On Grand Strand Golf: The Dunes Club remains home of CCU’s Hackler Championship

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club board of directors has agreed to host Coastal Carolina’s Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday General Hackler Championship again next year, and the field has already been solidified.

The tournament will also have slightly altered dates that will make it a weekend event rather than the Monday-Tuesday tournament it has traditionally been.

The 2016 Hackler Championship is scheduled to be played March 11-13, with a college-am on the 11th and three competitive rounds over two weekend days March 12-13.

“This is the place we want to have it,” Coastal Carolina coach Kevin McPherson said “Our No. 1 choice is certainly The Dunes Club. This is one of the best golf courses in competition we play all year leading up to the postsesason. They way they handle everything here is first class. There’s not a single thing they miss. It was everything we asked for and more.”

The tournament was held at The Dunes Club for the first time March 9-10 after being predominantly played at the TPC Myrtle Beach over the past 14 years.

The tournament was first approved by the club’s golf committee, then its board of directors, which met on April 29. Dunes Club president Roger Grigg said the hosting of the event will likely be evaluated on an annual basis, but he believes the club is behind the tournament for the long term.

“I think everyone enjoyed it, especially the [college-am],” Grigg said. “We had 40 members play. It’s not just a fundraiser for Coastal. We’ve supported coach McPherson and Coastal, but we think it’s important for golf. It’s a win-win as far as I’m concerned.”

McPherson has already received commitments from 15 schools. Committed teams that didn’t participate in 2015 include South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas A&M, LSU, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Tennessee-Chattanooga.

In addition to CCU, teams returning from the 2015 event are defending champion North Florida, runner-up N.C. State, Charlotte, Iowa State, East Carolina, Kent State and Winthrop.

“It’s really strong. We might have made it too good,” McPherson said, referring to the .500 rule that requires teams to have at least a .500 record in competition in order to qualify for an at-large selection to an NCAA regional. If a team finishes fifth in a 15-team field, for instance, its record for that event would be 10-4.

McPherson said a Big Ten Conference school opted out of the 2016 event based on the strength of the field.

There are several other teams that expressed interest in participating, and McPherson said he hopes to attract Clemson to the event in future years. The Tigers are committed to a coinciding event next year in Bandon Dunes, Ore. He also hopes to attract Duke and Wake Forest in the future and wants the event to annually include several ACC and SEC schools.

“Word is really spreading fast about our event,” McPherson said. “I’ve had a lot of programs contact me about the tournament and they heard good things about the setup at The Dunes Club and staying right there on the ocean at The Caravelle.”

McPherson moved the event to the weekend to get it off the dates of a pair of other events in the Southeast – the Palmetto Intercollegiate in Aiken and an event hosted by Auburn. The Chanticleers will play in the Palmetto just a few days before the start of its event.

“If Coastal Carolina and The Dunes want to have a national championship-caliber field, moving it off those dates we’ll be able to have a lot more interest playing at the end of spring break,” McPherson said.

Grigg, whose club receives a negotiated rate from CCU for use of the course and food and beverage, believes The Dunes Club and area could receive a residual future benefit from hosting the event.

“With 100 golf courses in Myrtle Beach, a lot of people in the club are in the golf business, so it’s good for Myrtle Beach,” Grigg said. “These kids will all be going out into the golf world and for the next 40 or 50 years they’ll be centers of influence in golf, so for them to play The Dunes Club is probably important.”

McPherson has grand visions for The Dunes Club and its connection to college golf.

“If we continue to have this tournament here, the NCAA might come in and potentially want to put in a regional bid here, and there’s no doubt this place could host a national championship, and that would be big time for Myrtle Beach, for the community, for Coastal and everybody involved.

“It might not happen tomorrow or the next few years, but 10 years down the road I would not be shocked if we’re hosting a national championship here. I really think we could.”

McPherson and seniors Andrew Dorn of Ohio and Ben Wheeler of England are heading to Chapel Hill, N.C., on Tuesday for an NCAA regional at the UNC Finley Golf Course. Dorn and Wheeler qualified for the regional, being played Thursday-Saturday, as individuals and will by vying for the regional’s lone individual spot in the NCAA Championships from May 29-June 3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.

