 Patrick Reed, No. 14 Rickie Fowler, three-time tournament winner Phil Mickelson, two-time tournament winner Brandt Snedeker, Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose, reigning PGA Championship champion Jimmy Walker and Tiger Woods, who is making his first PGA Tour start in 17 months, dating back to the 2015 Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.

In his only public action since, Woods finished 15th among 17 who completed 72 holes of last month’s Hero World Challenge that he hosts.

Woods returns to a comfortable venue. He is a seven-time winner of the Farmers Insurance Open (1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013) and has also won the 2008 U.S. Open and the 1991 Junior World Championships at Torrey Pines.

Champions cut short

An opening-round 69 by Kevin Roberts of Chesnee at Tradition Club in Pawleys Island held up for the Men’s Club Champion division title when Sunday’s final round of the 21st South Carolina Golf Association Tournament of Champions was canceled due to weather and saturated course conditions.

The field consisted of 88 men and women who won club or one-day SCGA tournaments throughout 2016. Jim Wise of Columbia won the Men’s Senior Club Champion division with a 69, Makalyn Poole of Williamston won the women’s division with a 79 and Justin Butler of Greer won the One-Day Gross division in a tiebreaker with a 75.

In the Men’s Club division, Jay McAllister of Myrtle Beach tied for 10th with a 75, Adam Langford of Murrells Inlet tied for 12th with a 76 and Barry Wengert of Myrtle Beach tied for 14th with a 77. In the Men’s Senior Club division, Michael Hirsch of Pawleys Island tied for sixth with a 75 and Brad Beahm of Myrtle Beach tied for eighth with a 76. In the women’s division, Darlene McFadden of Conway finished fifth with an 88 and Ellen Miller of Pawleys Island finished sixth with a 90.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Unhappy ending for Thee DollHouse golf caddie venture."