On Grand Strand Golf: Golf Holiday creates event series, points chase

Between November 2014 and July 2015, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday created four new tournaments of at least 54 holes to entice golfers to visit the Grand Strand more often for competitive events.

The marketing cooperative has now tied those events together, created a few more smaller events, and set the stage to further expand the schedule with a new tournament series featuring a points race with rewards.

“We have all of these events throughout the year, and it’s really just to melt everything together into one pot,” Golf Holiday tournaments director Jeff Monday said. “It’s a way to have a continual conversation with these people. We do have a number of players who will come down for more than one event throughout the year, so it’s a good way to reward that, and it’s also to incentivize players to come back and play again, specifically those who do well in one.”

The Myrtle Beach Fall Classic in November, Preseason Classic in February, March Championship in March, and Calabash Cup in July all debuted in either 2015 or late 2014, joining the behemoth Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship on Golf Holiday’s schedule.

They are all being combined into what will be at least a 10-event points chase, along with four new 36-hole weekend tournaments that are similarly modeled with formats of individual net stroke play.

The Fall Classic is a 72-hole two-person team event, the March Championship is a 54-hole individual net stroke play event, and the Preseason Classic and Calabash Cup are 54-hole two-person team events. The first three sold out with 200 players in their debuts, and the Calabash Cup had about 100 players.

“We have a pool of people who want to come to Myrtle Beach to play competitive golf and we’re trying to maximize that pool and get them to come here,” Monday said.

The new 36-hole individual net stroke play events will feature Saturday afternoon tee times and Sunday morning shotgun starts, and will be timed to maximize direct flights to Myrtle Beach from targeted golfer markets, particularly on Allegiant and Spirit airlines.

The first event will be May 20-21 on one or two courses, and others will follow on June 10-11 and in July and late October.

The initial events will have a maximum of 110 participants. “If demand shows we can do more we’ll look at doing more,” Monday said. “That will hopefully help drive some new traffic from regional drive markets back into town and get some of these other players who may be able to come for a weekend.”

The tournament series points chase will have a wraparound schedule that will begin in May and tentatively end with the 2017 March Championship.

Monday wants to conclude the series in the future with a Tour Championship around the third week in May that will likely have a 54-hole individual net stroke play format. “That’s a great time weather-wise and course condition-wise, and it’s coming out of the [spring] golf season.”

He also wants to create a 72-hole match play tournament in late September that would be flighted by handicaps that wouldn’t be factored into scoring. Participants would be ensured four rounds with a consolation bracket and ancillary tournaments for losers.

“I think we’ve done really well at reaching the everyday golfer,” Monday said. “Match play would open us up to that better player who wants to compete in a pure match play format.”

He’s considering a 96-player inaugural match play event with three brackets of 32 players each.

There will be a small fee of $30 or so to be part of the points chase, and the points champion will receive free entry into any and all tournaments the following year. There will be other prizes for top points finishers, random prize drawings, and prizes for each individual event.

Prizes in the four new larger events have been gift certificates to major retail stores including PGA Superstore, Golfsmith and Dick’s Sporting Goods. The 36-hole weekend events will award host course pro shop gift certificates.

Part of the rewards will be free or reduced entries into other tournaments in the series.

The number of points available will be determined by the number of holes in an event, so the 72-hole World Am and Fall Classic will be majors of sorts.

The next event on the schedule is the second March Championship next Sunday through Tuesday at Wild Wing’s Avocet Course, Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club, Panther’s Run Golf Links, Long Bay Golf Club, the Hackler Course at CCU, and Farmstead Golf Links.

The entry fee is $299 and entries are down to around 140 players from last year’s sellout. More than $10,000 in prizes will be awarded.

Open qualifying set

Five courses in the Carolinas will host 18-hole local qualifying between May 9-19 for the 2016 U.S. Open, set for Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania from June 16-19.

The sites are: Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg and Duke University Golf Club in Durham, N.C., on May 9; Pinewild Country Club’s Magnolia Course in Pinehurst, N.C., on May 16; Secession Golf Club in Beaufort on May 17; and River Landing’s River Course in Wallace, N.C., on May 19.

Two courses in Georgia are among 111 local qualifying sites in 43 states. Professionals and amateurs with handicap indexes of 1.4 or better are eligible, and online registration begins the second week of March at https://champs.usga.org.

Sectional qualifying will be conducted over 36 holes at 10 U.S. sites on June 6. Japan and England will host international sectional qualifying in late May.

In 2015, the USGA accepted 9,882 U.S. Open entries and the record of 10,127 was established for the 2014 championship at Pinehurst Resort.

BMW seeks vols

Volunteer registration and tickets sales for the 2016 BMW Charity Pro-Am are now open at www.bmwcharitygolf.com. The $675,000 event that features amateurs and celebrities grouped with Web.com Tour professionals in a four-day better-ball competition over three courses in the Greenville area will be played May 19-22.

The aid of more than 1,000 volunteers is needed to help in a wide range of responsibilities, including walking scoring and skybox hospitality. Each volunteer will earn $20 per day for their choice of one of the tournament’s 18 selected charities. Once individual organizations reach 50 volunteer workdays, the charity will receive a $2,000 bonus.

In 2015, the tournament donated $758,985 to participating charities.

For Volunteer opportunities contact Drew Holley at DHolley@sccharities.org or 919-818-8969.

Selling tickets to the tournament is another way for charities to earn money. Charities will receive 100 percent of ticket sale funds up to $20,000, and tickets eligible for the 100 percent donation include Daily ($10), Patron ($25) and Clubhouse ($50). Visit the website to review playing opportunities or other information.

Charities benefiting in 2016 include: BMW Car Club of America Foundation, Child Evangelism Fellowship of Greenville, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Greenville Tech Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Mobile Meals of Spartanburg, National Christian College Athletic Association, New Foundations Home for Children, Palmetto Animal Assisted Life’s Services, Project Hope Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas, Shriners Hospital for Children–Greenville, SYNNEX Share the Magic, The First Tee of Greenville, The Reserve at Lake Keowee Foundation, Upstate Warrior Solution, and Urban League of the Upstate.

Instruction offered

DynaSwingFIT Golf School will again be hosting two-day golf swing instruction classes open to anyone on the next two Thursdays from 2-3:30 p.m. each day at the Dick M. Johnson Civic Center at 829 North Pine Drive in Surfside Beach.

Registration is $15 per day and includes a 45-percent driving range discount. Participants can register and pay at the clinic and bring a 7-iron, or a club will be provided. For more information contact Shelby Smith at 843-602-3118 or visit www.DynaSwingFit.com.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "On Grand Strand Golf: Golf Holiday creates event series, points chase."