“One is going to play their final round of college golf on Saturday, and hopefully the other will be playing in the national championship,” McPherson said.

BMW features celebs

Anthony Anderson, the comedic star of the ABC show Black-ish, and former Major League pitcher Tim Wakefield are among the celebrity participants in this week’s Web.com Tour’s $675,000 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation, being played on three courses in the Greenville area.

The BMW is the only Web.com tournament featuring amateurs and celebrities grouped with tour professionals in a four-day better-ball competition. Rounds will be played on Thornblade Club, The Reserve at Lake Keowee and Green Valley Country Club from Thursday through Sunday.

Wakefield is one of a handful of celebrities among the 29 who will be making their tournament debuts. The others include Arizona Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro, Memphis Beat actor Sam Hennings, Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev, Mad Men actor Kevin Rahm, Collective Soul lead singer Ed Roland and country music artist Clay Walker.

Returning actors include Lucas Black (NCIS: New Orleans), Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice), Debbe Dunning (Home Improvement), Dennis Haysbert (24), Oliver Hudson (Nashville), Richard Karn (Home Improvement), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle), Terry O’Quinn (Lost), John O’Hurley (Seinfeld), Rob Riggle (The Hangover), Gary Valentine (Paul Blart: Mall Cop) and Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld).

Returning musicians and celebrities include former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon, Lisa Cornwell of Golf Channel, country singer Colt Ford, The Voice winner Javier Colon, singer-songwriter Steve Azar, Mark Bryan and Dean Felber of Hootie & the Blowfish, and Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts.

The free Celebrity Concert on Main from 6-10 p.m. Thursday near the corner of Main Street and Broad Street in downtown Greenville will feature performances by Bryan, Felber, Colon, Rooney, DeMarcus, Ford, Roland and Walker. Actor Terry O’Quinn and Kazantsev will also participate.

For tickets or more information about the tournament and events call 864-297-1660 or visit bmwcharitygolf.com.

Golfsmith celebrates

The Golfsmith Xtreme store on U.S. 17 North in North Myrtle Beach held its grand opening Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.

The company says it gave away more than $50,000 worth of prizes including free golf, iron sets, clubs, drivers, gift cards, and players had an opportunity to earn $25,000 with a hole-in-one on a golf simulator.

The store is a former Golf Dimensions location and remained open while renovations were being made in anticipation of the grand opening festivities. Golfsmith bought Golf Dimensions in April 2014.

The remodeled building includes five hitting bays, five custom fitting studios – one of which is in a Callaway fitting area – and designated areas for Callaway, Ping, Titleist, Under Armor, women’s products, and products geared to handle outdoor elements and weather.

Golfsmith entered the Grand Strand market with an Xtreme store near the Coastal Grand Mall in May 2013 and also has a Golfsmith Callaway Fitting Center at the Barefoot Golf Resort driving range.

Caravelle Cup teeing off

The eighth annual two-person team Caravelle Cup is being played Friday and Saturday and has another sold-out field of 66 players.

A Thursday night pairings party at Santa Maria restaurant, Friday night players and guests party at the Caravelle Resort conference center and Saturday awards banquet at the conference center are part of the event.

The Friday party is open to the public for $20 and will benefit Special Operations Wounded Warriors and the Joe McGarry Foundation. The party will feature heavy hors d’ouevres, an open bar, silent auction and raffles. Tickets are available at the Caravelle Resort or the door.

The first round Friday at Pine Lakes Country Club has a Texas scramble format and the final round at Myrtlewood Golf Club’s PineHills Course has a best ball format.

New program starting

The CCU women’s team will have a new opponent and junior girls in the area will have another college option with the announcement that UNC Asheville will be adding women’s golf in the 2016-17 academic year and will compete in the Big South Conference.

Breanne R. Hall, a University of Toledo graduate who is the director of golf instruction at Mountain Air Country Club outside Asheville, N.C., has been named the program’s first head coach.

This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 7:56 PM with the headline "On Grand Strand Golf: The Dunes Club remains home of CCU’s Hackler Championship."